Excavation Near Underground Services (DBYD) SWMS
SWMS template for excavation near underground services (dbyd). Covers DBYD lookup, pothole/vacuum truck, hand-dig zones. 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.
Excavation in proximity to underground services is one of the highest-consequence activities on Australian civil and construction sites. A single unidentified electrical cable, gas main, fibre bundle or pressurised water service can produce fatal electrocution, asphyxiating gas release, flash burns, or catastrophic flooding of the excavation. WHS Regulation 2011 r291 classifies work involving a risk of disturbing an underground essential service as High Risk Construction Work (HRCW), which legally compels the PCBU to prepare, communicate and enforce a Safe Work Method Statement before the task commences. This SWMS template walks crews through Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) plan interpretation, non-destructive potholing with vacuum extraction, hand-dig exclusion zones around located services, and stop-work triggers when unexpected services are encountered. It satisfies the documentation, consultation and record-retention duties imposed under the harmonised WHS framework across all eight Australian jurisdictions.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Electrocution, arc-flash burns, cardiac arrest, prosecution under WHS Act for failure to identify HRCW risk
Asphyxiation, flash fire, explosion within trench, mass evacuation of adjacent buildings and infrastructure
Rapid trench inundation, drowning, undermining of trench walls leading to collapse and crush injury
Emergency services outage, financial liability under Telecommunications Act, prolonged civil claims against the PCBU
False sense of security, mechanical excavation into unmarked asset, fatality and breach of r291 duty
Worker buried under spoil, secondary service strike during rescue, asphyxiation within minutes
Accelerated silicosis, noise-induced hearing loss, breach of WES under WHS Reg Schedule 10
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Reroute the excavation alignment during design review to avoid known service corridors wherever a feasible alternative path exists on the site survey.
- 2Elimination — Cancel mechanical excavation entirely within 500mm of any located service and substitute the task with full hand-dig or vacuum extraction.
- 3Substitution — Replace conventional bucket excavation in service zones with non-destructive digging using a hydro-vacuum or air-vacuum truck rated for utility exposure.
- 4Engineering — Obtain DBYD plans within 30 days of works, overlay with site survey, and physically mark all service alignments with paint and pegs before any plant mobilises.
- 5Engineering — Install trench shields or progressive shoring to AS 5047 once services are exposed, preventing undermining and protecting located assets from spoil load.
- 6Engineering — Use cable avoidance tools (CAT and Genny) and ground-penetrating radar to verify DBYD plan accuracy before breaking ground in any service corridor.
- 7Administrative — Conduct documented pre-start briefing using this SWMS, confirming DBYD plan currency, exclusion zones, and emergency isolation contacts for each utility asset owner.
- 8Administrative — Implement a permit-to-dig system with sign-on by the excavator operator, spotter and supervisor, and a mandatory stop-work trigger on any unexpected service.
- 9PPE — Issue Class 0 electrical-rated gloves, arc-flash rated clothing to AS/NZS 4836, steel-capped boots, hi-vis, hard hat and P2 respirators for vacuum potholing dust exposure.
- 10PPE — Provide Class 5 hearing protection during vacuum truck operation and gas-detection personal monitors set to alarm at 10% LEL when working near gas assets.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Mandates preparation of a SWMS before work commences whenever excavation may disturb an underground essential service of any kind.
Prescribes DBYD lookup, potholing, hand-dig exclusion zones and trench shoring obligations specific to working adjacent to underground utilities.
Defines competency, PPE and approach distances when exposed electrical services are encountered or worked adjacent to during excavation.
Specifies shoring design and inspection duties to prevent trench collapse undermining located services during the excavation works.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Excavation in service corridors creates direct risk of contacting live underground cables, satisfying the r291 trigger for energised electrical proximity work.
Potential rupture of a gas main during excavation introduces a flammable atmosphere inside the trench, so the work is carried out in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere under section 291.
Service corridors carry pressurised natural gas and LPG distribution mains, and potholing and trenching are carried out directly on or near them.
Service trenches routinely exceed 1.5 metres — the worked example is a 1.8 metre stormwater trench — and workers enter them to expose and work around located assets.
PCBU must prepare, consult workers on, and retain this SWMS for the duration of works plus two years; penalties are substantial and indexed annually under the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Civil contractors on road and infrastructure projects
- →Plumbers and drainers undertaking sewer connections
- →Electrical contractors trenching for underground reticulation
- →Principal contractors on commercial site preparation works
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
On a suburban arterial road upgrade, the site supervisor opens the morning pre-start with this SWMS in hand alongside the printed DBYD plans returned eighteen days prior. The crew is tasked with excavating a 1.8m deep stormwater trench crossing a corridor containing a marked 11kV electrical cable and a medium-pressure gas main. Working through the hazards section, the supervisor confirms the exclusion zone of 500mm hand-dig either side of each marked asset and assigns the vacuum truck operator to pothole both services to expose them before the excavator approaches. Each crew member, including the excavator operator and the spotter, signs on to the SWMS acknowledging the permit-to-dig conditions and the stop-work trigger. Mid-morning, the CAT and Genny scan picks up an unexpected signal three metres outside the marked gas alignment. The spotter halts the excavator immediately, the supervisor reopens the SWMS, ticks the unexpected-service trigger, and contacts the gas utility for an asset locator attendance. The crew redeploys to hand-dig on the verified clear side while waiting. The SWMS is annotated with the deviation, recountersigned, and filed at end of shift as evidence of consultation and dynamic risk control under r291.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Code of Practice — Hazardous Manual Tasks
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a SWMS just to pothole beside a DBYD-marked asset?
Yes. Excavating in a service corridor is work carried out on or near energised electrical services under WHS Regulation s291(k) as soon as a live cable is in the alignment, and the possibility of rupturing a gas main brings a flammable atmosphere into the trench under s291(l). Work on or near pressurised gas distribution mains is s291(i) in its own right, and most service trenches pass 1.5 metres, engaging s291(g). Section 299 compels the PCBU to prepare the SWMS, consult the workers who will do the task, and provide it before the excavator or the vacuum truck starts.
How current do the DBYD plans have to be before we break ground?
The controls require plans obtained within 30 days of the works, overlaid against the site survey, with every service alignment physically marked in paint and pegs before plant mobilises. Just as important, the plans are treated as indicative rather than final — outdated, inaccurate or missing offsets are listed as a hazard in their own right, because a plan that looks authoritative creates a false sense of security. Verification is done on the ground with cable avoidance tools and ground-penetrating radar before breaking into any corridor, and then confirmed by potholing to physically expose the asset.
What happens when we hit a service that is not on the plans?
The document builds in a mandatory stop-work trigger and a permit-to-dig signed by the excavator operator, spotter and supervisor, so halting is a defined step rather than a judgement call. The worked example runs it end to end: a scan returns an unexpected signal three metres outside the marked gas alignment, the spotter stops the excavator, the supervisor reopens the SWMS and ticks the unexpected-service trigger, the utility is called for an asset locator to attend, and the crew redeploys to hand-dig on the verified clear side. The deviation is annotated on the SWMS and re-countersigned as evidence of consultation.
What PPE and monitoring does it specify around gas and electrical assets?
It splits the requirements by the asset in front of you. Where a cable strike is credible the controls call for Class 0 electrical-rated gloves and arc-flash rated clothing to AS/NZS 4836, alongside standard hard hat, hi-vis and steel-capped boots. Near gas assets, workers carry personal gas detection monitors set to alarm at 10 percent LEL. Vacuum potholing is treated as its own exposure: P2 respiratory protection for the silica dust thrown up by hydro or air excavation, and Class 5 hearing protection while the vacuum truck is running, since operators often spend the whole shift beside it.
What do I receive, and how long do I have to keep the completed SWMS?
You receive one editable Word document, bought once, in the state edition you select from NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT or ACT, with the hazard register, hierarchy-of-control mapping, legislation schedule, sign-on register, pre-start checklist and incident escalation flow. On retention, keep the SWMS available for inspection until the work it covers is complete. If a notifiable incident happens in connection with that work, keep it for at least two years after the incident, along with the signed sign-on pages and any annotated deviations, because those are the record of consultation.
Document details
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