Land Clearing & Grubbing SWMS

Land clearing and grubbing is the initial site preparation activity involving the removal of vegetation, tree stumps, root systems, surface debris and unsuitable topsoil to establish a workable construction platform. Typical tasks include felling trees with chainsaws, pushing and stockpiling vegetation with dozers, extracting stumps with excavator-mounted rippers or grab attachments, mulching with horizontal grinders, and hauling spoil with articulated dump trucks or tip trucks. The work is hazardous because heavy mobile plant operates in close proximity to workers on unstable, uneven ground often obscured by vegetation, with unpredictable spring-back from felled timber, latent hazards such as bees, snakes and buried services, and elevated fire risk from hot works and mulcher friction.

Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), land clearing and grubbing is high risk construction work under section 291(o) because it involves the movement of powered mobile plant. Section 299 requires a Safe Work Method Statement to be prepared before the work commences, kept accessible, and complied with. Controls follow the hierarchy in section 36 — eliminating pedestrian/plant interaction through exclusion zones and separation, then engineering (ROPS/FOPS, proximity detection), administrative (spotters, traffic management, Dial Before You Dig) and PPE.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Eliminate pedestrian exposure by sequencing works so no personnel are on foot within the mobile plant operating radius; use one-way traffic patterns and physical exclusion zones (minimum 10 m for dozers/excavators, greater for felling).
2. 2Substitute manual felling with mechanised harvesters or excavator-mounted grabs where tree size and access allow, removing chainsaw operators from the fall zone.
3. 3Engineer separation using ROPS/FOPS-certified plant compliant with AS 2294, reversing alarms, 360° cameras and proximity detection systems on mobile plant operating near workers or other plant.
4. 4Confirm underground services via Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) referral, on-site electronic locating, and pot-holing prior to any grubbing; observe SafeWork NSW 'Work near overhead and underground electric lines' minimum approach distances.
5. 5Chainsaw operations conducted only by workers holding nationally recognised competencies (FWPCOT2237/2238 or equivalent) using AS/NZS 2727-compliant PPE — cut-resistant trousers, helmet with visor and earmuffs, and steel-capped boots.
6. 6Implement a bushfire management plan during declared Fire Danger Periods per the Rural Fires Act 1997 (NSW): spark arrestors on all plant, on-board water/extinguishers (minimum 9 L AFFF and 4.5 kg dry powder per AS 2444), fire watch for 1 hour post-shutdown, and cessation of hot works on Total Fire Ban days.
7. 7Suppress silica and nuisance dust with water carts and mulcher spray bars; where dust cannot be adequately controlled, provide P2 respirators fit-tested to AS/NZS 1715 and selected per AS/NZS 1716.
8. 8Where asbestos-contaminated fill or fibro fragments are identified or suspected, stop work, isolate the area and engage a licensed asbestos assessor/removalist per Chapter 8 of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW).
9. 9Conduct daily pre-start inspections of all plant, documented in logbooks; verify seatbelts worn at all times, and prohibit passengers on plant not designed to carry them.
10. 10Deploy trained spotters (in high-visibility clothing to AS/NZS 4602.1) with two-way radios wherever plant operates near workers, structures or services; positive communication protocol before any plant movement.
11. 11Provide snake-bite first aid kits, EpiPens for known-anaphylactic workers, and site-specific inductions covering wildlife hazards; nearest hospital and emergency egress route displayed on the site plan.
12. 12All workers hold a current White Card (CPCCWHS1001); SWMS reviewed with the crew before work commences (section 47 consultation) and revised whenever controls change, an incident occurs, or the work method changes (section 302 review).

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A civil contractor is engaged to clear 6 hectares of scrub and semi-mature eucalypt for a new industrial estate at Marsden Park in Sydney's north-west. Works include felling 40 trees with chainsaws, pushing and windrowing vegetation with a D6 dozer, grubbing stumps with a 30-tonne excavator fitted with a rock ripper, and mulching windrows with a tracked horizontal grinder. Before mobilisation the site supervisor lodges a BYDA referral, identifies an overhead 11 kV Endeavour Energy line traversing the north-east corner, and establishes a no-go exclusion zone with tiger tails installed by the network operator. The SWMS is walked through with the crew (section 47 consultation) at pre-start, exclusion radii are marked with bunting, and a dedicated spotter is assigned to the excavator working near the boundary fence. Mid-shift the grinder operator identifies fragments of bonded fibro in a dumped debris pile; work in that area stops, the material is isolated, and a licensed Class B removalist is engaged. The SWMS is reviewed and reissued that afternoon under section 302 with the amended contamination control step, and the crew re-signs before recommencing.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW)
• Rural Fires Act 1997 (NSW)
• Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW)
• Electricity Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation 2014 (NSW)

Frequently asked questions