Make Good (End of Lease Reinstatement) SWMS
Safe Work Method Statement for reinstating a commercial or retail tenancy to its lease condition — strip-out of the tenant fit-out, ceiling, wall and floor reinstatement, patching and painting, making safe of tenant electrical, data and plumbing by licensed trades, and waste removal, often beside occupied floors and after hours.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
This Safe Work Method Statement covers make good, or end of lease reinstatement, of commercial and retail tenancies: strip-out of the tenant fit-out (partitions, joinery, signage, cabling and floor coverings), ceiling grid and tile replacement, patching, plastering, painting, floor reinstatement, cleaning and waste removal, with tenant electrical, data, plumbing and refrigerant services made safe by licensed trades. It is written for work in multi-storey buildings where other tenants stay in occupation and work is often done after hours. It sets an asbestos register hold point for buildings constructed before 31 December 2003, silica and lead dust controls, falls from ladders, scaffolds and EWPs, ceiling-space and electrical isolation hold points, fire system impairment under a building manager permit, dust and noise separation from occupied areas, and lone worker arrangements, with controls in hierarchy order and inherent and residual risk ratings.
Hazards identified
10 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Inhalation of asbestos fibres causing mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer, and contamination of the building and other tenants
Silicosis, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Fractures, head and spinal injury, death
Electric shock, electrocution, arc flash burns and fire
Fire spreading undetected and occupants trapped
Lead poisoning and take-home contamination
Back, shoulder and hand injury and crush injuries
Exposure of non-workers, false alarms and complaints
Delayed help after injury or illness
Dermatitis, eye injury, respiratory irritation and fire
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Identified or suspected asbestos-containing material is not disturbed by the make good crew in any quantity; any removal is done first by a licensed asbestos removalist, followed by a clearance certificate before the crew re-enters.
- 2Elimination — Hold point: no element carrying electrical services is stripped until a licensed electrician has isolated, proven de-energised and made safe the tenant circuits and handed over in writing; plumbing and refrigerant services are made safe by licensed trades.
- 3Substitution — Scissor lifts or guardrailed mobile scaffolds instead of ladders for sustained ceiling work; battery tools; score-and-snap cutting of fibre cement confirmed asbestos-free; water-based paints and low-solvent adhesive removers.
- 4Isolation — Hoarding and dust screens separating the work from occupied areas, other tenants and the public; lock-out and tag-out by the electrician; exclusion zones beneath ceiling removal and around plant and the loading dock.
- 5Engineering — On-tool extraction to H-class vacuums or wet suppression for every cutting, grinding and sanding task; negative air units with HEPA filtration where specified; RCD protection on all supply; lift car and floor protection.
- 6Administrative — Asbestos register obtained and read before strip-out starts; building manager permits for fire system impairment with a fire watch, hot work, after-hours access, lifts and dock; written silica assessment; lone worker check-ins; pre-start briefings and hold-point sign-offs.
- 7PPE — Fit-tested P2 respirator or higher for dusty tasks, safety glasses, cut-resistant gloves, safety boots, hearing protection, hard hat for overhead work and hi-vis near mobile plant.
Applicable Codes of Practice
General construction duties, SWMS content and protection of the public and other building occupants during strip-out and reinstatement.
Selection and use of ladders, mobile scaffolds and EWPs for ceiling and bulkhead work, and protection of voids and penetrations.
Use of the building asbestos register before refurbishment and the unexpected-find procedure during strip-out.
Interface with the licensed removalist and clearance before the make good crew re-enters.
Sequencing of non-structural strip-out, falling objects and waste handling.
Isolation, lock-out and tag-out, testing before touch, RCDs and portable electrical equipment.
Moving partitions, glazing, joinery, carpet and demolition waste, and repetitive overhead ceiling work.
Adhesive removers, solvents, paints and compounds; SDS and the hazardous chemicals register.
Demolition hammers, grinders, saws and floor scrapers.
Amenities, lighting and ventilation for after-hours work on vacated floors.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Applies where ceiling, bulkhead or signage work is done from a mobile scaffold, EWP or ladder at a height from which a fall of more than 2 m is possible, or near unprotected voids and risers.
Applies where asbestos is recorded or suspected in or behind the elements being stripped in a building constructed before 31 December 2003; that disturbance is done only by a licensed removalist.
Applies where the crew works on or near tenant air conditioning refrigerant lines before a licensed technician has recovered the refrigerant.
Applies where work is done near base-building or tenant electrical installations that remain energised, such as ceiling spaces with live lighting circuits or near switchboards.
Applies where scissor lifts, boom lifts, forklifts or waste trucks operate in the work area or loading dock.
Where any of these paragraphs of section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) applies, section 299 requires the PCBU to ensure a SWMS is prepared before the work starts; the work must be carried out in accordance with it (s300), a copy goes to the principal contractor (s301), and it is reviewed under s302 and kept under s303. The document leaves the Applies column for the PCBU to complete for the actual site.
Who this is for
- →Commercial fit-out and maintenance contractors doing office and retail make goods
- →Shopfitters and interior contractors reinstating tenancies for landlords and outgoing tenants
- →Property and facilities maintenance contractors working in occupied multi-storey buildings
- →Contractors working after hours for banks, government tenants and shopping centre managers
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓Hazard register with inherent and residual risk ratings and controls in hierarchy-of-control order
- ✓High risk construction work table against section 291 paragraphs (a) to (r), with the Applies column left for site completion
- ✓Step-by-step procedure with hold points for asbestos, electrical isolation and fire system impairment
- ✓Plant, PPE, training, permits and emergency response sections
- ✓Worker consultation, sign-on and review log
- ✓Prepared for the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
Worked example
A contractor is engaged to make good a 600 square metre office tenancy on level 9 of a 1980s Sydney tower, with tenants above and below in occupation. Before strip-out, the supervisor obtains the asbestos register, which records asbestos in vinyl floor tiles under the carpet in the old kitchenette; a licensed removalist removes them first and a clearance certificate is issued. A licensed electrician isolates and terminates the tenant circuits and hands over in writing. Building management issues an after-hours permit, a fire impairment permit for one detector zone with a fire watch, and goods lift and dock bookings. The crew erects dust screens, dismantles partitions and joinery, lifts carpet tiles with a floor scraper, and removes bulkheads and damaged ceiling tiles from a scissor lift with an exclusion zone below. Patching is sanded with H-class extraction, walls are painted with water-based paint, and the detectors are reinstated and tested before the crew leaves each night.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — ss19, 20, 26A, 27, 28, 29, 35–39, 46, 47, 84
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — s291 high risk construction work; ss299–303 SWMS
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 8 asbestos (ss447, 449, 450, 473, 474, 485, 487)
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 8A crystalline silica (ss529C, 529CA, 529CB, 529CE)
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 7 hazardous chemicals and lead; Chapter 4 noise, hazardous manual tasks, falls, high risk work licences, demolition and electrical safety; s48 remote or isolated work
- Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) — waste transport and disposal
Frequently asked questions
Is make good work high risk construction work?
Not automatically. It becomes high risk construction work under section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) where a paragraph applies on the site — most often a risk of falling more than 2 m, likely disturbance of asbestos, work near energised electrical installations, work near refrigerant lines, or movement of powered mobile plant. The document explains each and leaves the Applies column for you to complete for the actual site.
Does the crew remove asbestos under this SWMS?
No. The SWMS requires the asbestos register to be obtained and read before strip-out of any building constructed before 31 December 2003, and the crew does not disturb identified or suspected asbestos in any quantity. Any removal is done first by a licensed removalist, with a clearance certificate before the crew re-enters.
Who disconnects the tenant electrical and plumbing?
Licensed trades only. The SWMS has a hold point: no element carrying services is stripped until a licensed electrician has isolated, proven de-energised and made safe the tenant circuits and handed over in writing, and a licensed plumber has capped tenant services. The make good crew does no work on energised equipment.
Does it cover working in an occupied building after hours?
Yes. It covers hoarding and dust screens, negative air units where specified, lift and loading-dock bookings, building manager permits for fire system impairment with a fire watch, keeping egress clear, and lone worker check-ins for after-hours work on empty floors.
Is the document ready to use as supplied?
It is an editable Word template. You must add your business, site, building and crew details, complete the high risk construction work table for the site, and consult your workers before the work starts.
Document details
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