Mine Shotcrete & Ground Support SWMS
Wet-mix shotcrete application, ground bolt installation, mesh and strap installation. RCS, alkaline rebound, and entanglement around delivery line.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Mining shotcrete and ground support installs the ground-support system that keeps underground excavations stable — rock bolts, mesh, cable bolts and sprayed concrete, or shotcrete, applied to the rock surface to support and confine the ground. It is fundamental to underground safety, but the work itself carries serious hazards: working under ground that is not yet supported, the high-pressure spraying of shotcrete and the rebound and dust it generates, the respirable crystalline silica liberated by the cement and aggregate, and the plant used to place support and spray concrete. This document is written on the basis that ground support is installed under a support plan in a controlled sequence that keeps workers out from under unsupported ground, and that the shotcrete process is controlled for silica, rebound and the spraying hazards.
Shotcrete and ground support is governed by the dual mining regime: under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations underground work, confined space work and movement of powered mobile plant are high risk construction work requiring a safe work method statement; under the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations ground or strata instability is a principal mining hazard requiring a principal mining hazard management plan, with a ventilation control plan for the underground mine. Crucially, spraying shotcrete is processing of a crystalline silica substance, so the respirable crystalline silica controls apply, and diesel particulate matter from the spraying and support plant is controlled against its standard. This document coordinates the ground-support-sequence, silica, rebound, shotcrete and ventilation controls so the ground is supported without exposing workers to unsupported ground or to uncontrolled silica.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Rock fall and fatal crushing before or during support installation
Silicosis and respiratory disease from the high-silica shotcrete process
Impact and eye injury from the spray nozzle and rebounding concrete
High airborne dust and silica concentrations without ventilation
Carcinogenic diesel exhaust exposure in the underground atmosphere
Crush, entanglement and high-pressure-line failure injuries
Skin and eye burns and respiratory irritation from alkaline accelerators
Musculoskeletal injury from heavy support materials and hoses
Accumulation of dust, silica and diesel particulate underground
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Engineering: install ground support to a support plan in a controlled sequence — mechanised or remote installation and scaling so workers are not under unsupported ground, with the support designed for the ground conditions by a competent person.
- 2Engineering: control respirable crystalline silica from the shotcrete process — wet-mix spraying to reduce dust, dust suppression and capture, and forced ventilation of the spraying area to keep airborne silica below the standard.
- 3Engineering: manage rebound and the high-pressure spray — nozzle and line controls, exclusion of non-essential workers from the spray zone, and inspection of high-pressure shotcrete lines and couplings.
- 4Engineering: forced underground ventilation to a ventilation control plan that removes dust, silica and diesel particulate, with monitoring of the atmosphere and the diesel particulate matter exposure standard, currently 0.1 mg/m3 as an eight-hour time-weighted average measured as sub-micron elemental carbon, with a Workplace Exposure Limit of 0.01 mg/m3 measured as respirable elemental carbon applying from 1 December 2026.
- 5Administrative: prepare a principal mining hazard management plan for ground or strata instability, a silica risk control plan for the high-risk processing of a crystalline silica substance, and a SWMS for the high risk construction work.
- 6Administrative: air monitoring for respirable crystalline silica against the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m3 (eight-hour time-weighted average), reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026, with exceedances reported to the regulator and diesel particulate, with health monitoring for workers carrying out high-risk silica work and records retained.
- 7Administrative: manage shotcrete accelerators and admixtures to their safety data sheets with skin, eye and respiratory protection, and train workers in the support sequence and silica controls.
- 8Administrative: all workers must hold a valid White Card (General Construction Induction Training, CPCCWHS1001) where construction work applies, and the mining inductions, statutory tickets and competencies required for the mine before entering the operation.
- 9Administrative: conduct a pre-shift toolbox talk covering the day's work, the principal mining hazards and their controls, atmospheric and ground conditions, plant movements, required PPE and emergency procedures, and record attendance in the consultation section.
- 10Administrative: consult workers and health and safety representatives on the work and its risks, record the consultation, and keep this document and the relevant plans available at the operation.
- 11PPE: underground or site high-visibility clothing, head protection, eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1, hearing protection matched to the measured noise, gloves, and Class I or Class II safety footwear with protective toecap to AS/NZS 2210.3.
- 12Administrative: review and update this SWMS and the relevant principal mining hazard management plan whenever the work, the ground or atmospheric conditions, the plant or the controls change, after any incident or near miss, when a worker or health and safety representative raises a concern, or at minimum every 12 months.
Applicable Codes of Practice
The mining-specific regulations requiring identification of principal mining hazards and a principal mining hazard management plan for each, within the mine safety management system.
The risk management process and hierarchy of controls applied to the principal mining hazards of the work.
The risk assessment, silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring duties where the work generates respirable crystalline silica.
Controls and the exposure standard for the high noise levels generated by mining and processing plant.
Selection, fit testing, use and maintenance of the respiratory protection required for the dust, diesel particulate, silica and atmospheric hazards of the work.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
The underground excavation being supported, which may be oxygen-affected or have a contaminated atmosphere, brings the work within the confined space category and its atmospheric, ventilation and rescue controls.
Shotcrete spraying rigs and support-installation plant operate in the excavation, bringing the work within this category and driving the plant-and-pedestrian separation controls.
This work is governed by the dual mining regime. Under the model WHS Regulations it is high risk construction work — engaging the categories above — so a SWMS must be prepared before the work commences, kept readily accessible, reviewed as necessary, and given to the principal contractor if one is appointed. Under the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations the mine operator must identify the principal mining hazards relating to ground or strata instability and the respirable crystalline silica of the shotcrete process and prepare a principal mining hazard management plan for each, within the mine safety management system. Where the work generates respirable crystalline silica, the silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring duties apply, with the exposure standard reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026. Mining incidents in this category can be catastrophic, and breaches of the primary duty of care under the model WHS Act and the mines legislation are actively enforced, with offence categories running from failure-to-comply through to reckless conduct, and the most serious breaches carrying imprisonment for individuals. Body-corporate maxima are substantial and indexed; the current maximum follows the prevailing schedule of the responsible regulator.
Who this is for
- →Underground ground-support and shotcrete crews.
- →Shotcrete sprayers and pump operators.
- →Rock-bolting and cable-bolting crews.
- →Geotechnical engineers designing the ground-support system.
- →Mine managers and supervisors overseeing the ground-instability principal mining hazard management plan, the silica risk control plan and the SWMS.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word document (.docx) fully compatible with Microsoft Word 2016 and newer, Google Docs, and LibreOffice Writer.
- ✓Title page with editable fields for the mine operator and PCBU name, ABN, site address, project name, principal contractor details, and document revision date.
- ✓Hazard register with the mining shotcrete ground support hazards — each with a documented consequence, inherent risk rating on a 5x5 likelihood-consequence matrix, hierarchy-of-control measures, and residual risk rating.
- ✓Ground-support sequence and scaling prompts, a shotcrete silica and rebound control section, a silica risk control plan aligned to the model crystalline silica Code of Practice, and ventilation and air-monitoring record fields.
- ✓Principal mining hazard management plan reference prompts and, where relevant, a silica risk control plan aligned to the model crystalline silica Code of Practice referencing the 0.05 mg/m3 exposure standard.
- ✓Competency, statutory-ticket and induction verification fields, and a respiratory protection selection and fit-test record per AS/NZS 1715.
- ✓Worker consultation record and a worker sign-on register (blank, expandable).
- ✓Applicable legislation and Codes of Practice schedule pre-populated for the model WHS and mines jurisdiction with a state-variance reference table covering the harmonised states, plus Victoria.
- ✓Emergency procedure template and a revision log.
Worked example
An underground mine is installing ground support — rock bolts, mesh and sprayed shotcrete — to stabilise an excavation. Because the work is underground in a potentially confined atmosphere with spraying and support plant, and spraying shotcrete is processing of a crystalline silica substance, a SWMS is prepared, a principal mining hazard management plan for ground or strata instability and a silica risk control plan are in place, with a ventilation control plan for the mine. Support is installed to a support plan in a controlled sequence with mechanised installation and scaling so workers are not under unsupported ground, and the support is designed for the ground conditions by a competent person. Respirable crystalline silica from the shotcrete is controlled with wet-mix spraying, dust suppression and capture, and forced ventilation of the spraying area. Rebound and the high-pressure spray are managed with nozzle and line controls, exclusion of non-essential workers, and inspection of high-pressure lines. Forced ventilation removes dust, silica and diesel particulate, and air monitoring tracks crystalline silica and diesel particulate against their standards, with health monitoring for silica-exposed workers. Shotcrete accelerators are managed to their safety data sheets with skin and eye protection. The plans, SWMS and monitoring records are retained.
Related legislation
- Model Work Health and Safety Act — primary duty of care; the duty to consult workers; the reckless-conduct offence; and notifiable-incident provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Model Work Health and Safety Regulations — Section 291 high risk construction work and the SWMS preparation and review duties, and where relevant the crystalline silica high-risk processing, silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation / Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations — identification of principal mining hazards, principal mining hazard management plans, the mine safety management system and, for underground mines, ventilation control plans, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Exposure standards: respirable crystalline silica 0.05 mg/m3 (eight-hour TWA), reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026; respirable dust and, in coal, the lower coal-mine dust standard; and diesel particulate matter, currently 0.1 mg/m3 (sub-micron elemental carbon) with a Workplace Exposure Limit of 0.01 mg/m3 (respirable elemental carbon) from 1 December 2026.
- Victoria, and other jurisdictions, operate their own mining safety and work health and safety legislation; in Victoria the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Regulations 2017 and the relevant mining instruments apply in place of the model instruments.
Frequently asked questions
Why is ground support both a safety control and a hazard?
Ground support — rock bolts, mesh, cable bolts and shotcrete — is fundamental to keeping underground excavations stable, but installing it requires working near ground that is not yet supported, and the shotcrete process generates high-pressure spray, rebound and respirable crystalline silica. So it is installed in a controlled sequence that keeps workers out from under unsupported ground, with the shotcrete hazards controlled.
Is shotcreting high-risk silica work?
Yes. Spraying shotcrete is processing of a crystalline silica substance because the cement and aggregate liberate respirable crystalline silica, and in the confined underground space the dust can accumulate. A silica risk control plan is prepared, wet-mix spraying, dust suppression and forced ventilation control the silica, and air monitoring against the 0.05 mg/m3 standard with health monitoring for exposed workers applies.
How are workers kept safe from unsupported ground?
Ground support is installed to a support plan in a controlled sequence, using mechanised or remote installation and scaling so workers are not positioned under unsupported ground, with the support designed for the ground conditions by a competent person. Working under unsupported ground is the dominant rock-fall hazard, so the installation sequence is engineered to control it within the ground-instability principal mining hazard management plan.
What are the hazards of the shotcrete spray itself?
The high-pressure spray, rebound and ejected concrete can cause impact and eye injury, and the shotcrete accelerators and admixtures are alkaline and can cause skin and eye burns and respiratory irritation. These are controlled with nozzle and line controls, exclusion of non-essential workers from the spray zone, inspection of high-pressure lines, and managing the accelerators to their safety data sheets with appropriate protection.
What plans govern shotcrete and ground support?
Under the mines regulations the operator prepares a principal mining hazard management plan for ground or strata instability, with a ventilation control plan, and because shotcreting is high-risk silica processing a silica risk control plan is prepared, while a SWMS is required under the model WHS Regulations. Air monitoring covers crystalline silica and diesel particulate, with health monitoring for silica-exposed workers.