Storm / Flood Damage Make-Safe (Insurance) SWMS

Storm and flood damage make-safe work is the urgent, high-risk insurance response that stabilises a property immediately after a severe weather event — tarping damaged roofs, boarding broken openings, extracting standing water and isolating compromised electrical systems before further loss occurs. Crews routinely work at height on wet, structurally degraded roof sheeting, around live or submerged electrical circuits, and inside buildings contaminated with Category 3 black water carrying sewage, hydrocarbons and pathogens. Under WHS Regulation 2011 r291 the combination of roof access above two metres, work near energised electrical installations, and entry to structurally unstable buildings classifies this scope as High Risk Construction Work, mandating a documented SWMS before work commences. The SWMS must be developed in consultation with workers, available at the workplace, and reviewed when conditions change — which on a storm response is continuous. This template captures the make-safe sequence used by insurance trades nationally and aligns controls to the prevailing AS/NZS standards and model Codes of Practice.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — defer non-urgent internal entry until structural engineer or SES has cleared the building and external power utility has physically disconnected the service fuse at the pole or pit.
2. 2Elimination — remove standing water from roof cavity using ground-based pumps and weighted hose before any worker accesses the roof to install tarps.
3. 3Substitution — deploy drone-based roof inspection and thermal imaging to scope damage before deciding whether workers ascend, replacing exploratory roof access with remote assessment.
4. 4Substitution — use ride-on or stand-on water extractors with extended wands instead of hand-held units to reduce time spent kneeling in contaminated water.
5. 5Engineering — install temporary edge protection, roof anchors compliant with AS/NZS 1891.4 and rated static lines before any tarp work commences above 2 metres.
6. 6Engineering — verify electrical isolation using a tested two-pole voltage indicator, lock-out the main switch and apply danger tags per AS/NZS 4836 before water extraction inside the building.
7. 7Administrative — conduct a documented pre-start hazard walk with all workers, sign on to this SWMS, and re-assess every 2 hours or when weather, structure or water conditions change.
8. 8Administrative — restrict entry to trained make-safe operatives only, maintain a site register, and prohibit lone work in any building flagged as structurally suspect or containing black water.
9. 9PPE — wear AS/NZS 1891 compliant full-body harness with shock-absorbing lanyard for all roof work, plus AS/NZS 1801 hard hat and AS/NZS 2210.3 slip-resistant safety footwear.
10. 10PPE — for black water exposure wear nitrile-coated chemical gloves, P2 respirator (P3 if aerosolising), AS/NZS 1336 sealed eye protection and Type 5/6 disposable coveralls disposed of as clinical waste.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A two-person make-safe crew is dispatched to a single-storey residential property forty-eight hours after a severe east-coast low. The roof has lost ridge capping and three sheets of corrugated steel; the kitchen ceiling is bulging with trapped water and the meter box shows water staining. At the vehicle the lead technician opens this SWMS on a tablet, walks the offsider through each identified hazard and confirms the rescue plan and nearest hospital. Before touching the structure they verify the network operator has tagged the service fuse as removed, then test the main switch with a two-pole voltage indicator and apply a personal lock and danger tag — satisfying the electrical control in the SWMS. They identify that the saturated ceiling presents a collapse hazard listed under a high risk construction work category conditions, so they pump the ceiling cavity from outside via a drilled relief hole before any internal entry. Both workers sign on to the SWMS, noting the date, time and weather. Mid-task, light rain returns and the roof becomes slippery; the lead technician halts work, re-opens the SWMS, and documents a control adjustment — switching from walking the roof to working from a scaffold edge with a static line — before resuming. The signed SWMS, photos and time-stamped amendments are uploaded to the insurer's claim file as evidence of consultation and compliance.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• AS/NZS 3000 — Electrical installations

Frequently asked questions