Fireworks / Pyrotechnics Display SWMS
SWMS template for fireworks / pyrotechnics display. Covers Display fireworks, close-proximity pyro.. 8-state AU coverage, CIH-reviewed editable DOCX, available as an instant download.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Fireworks and pyrotechnics displays — whether outdoor aerial shells, close-proximity stage pyro, or ground-level set pieces — combine Class 1 explosives, open ignition sources, large crowds, and tight production schedules. The work is captured under WHS Regulation 2011 r291 as High Risk Construction Work where temporary structures, working at heights on firing positions, or live electrical firing systems are involved, and is additionally regulated under state explosives and dangerous goods legislation. A Safe Work Method Statement is mandatory before any cartage, mortar loading, e-match wiring, or live firing commences and must be available on site for the duration of the shoot. This template addresses the full pyrotechnician workflow: site survey, fallout zone calculation, magazine handling, rigging, firing crew positions, audience exclusion, misfire protocols, and post-show clearance. It aligns with AS 2187 explosives handling requirements and AEIC Code of Practice for Pyrotechnics, and is structured for sign-on by the licensed shotfirer, firing crew, riggers, and event safety officer.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Catastrophic blast and fragmentation injuries to firing crew including amputation, penetrating trauma, fatal burns at close range
Mass casualty burns, structure fires, regulator prosecution and event licence cancellation under state explosives Act
Unplanned firing sequence injuring riggers, loss of show integrity, breach of AS 2187.2 electric initiation clauses
Delayed detonation during clearance injuring crew, requires controlled disposal under shotfirer supervision per state regs
Burns, eye injuries from spent stars, crush injuries during panic egress, PCBU duty-of-care breach under WHS s19
Fall injuries, fatalities from unprotected edges combined with explosive payloads triggering secondary ignition events
Hearing loss above 140 dB peak, dehydration collapse, reduced situational awareness leading to procedural error
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Replace live pyrotechnics with laser, flame projector, or digital effects where the creative brief permits, removing explosives hazard entirely from the production.
- 2Elimination — Conduct all e-match crimping and shunt removal in a dedicated wiring tent away from loaded mortars to eliminate co-location of initiator and main charge.
- 3Substitution — Specify low-smoke, cold-spark close-proximity pyro in lieu of traditional gerbs for indoor or near-audience cues to reduce burn and fallout severity.
- 4Substitution — Use electronic firing systems with coded digital signals in place of legacy analogue rails to remove stray-voltage ignition pathways per AS 2187.2.
- 5Engineering — Install steel-walled mortar racks bolted to ballast with 1.5× rated shell calibre clearance, providing blast containment if a tube bursts during firing.
- 6Engineering — Establish fallout zones using AEIC distance tables (minimum 100 m radius for 100 mm shells), barricaded with bunting and steward-monitored exclusion lines.
- 7Administrative — Licensed shotfirer conducts pre-firing sign-on with full crew, walks the SWMS hazard register, confirms misfire and abort procedures, and logs radio call signs.
- 8Administrative — Implement two-person rule for arming the firing panel, key-controlled enable switch, and verbal 30-second / 10-second countdown to all stations before show start.
- 9PPE — Fire-retardant Nomex coveralls, leather gauntlets, Class 1 hard hat with face shield, hearing protection rated SLC80 26, and safety glasses for all firing crew.
- 10PPE — Riggers at height wear full body harness with twin lanyards anchored above mortar racks per AS/NZS 1891.4, plus FR clothing in case of premature ignition during rigging.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Mandates electric initiator handling, stray current testing, exclusion zones, and shotfirer competency for any pyrotechnic firing system used on site.
Sets minimum fallout distances, mortar spacing, audience separation, and firing crew PPE specifications referenced by all state regulators for display approval.
Triggers mandatory SWMS where rigging on temporary stages, working above 2 m on firing positions, or energised firing rails are used.
Governs harness selection and anchorage for riggers installing aerial pyro positions on truss, rooftops, or elevated firing platforms.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Display fireworks are UN Class 1 explosives requiring licensed magazine storage, controlled cartage, and shotfirer-supervised use throughout the production cycle.
Event sites involve forklift movement of pyro pallets, EWPs for high rigging, and generator vehicles within the firing compound during bump-in.
Rigging close-proximity pyro on truss, rooftop firing positions, or stage flying systems routinely places crew above the 2 m fall threshold.
PCBU must prepare the SWMS in consultation with the licensed shotfirer and firing crew, provide it before work starts, and retain it for two years post-event or until any notifiable incident is fully investigated; penalties are substantial and indexed, with current maximum following the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Licensed pyrotechnicians and shotfirers operating outdoor displays
- →Event production companies engaging close-proximity stage pyro
- →Festival and major event safety officers coordinating fireworks
- →Council and venue operators hosting public fireworks displays
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
At a regional New Year's Eve waterfront display, the licensed shotfirer arrives on site at 14:00 for a 21:00 firing window. She opens the Fireworks/Pyrotechnics Display SWMS on a tablet and runs the pre-start brief with her three-person firing crew, two riggers, and the council event safety officer beside the firing barge. Walking the hazard register, she confirms today's specific triggers: 75 mm and 100 mm aerial shells (Hazard 1 — premature ignition), an onshore crowd of 8,000 at 120 m (Hazard 5 — encroachment), and forecast 18-knot southerly bringing fallout closer to the moored vessel marina (Hazard 2 — fallout zone). The crew physically signs on against each control: she points to mortar racks already ballasted per the engineering control, walks the bunting line marking the 100 m exclusion radius, and demonstrates the keyed firing panel arming sequence. The rigger working on the 4 m scaffold for the cold-spark fountains confirms his twin-lanyard anchorage. Mid-show, wind shifts to 25 knots; the shotfirer calls 'hold' on the radio, reopens the SWMS abort protocol with the safety officer, deletes the two largest aerial cues from the firing sequence on the digital panel, and resumes. Post-show, the document is countersigned, scanned, and filed with the council permit record as evidence of compliant execution.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Construction Work CoP
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a SWMS for a fireworks display?
Where the shoot involves construction work, yes. Rigging firing positions on temporary stages, truss and scaffold is construction work, and it engages several triggers at once: section 291(h) of the WHS Regulation for work involving the use of explosives, section 291(a) where a rigger could fall more than 2 metres from a truss or rooftop position, and section 291(o) for powered mobile plant, since bump-in involves forklifts moving pyro pallets, elevating work platforms and generator vehicles. Section 299 then requires the SWMS before work starts. Separately, state explosives and dangerous goods law governs storage, cartage and firing regardless, under a licensed shotfirer.
Does this cover close-proximity stage pyro, or only outdoor aerial displays?
Both, plus ground-level set pieces. The workflow it documents runs from site survey and fallout zone calculation through magazine handling, mortar loading, electric match wiring, firing crew positions, audience exclusion, misfire protocol and post-show clearance, which is common to all three formats. For indoor and near-audience cues the substitution control specifies low-smoke, cold-spark product in place of traditional gerbs, which reduces both burn severity and fallout. The distinction that changes the document is not indoor versus outdoor, it is calibre, proximity and whether riggers are working at height above the loaded positions.
How is the fallout zone and exclusion radius actually set?
From the calibre of the largest shell, using the industry distance tables, then adjusted for the site. The template works from a minimum 100 metre radius for 100 millimetre shells, barricaded with bunting and held by stewards on the exclusion line rather than assumed. Wind is the variable that moves it, and it has to be re-checked on the day. The worked example runs a waterfront display where a forecast southerly is already pushing fallout toward a moored vessel marina, and a mid-show shift to 25 knots leads the shotfirer to call a hold and drop the two largest aerial cues from the sequence before resuming.
What happens if a shell misfires and stays in the mortar?
Nobody approaches it until the documented misfire and hangfire procedure runs, under the licensed shotfirer, because a shell that failed to launch can still fire during clearance. The procedure, the abort call and the radio call signs are confirmed at the pre-firing sign-on with the whole crew, not improvised at the end of the night, and disposal is supervised in accordance with the state explosives requirements. The same discipline governs arming: a two-person rule at the firing panel, a key-controlled enable switch, and a verbal 30-second and 10-second countdown to every station. Electric match crimping happens in a separate wiring tent, away from loaded mortars.
Who signs the document, and what do I actually receive?
The sign-on architecture is built for a mixed crew: the licensed shotfirer, the firing crew, the riggers and the event safety officer, since each is exposed to different parts of the hazard register. You receive a single editable Microsoft Word document, bought once, with the hazard register mapped to the hierarchy of controls, a state-specific legislation schedule for all eight jurisdictions, the sign-on register, a pre-start checklist and an escalation flow. Keep the completed and countersigned copy with the permit record after the event, along with any cues you deleted or amended on the night.
Document details
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