Non-Entry Rescue Plan Template
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Rescue arrangements are not something a confined space crew improvises after an entrant collapses — under Part 4.3 of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) and AS 2865 they must be established before any person enters, must be capable of being initiated immediately, and must not depend on the arrival of emergency services. This plan documents those arrangements for a specific space, completed before the entry permit is issued. It exists because of one pattern: most multiple-fatality incidents in wastewater confined spaces are would-be rescuers. A worker collapses, a colleague goes in to help without protection, and the same atmosphere takes them both. The rescue method here is retrieval from outside — the entrant wears a full-body harness attached to a retrieval line running to a winch on a tripod or davit rigged at the opening, so the standby person recovers them without entering.
The plan runs to ten sections: purpose and scope, why non-entry, a space-specific details table completed before entry (asset ID, space description and depth, opening size and orientation, anchor and rigging point, retrieval equipment, emergency services access, site address for the 000 call, nearest hospital and the associated permit number), the four site roles plus emergency services, a pre-entry equipment verification checklist, a nine-step rescue procedure, a retrieval-failure escalation section, emergency contacts, a rescue drill record and a plan verification sign-off. Scope boundary: this is the non-entry retrieval plan for a wastewater confined space — sewer, maintenance hole, wet well, pump station chamber, treatment plant tank, channel or digester. Entry rescue by a trained team wearing supplied-air respiratory protection is expressly a separate procedure and is not authored here. Authored for New South Wales. Regulator: SafeWork NSW.
Hazards identified
12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Multiple fatalities; the rescuer removes the only person who could have retrieved the first casualty
Death; the atmosphere that caused the collapse acts in minutes and emergency services cannot arrive inside that window
A retrieval system that cannot pass a limp, harnessed body through the opening is not a rescue system; the casualty stays in the space
No means of retrieval at the moment it is needed, or an anchor that fails under load during recovery
Nobody sees the entrant collapse and nobody is at the winch to retrieve them
The entrant is inside the space with no connection to the retrieval system; recovery requires an entry
Emergency services arrive late or unprepared for an atmospheric confined space casualty
H2S at high concentration can cause collapse within a breath or two; an oxygen-deficient atmosphere gives no warning at all
Retrieval fails while the atmosphere is unchanged, and the pressure to make an unprotected entry peaks
Secondary exposure of the first aider; a barrier device is required
A further casualty in the same space during the response
A plan that has never been rehearsed on the real opening geometry is untested and can fail on the day
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Establish rescue arrangements before any person enters, capable of being initiated immediately and never dependent on the arrival of emergency services — completed for the specific space before the entry permit is issued.
- 2Make the rescue method non-entry retrieval: entrant in a full-body harness, retrieval line attached to the dorsal point before entry, winch on a tripod or davit rigged at the opening, and recovery operated from outside the space.
- 3Never enter to rescue. The atmosphere that incapacitates the first person will incapacitate the second; a rescuer without supplied air is not performing a rescue, they are becoming the second casualty.
- 4Check the opening before the permit is issued — confirm the harnessed entrant and a limp body can pass through it. Where the opening or internal geometry prevents vertical retrieval, reassess the entry rather than proceeding on the assumption that it will work.
- 5Post a standby person outside the space for the entire entry, in constant communication with the entrant, monitoring the atmosphere and conditions, taking on no other duties and entering under no circumstances.
- 6Have the permit issuer or competent person verify, before the permit is issued, that the rescue system is rigged, functional and appropriate to the specific space.
- 7Verify the rescue equipment functional before every entry against the checklist: tripod or davit assembled and stable, winch rated for personnel retrieval and free to operate, full-body harness (AS/NZS 1891.1) inspected and in date, personal gas monitor calibrated and bump tested, communication system tested with the entrant, first aid and resuscitation capability on site.
- 8Keep supplied-air respiratory protection available for any planned entry rescue, and permit entry rescue only by a trained team wearing supplied air, with their own retrieval line and a second standby person, under the supervisor's direction.
- 9On any emergency, raise the alarm and call 000 immediately, stating 'confined space rescue', the site address and access route, and the gas suspected — then retrieve on the line from outside.
- 10Keep the space clear during the response and post someone at the opening if necessary; this is the point at which second fatalities occur.
- 11Where retrieval fails, still do not enter without supplied air — a snagged line does not change the atmosphere. Continue ventilating at maximum rate, escalate to 000 stating the casualty is trapped, and record the readings and time of collapse for the incoming crews.
- 12Move the casualty to fresh air upwind and away from the opening, resuscitate using a barrier device if trained, hand over to emergency services with the gas readings, substance, time of collapse and exposure duration, and do not re-enter until the atmosphere is re-tested and the incident is under control.
- 13Notify SafeWork NSW immediately — a confined space incident, gas exposure or asphyxiation is a notifiable incident — and preserve the site so far as is reasonably practicable. Ensure workers hold a current White Card (CPCCWHS1001) where on a construction site, together with confined space entry, standby person and permit issuer competencies, and test the arrangements by practical drill on the actual asset rather than by assumption.
- 14Consult workers on the plan per Section 47 of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW), record the consultation, and review whenever the space, asset, access geometry, equipment or personnel change, after any incident, near miss or drill that identifies a shortcoming, and at minimum every 12 months (Section 302 where the plan supports a SWMS).
Applicable Codes of Practice
The benchmark for rescue arrangements established before entry, the standby person, and emergency procedures capable of immediate initiation.
The first aid and resuscitation capability the plan requires on site, including barrier devices for a casualty who may have H2S in the airway.
Hydrogen sulphide and biogas as hazardous chemicals — the atmospheres this rescue plan exists to answer.
The technical standard underpinning rescue arrangements, standby person duties and retrieval from outside the space.
The full-body harness the entrant wears and to which the retrieval line is attached, referenced in the equipment verification checklist.
Selection, use and performance of the supplied-air respiratory protection required for any entry rescue beyond non-entry retrieval.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
The entry this plan protects is into a sewer, maintenance hole, wet well, pump station chamber, treatment plant tank, channel or digester — an enclosed structure not intended for human occupancy, with restricted entry and egress and a hazardous atmosphere. Where that entry is construction work, it is high risk construction work and a SWMS is required; this rescue plan is the Part 4.3 instrument the SWMS references.
Part 4.3 of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) requires rescue arrangements to be established before any person enters a confined space. They must be capable of being initiated immediately, must be appropriate to the specific space, and must not depend on the arrival of emergency services — a plan that amounts to calling 000 and waiting is not compliant, because the atmospheres involved act in minutes. Those duties apply to every confined space entry independently of construction status: routine operational entry by a water utility carries them just as fully as construction work. Where the entry is construction work it is also high risk construction work under Section 291, so a SWMS must be prepared before work commences (Section 299) and reviewed as necessary (Section 302) — but the SWMS references the rescue plan, it is not the rescue plan. Separately, under Sections 35 to 38 of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW), a confined space incident, a gas exposure, an asphyxiation or a serious injury requiring immediate treatment is a notifiable incident: SafeWork NSW must be notified immediately on becoming aware of it and the site preserved so far as is reasonably practicable. A death arising from an entry with no established rescue arrangements is prosecuted as a Category 1 or Category 2 offence, with the most serious breaches carrying imprisonment for individuals.
Who this is for
- →Local councils and water utilities operating sewer networks, sewage pump stations and wastewater treatment plants.
- →Confined space standby persons, entrants, permit issuers and supervisors acting as rescue coordinators.
- →Water and wastewater maintenance crews, treatment plant operators and network controllers who enter chambers, wells and tanks.
- →Civil, drainage and pipeline contractors required to produce rescue arrangements before entry under contract to a utility.
- →WHS managers and HSE advisors responsible for confined space rescue arrangements, drills and emergency response across a wastewater system.
What you receive
- ✓A complete, editable non-entry rescue plan authored for New South Wales — the WHS Act 2011 (NSW), the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW), Part 4.3, AS 2865 and SafeWork NSW as regulator.
- ✓Purpose and scope covering every wastewater confined space — sewer, maintenance hole, wet well, pump station chamber, treatment plant tank, channel and digester — and a 'why non-entry' section stating plainly why the second person into the space becomes the second casualty.
- ✓A space-specific rescue details table completed before entry: asset ID, space description and depth, opening size and orientation, anchor and rigging point, retrieval equipment (winch make and model, line length, rated capacity), nearest emergency services access, site address for the 000 call, nearest hospital and the associated entry permit number.
- ✓The opening test written into the plan — confirmation that a limp, harnessed body can pass through, and a direction to reassess the entry before the permit is issued where geometry prevents vertical retrieval.
- ✓Five defined roles — standby person, entrant, permit issuer or competent person, supervisor or rescue coordinator, and emergency services as a support to the plan and never the plan itself.
- ✓A nine-item rescue equipment verification checklist with Yes / N/A columns, covering the tripod or davit, personnel-rated winch, retrieval line to the harness dorsal point, AS/NZS 1891.1 harness, personal gas monitor, supplied air for any entry rescue, communications, first aid and resuscitation, and a phone with reception plus the written site address.
- ✓A nine-step rescue procedure from recognition through alarm, retrieval from outside, keeping the space clear, casualty care with a barrier device, handover to emergency services and immediate notification of SafeWork NSW.
- ✓A retrieval-failure escalation section for a snagged or entangled line, an emergency contacts table (000, supervisor, network controller, after-hours control room, first aider, SafeWork NSW 13 10 50, Poisons Information Centre 13 11 26), a rescue drill record with retrieval times, a plan verification sign-off and a review clause with Section 47 consultation.
- ✓Microsoft Word (.docx) format, unbranded, editable fields for the asset, site, equipment, contacts, verification and review date.
Worked example
A NSW council crew is sent to a sewage pump station wet well to clear a blockage. They hold a confined space SWMS and an entry permit, they gas test properly, and the readings are clear. The tripod is on the truck but nobody rigs it, because the entrant is only going down for a few minutes and the ladder is right there. He descends, disturbs the sludge blanket at the base, and H2S released from the disturbed material puts him on the floor of the well inside a breath or two. His workmate looks down, sees him not moving, and does what almost everyone does — climbs down to get him. Two minutes later there are two casualties and nobody on the surface at all. Emergency services arrive twenty-five minutes after the call and cannot enter either until they have supplied air rigged. Nothing in the SWMS stopped this, because a SWMS documents a method and references the rescue arrangements without being them. This plan is what stops it: the retrieval line is attached to the harness dorsal point before the entrant's boots leave the surface, the tripod and personnel-rated winch are verified rigged and functional on a checklist the permit issuer signs, the standby person stays at the opening with no other duties, and the procedure's first two words are 'do not enter'. The recovery takes seconds and it happens from outside, which is the only place a rescue in that atmosphere can be performed from.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — Section 19 primary duty of care; Section 47 consultation with workers on the plan; Sections 35-38 notifiable incidents (a confined space incident, gas exposure or asphyxiation is notifiable to SafeWork NSW immediately).
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — confined spaces (Part 4.3): rescue arrangements established before entry, capable of immediate initiation and not dependent on emergency services, plus the entry permit, atmospheric monitoring and standby person duties, applying to every confined space entry independently of construction status.
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Section 291 (high risk construction work, including work in or near a confined space) and Section 299 (preparation and content of a SWMS), with review under Section 302 where this plan supports a SWMS.
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — hazardous chemicals (Part 7.1) and the workplace exposure standard for hydrogen sulphide, the atmosphere this rescue plan most often answers.
- AS 2865 (Confined spaces), AS/NZS 1891.1 (fall-arrest harnesses and ancillary equipment) and AS/NZS 1715 and 1716 (respiratory protective equipment) for any entry rescue on supplied air.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't our rescue plan just be to call 000?
Because the arrangements must be capable of being initiated immediately and must not depend on the arrival of emergency services. Hydrogen sulphide at high concentration can cause collapse within a breath or two, and an oxygen-deficient atmosphere gives no warning at all — a casualty on the floor of a wet well does not have the twenty or thirty minutes a response takes, and arriving crews cannot enter either until they have supplied air rigged. Emergency services are in this plan, and 000 is called at step 2 of the procedure, but they are a support to the plan and never the plan itself. The thing that recovers the casualty is the retrieval line that was attached before entry.
We already have a confined space SWMS. Doesn't that cover rescue?
No. A SWMS documents the method and references the rescue arrangements — it is not them. The rescue duty sits in Part 4.3 of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) and applies to every confined space entry whether or not the entry is construction work, so routine operational entry by a utility carries it in full even where no SWMS is required at all. This plan is the space-specific instrument the SWMS points to: the details of this asset, this opening, this rigging point, this winch, these contacts, verified and signed before the permit is issued.
Does buying this document make us compliant?
No. It is a documentation set, not compliance. You will still need to complete the space-specific details for your actual asset, physically rig and verify the tripod, davit and personnel-rated winch, hold in-date harnesses and calibrated gas monitors, train and brief a standby person who stays at the opening, and drill the plan on the real asset and time it — the drill record is in the document precisely because a plan that has never been rehearsed on the actual opening geometry is untested. What you get is the documented arrangements, authored to NSW law, so the remaining work is implementation rather than drafting.
What does the plan say to do if the retrieval line snags and the casualty can't be recovered?
Still do not enter without supplied air — a snagged or entangled line does not change the atmosphere that put the entrant down. The plan directs you to continue ventilating the space at maximum rate, which is the single most useful thing that can be done from outside, escalate to 000 immediately stating that the casualty is trapped and retrieval has failed, and record the gas readings and the time of collapse for the incoming crews. Entry rescue may then be attempted only by a trained team wearing supplied-air respiratory protection, with their own retrieval line and a second standby person, under the supervisor's direction. That entry-rescue procedure is a separate document and is not authored here.