Level-Access / Threshold Entry Works SWMS
This Safe Work Method Statement covers the elimination of the step at a dwelling entry so an occupant using a wheelchair, walker or scooter can cross the threshold — the final and most commonly overlooked link in an accessible path of travel. The work covers removal of the existing step, sill or sla
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Level access entry work removes the step at a doorway so a wheelchair, walker or frame can cross without a lip. It sounds like the smallest job on an accessible-housing scope, and it is routinely the one that damages the building. To get from a stepped entry to a level threshold you almost always have to cut down the existing slab, remove a section of the door sill, and interfere with the exact detail that keeps water out of the dwelling — the step itself was the waterproofing. This SWMS covers demolition and cutting of the existing threshold and adjacent slab, forming a graded landing and drainage, installing the new threshold and waterproofing detail, and reinstating the door and adjacent finishes.
The hazards divide cleanly. During the work: respirable crystalline silica from cutting and grinding concrete, tile and masonry — the highest-consequence exposure on this job and the one most often ignored because 'it's only a small cut'. Alongside it, hand-arm vibration, cutting into a slab that may carry post-tension cables or conduits, and an open hole at an occupied dwelling's front door.
After the work: an entry that leaks. Removing a step and not replacing the water management it provided pushes stormwater straight into the dwelling. The controls therefore treat falls to drainage, the threshold drain and the waterproofing membrane as functional requirements to be water-tested before handover, not as finishing details.
The third issue is the occupant. This is their only entry, they need it during the works, and the person who needs a level threshold is by definition the person least able to negotiate a temporary step or a taped-off doorway. A safe temporary access route is a control, not a courtesy.
Silica dust generation makes this high risk construction work under section 291 and a Safe Work Method Statement is required under section 299. Where cutting is into a structural slab or a load-bearing element, structural risk applies independently.
Hazards identified
12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Silicosis, lung cancer and autoimmune disease; irreversible, progressive and with no treatment other than transplant
Explosive tendon release causing fatal injury; electrocution or flooding from a struck service
Fall at the dwelling's only entry, affecting the person least able to negotiate an obstacle
Stormwater entering the dwelling; a slip hazard on the new level surface and progressive building damage
Hand-arm vibration syndrome and permanent nerve and vascular damage
Localised collapse or long-term settlement at the entry
Eye penetration and laceration; disc failure at speed
Acute lumbar injury from repeated bent-over lifting of heavy irregular loads
Noise-induced hearing loss for workers; distress for the occupant, who is present throughout
Alkaline cement burns, which develop slowly and are commonly discovered too late
Slip injury on a wet hard surface; environmental breach from alkaline slurry discharge
Occupant confined, or attempting the opening unaided; loss of emergency egress from the dwelling
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Treat every cut, grind and break of concrete, tile, mortar or masonry as silica generating, regardless of how small the area is.
- 2Use water suppression or on-tool dust extraction with an H-class vacuum on every cutting and grinding operation, with no dry cutting permitted.
- 3Provide and fit-test respiratory protection to AS/NZS 1715 and AS/NZS 1716 for all silica-generating tasks, selected on the assessed exposure.
- 4Isolate the work zone with sheeting and keep the dwelling interior sealed and under negative pressure where cutting is adjacent to the opening.
- 5Obtain slab documentation and scan the full cut zone for post-tension tendons, reinforcement, conduits and hydraulic services before any cut is made.
- 6Stop immediately and obtain engineering advice if a post-tension slab is suspected or documentation is unavailable.
- 7Obtain a structural engineer's assessment before cutting a slab edge, load-bearing element or any depth beyond the surface screed.
- 8Establish and maintain a safe alternative access route for the occupant for the full duration of the works, agreed with them before the threshold is opened.
- 9Never leave the occupant's only entry impassable at the end of a shift; make the opening trafficable or provide the alternative route with lighting.
- 10Barricade the open threshold with rigid barriers rather than tape, and provide task lighting for any period the occupant may approach.
- 11Design and construct falls away from the dwelling with a threshold drain where the entry is exposed, before finishes go down.
- 12Install and terminate the waterproofing membrane to the standard, and water-test the completed entry before reinstating finishes.
- 13Rotate operators and use low-vibration tools to limit continuous trigger time on demolition hammers and grinders.
- 14Bund and collect wet-cutting slurry and dispose of it to a licensed facility, with nothing entering the stormwater system.
- 15Wear impermeable gloves and eye protection when handling wet cement and screed, and wash any contact immediately.
- 16Provide hearing protection to AS/NZS 1270 and notify the occupant of the daily periods of high noise so they can plan around them.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Applies to respirable crystalline silica, including the workplace exposure standard, control selection and air monitoring triggers.
Governs the sequenced removal of the existing threshold, slab section and adjacent structure.
Sets the framework for SWMS preparation and high risk construction work involving silica-generating and structural work.
Applies to handling broken concrete, threshold sections and bagged cementitious material at ground level.
Applies to demolition hammer and concrete saw use in a confined entry space in an occupied dwelling.
Govern the membrane and its terminations at the new threshold — the detail that replaces the water management the step provided.
Sets the threshold height, ramp gradient and landing dimensions the finished entry must achieve to be usable.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Engaged where a floor saw, powered demolition rig or mini-excavator operates in the entry zone. Where all work is done with hand-held tools this category does not apply — the purchaser resolves it on site.
Engaged where the threshold cut extends into a load-bearing element or slab edge requiring temporary support. Where the work is confined to a non-structural screed or surface, this category does not apply.
Where either category applies, the work is high risk construction work under section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation and a Safe Work Method Statement must be prepared before the work commences under section 299. Independently of section 291, the generation of respirable crystalline silica engages the hazardous chemicals duties in the Regulation, including the workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica, air monitoring where exposure is uncertain, and health monitoring for workers at significant risk. The SWMS must be reviewed under section 302 whenever the cutting method changes, a post-tension slab or concealed service is discovered, or an incident occurs.
Who this is for
- →Home modification builders and accessible-housing contractors delivering level entries
- →Concrete cutting and demolition contractors working at dwelling thresholds
- →Waterproofing contractors detailing and membraning new level entries
- →Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) and aged-care builders retrofitting stepped entries
- →Occupational therapists and case managers specifying level access under NDIS or Home Care Package funding
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word (.docx) document delivered as an instant download.
- ✓Fourteen identified hazards, each with an initial risk rating, a full control set written to the hierarchy of control, a residual rating and a nominated responsible person.
- ✓Nine regulatory reference bullets citing the governing sections verbatim, including the silica exposure standard and health monitoring duties.
- ✓A completed risk matrix using 5×5 likelihood × consequence scoring with both initial and residual ratings.
- ✓A PPE matrix mapping each task to the required protective equipment and the actual AS/NZS standard it must comply with, including respiratory protection selection and fit testing.
- ✓Emergency response provisions covering post-tension tendon release, service strike, silica exposure, cement burns and an occupant unable to leave the dwelling.
- ✓The notifiable incident duty with the regulator's notification number.
- ✓A worker sign-on register for recording that each person has read and understood the statement before starting.
- ✓Fully editable text so your PCBU details, site address, personnel, plant and site-specific controls can be inserted.
- ✓State-specific variants available for all eight Australian jurisdictions with the correct Act, Regulation and regulator for each.
Worked example
A contractor removes a 140 mm step at the front entry of a 1970s brick villa so the occupant can enter in a wheelchair. The scope reads as a two-day job: saw-cut and remove the step and a metre of the front path, pour a graded landing, fit a low-profile threshold, reinstate. The first decision saves the job. The slab documentation is unavailable, and the crew stops rather than cutting on the assumption that a 1970s villa has no post-tensioning. A scan confirms conventional reinforcement and a live conduit running 60 mm below the surface, 200 mm inside the cut line — feeding the porch light, and directly in the path of the saw. The cut line moves and the conduit is exposed by hand. The second decision is the one crews get wrong. Because it is 'only a metre of path', dry cutting is tempting. The crew wet-cuts with slurry collection and wears fit-tested respirators anyway, because the exposure standard is not scaled to how small the job feels. The slurry is bunded and collected rather than hosed to the stormwater pit two metres away. The third decision is the one that matters after handover. The step being removed was the reason water never got into the entry. The new landing is set with falls away from the door, a threshold drain is installed across the opening, the membrane is turned up at the jambs and terminated properly, and the entry is water-tested before the finish goes down. The test finds a low point 3 mm out at one corner; it is corrected before tiling rather than discovered by the occupant in the first storm. And throughout, the occupant has a lit, barricaded, trafficable route in and out — because the person who needs a level entry is precisely the person who cannot step over an open trench at the end of the day.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — section 19 primary duty of care, section 47 consultation, sections 35–38 notifiable incidents
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — section 291 high risk construction work, section 299 SWMS required, section 302 review
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 7.1 Hazardous chemicals including the respirable crystalline silica exposure standard, air monitoring and health monitoring
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 4.2 Hazardous manual tasks and Part 4.1 Noise
- AS 3740 and AS 4654 waterproofing standards, and AS 1428.1 Design for access and mobility
- National Construction Code Volume Two — entry threshold, drainage and weatherproofing provisions
Frequently asked questions
It's a tiny cut — do I really need silica controls?
Yes. The workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica applies to the concentration in the air, not to the size of the job, and a short dry cut in a confined entry space produces very high concentrations. Dry cutting is not permitted under these controls. Every cut, grind and break of concrete, tile, mortar or masonry uses water suppression or on-tool extraction with an H-class vacuum, with fit-tested respiratory protection.
How do I know whether the slab is post-tensioned?
You obtain the documentation, and if it is unavailable you scan the full cut zone before cutting. Cutting a post-tension tendon releases stored energy explosively and has killed workers. The controls require the work to stop and engineering advice to be obtained if post-tensioning is suspected or the documentation cannot be found — an assumption based on the building's age is not an assessment.
Why is waterproofing treated as a safety issue?
Because removing the step removes the water management. The step was what kept stormwater out of the dwelling, and replacing it with a level surface without falls, a threshold drain and a properly terminated membrane pushes water inside. That creates a slip hazard on the new entry for the occupant, and progressive building damage. The controls require the entry to be water-tested before finishes go down, not after.
What about the occupant during the works?
A safe alternative access route must be established and agreed with the occupant before the threshold is opened, and maintained for the full duration. The occupant's only entry must never be left impassable at the end of a shift. Rigid barriers are used rather than tape, with task lighting for any period the occupant may approach — because the person who needs a level threshold is the person least able to negotiate a temporary obstacle.
Does this cover the ramp as well?
No. This document covers the threshold and landing at the doorway — the demolition, cutting, drainage, waterproofing and threshold detail. Where a ramp is also required, the access ramp construction SWMS covers the ramp structure, its footings, gradient and handrails. Many jobs use both.
Which states does this cover?
All eight Australian jurisdictions. The NSW version cites the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) with SafeWork NSW as the regulator. Each state variant carries the correct Act, Regulation and regulator. The silica exposure standard, AS 3740, AS 4654 and AS 1428.1 are national.