Mining & Quarry Operations Work SWMS
Mining and quarry operations covering underground and open-cut mines across NSW, QLD, WA, NT — RSHQ, DEMIRS, and NSW Resources Regulator frameworks.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Mining and quarry operations across underground and open-cut sites in NSW, QLD, WA and NT involve high-risk extraction, blasting, mobile plant and ground control activities. Work triggers WHS Act 2011, state mining safety legislation, and HRCW provisions under WHS Regulation 2017 requiring documented SWMS before commencement.
Hazards identified
3 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Crushing fatality from collapse or fall
Run-over fatality from haul trucks/loaders
Fatal blast injury or flyrock strike
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Implement Principal Hazard Management Plans for ground control, mobile plant and explosives per state mining regulations.
- 2Enforce exclusion zones, positive communication and proximity detection systems for all powered mobile plant.
- 3Licensed shotfirer controls blasting; misfire procedures, exclusion zones and post-blast inspections mandatory before re-entry.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Principal mining safety duties and notifiable incidents NSW
Principal hazard management plans and statutory positions WA
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Blasting operations require licensed shotfirer, magazine controls and exclusion zone management.
Haul trucks, loaders, drills and dozers operate near workers throughout mining operations.
SWMS mandatory before work; fines to $30,000 individual, $150,000 body corporate.
Who this is for
- →Mining and quarry operators managing underground and open-cut operations across multiple Australian jurisdictions.
- →SME mining and quarrying contractors delivering extraction, processing, and earthmoving services to mine principals.
- →Mid-tier resource contractors operating across NSW, QLD, WA, and NT mining-regulator frameworks.
- →Mine principals and site senior executives requiring a defensible operations SWMS aligned to their safety management system.
- →EHS and mining-compliance leads responsible for principal hazard management and regulator liaison.
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX SWMS template tailored to mining and quarry operations
- ✓State-specific mining legislation schedule (NSW, QLD, WA, NT)
- ✓Hazard register covering ground control, plant, blasting and electrical risks
- ✓Worker sign-on register for SWMS acknowledgement and consultation
Worked example
A mining contractor operates extraction and materials-handling at a quarry and associated mine in regional Queensland, working within the operator's safety and health management system under the state mining regulator. The operation runs continuously, with the SWMS providing the operations-level framework that site-specific procedures build on. The contractor reviews the SWMS against the operation: the jurisdiction is identified so the correct mining safety framework applies — in Queensland the resources safety regulator and the relevant mining safety and health legislation — the principal hazards are mapped to the operator's management plans, and the fleet, processing, and ground-control activities are set out. The dominant hazards span vehicle and fleet interaction, ground and geotechnical stability, dust including respirable crystalline silica, and energy isolation across plant, so the SWMS specifies traffic-management and fleet-separation controls, geotechnical inspection and ground-control measures, dust suppression and monitoring, and isolation and lock-out for plant maintenance, all aligned to the operator's management plans and the statutory roles. The work proceeds under the site system with the statutory site senior executive accountable, and the operations, hazard, and monitoring records are documented to the mining safety framework. Contractor crews are inducted to the site and verified competent for the plant they operate, and the principal-hazard controls are checked at the start of each shift against the conditions. The operation runs without a principal-hazard incident, with the records retained under the regulator's requirements and the management-plan reviews kept current.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011
- Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld)
- AS 2187.2 Explosives — Storage and use
Frequently asked questions
Which regulator and legislation applies to mining and quarry work?
Mining is regulated under jurisdiction-specific mining safety frameworks rather than the general construction framework alone — in Queensland the resources safety regulator under the mining safety and health legislation, in New South Wales the Resources Regulator under the work-health-and-safety mines legislation, and in Western Australia the mines safety regulator. The SWMS identifies the jurisdiction so the correct framework and statutory roles apply. The applicable regulator and Act depend on the state and on whether the operation is coal or metalliferous.
How does this operations SWMS relate to the mine's safety management system?
A mine operates under a safety and health management system with principal hazard management plans for the major hazards, maintained by the operator, and contractors work within it. This SWMS provides the operations-level framework and aligns with the management system and the principal hazard plans. It is not a substitute for the site-specific procedures and management plans, which hold the detailed site controls; the SWMS sits within that system.
Why is general mining and quarry work treated as high-risk?
Mining and quarrying involve principal hazards — ground instability, fleet interaction, explosives, dust, and hazardous energy — that carry fatal potential and are managed under the mining safety framework with statutory accountability. The work routinely engages several of the high-risk categories. The SWMS treats the operation as high-risk and frames the controls around the principal hazards and the statutory roles, such as the site senior executive in Queensland.
Does this cover both open-cut and underground operations?
It covers the operations-level framework for both, but underground and open-cut carry materially different hazard profiles that more specific SWMS address — underground adds ventilation, methane and DPM, and confined conditions, while open-cut centres on bench geometry, haul roads, and fleet. This SWMS provides the common framework; the specific underground or open-cut SWMS provide the detailed controls. The operation selects the framework SWMS and the relevant specific SWMS together.
How is respirable crystalline silica addressed across the operation?
Drilling, crushing, and materials handling of silica-bearing rock generate respirable crystalline silica, which is controlled under the mining framework with dust suppression, monitoring, and health surveillance. The SWMS specifies dust suppression and monitoring across the dust-generating activities and aligns with the operator's monitoring programme. Silica is treated as a recognised principal-hazard contaminant, with the source-control and monitoring approach applied across drilling, crushing, and reclaim.