Oyster / Mussel Farm Operations SWMS

Oyster and mussel farm operations across Australian estuaries and coastal leases involve tray-and-longline husbandry, tidal harvest cycles, mechanical grading and on-water transfer of heavy stock-laden infrastructure. The work routinely exposes farm crew to drowning risk in shallow tidal flats, crush injuries from waterlogged trays and baskets, lacerations from sharp shell edges and grading machinery, and cumulative musculoskeletal disorders from repetitive lifting in unstable footing. Because the activity combines work on or adjacent to water, powered plant operation, and manual tasks exceeding repetition and load thresholds, it engages multiple High Risk Construction Work and High Risk Work triggers under WHS Regulation 2025 and corresponding state instruments. A Safe Work Method Statement is mandatory before commencement, must be developed in consultation with workers under s47–s49, and must remain accessible at the lease and processing shed for the duration of the activity. This SWMS template provides the documented hazard identification, hierarchy-controlled risk treatment and sign-on framework required to discharge the PCBU's primary duty of care under s19 of the WHS Act.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — Remove manual basket lifting by transitioning to floating longline systems with mechanical flip-and-haul rigs that keep stock at deck height throughout the husbandry cycle.
2. 2Elimination — Eliminate solo work on leases by mandating two-person crews for all tidal operations, removing isolated worker drowning and entrapment exposure entirely.
3. 3Substitution — Substitute traditional timber trays with lighter HDPE baskets under 15 kg saturated weight to reduce manual handling load below the WHS Code threshold.
4. 4Substitution — Replace fixed-blade shell knives with retractable safety-shielded blades and cut-resistant grading tools rated to EN 388 Level 5.
5. 5Engineering — Install guarded infeed hoppers, interlocked emergency stops and fixed perimeter fencing on graders and tumblers per AS 4024.1 machinery safety requirements.
6. 6Engineering — Fit punt and pontoon decks with non-slip marine-grade tread, perimeter grab rails and self-draining scuppers; provide ringed lifebuoys at 3 m spacing.
7. 7Administrative — Schedule harvest and transfer tasks to daylight ebb-tide windows only; document tide-tables, weather BoM forecasts and abort criteria in the daily pre-start record.
8. 8Administrative — Rotate workers through grading, picking and transfer stations every 90 minutes to disrupt repetitive strain exposure; log rotations on the SWMS sign-on sheet.
9. 9PPE — Issue AS 4758-compliant Level 50 lifejackets worn at all times on water, cut-resistant gloves rated EN 388 Level D, and puncture-resistant marine boots.
10. 10PPE — Provide AS/NZS 1067 wrap-around polarised eyewear, AS/NZS 4399 UPF 50+ long-sleeve shirts, broad-brim hats and SPF 50+ sunscreen reapplied two-hourly.

Applicable Codes of Practice

Worked example

At a coastal estuary lease scheduled for a Tuesday low-tide harvest window, the farm supervisor opens the SWMS on a waterproof tablet at the shed pre-start brief. Three crew members gather around the punt before departure. The supervisor walks through the hazard register, pausing on the drowning and shell laceration entries because forecast water temperature is 14°C and the harvest will run two hours into the rising tide. He confirms each crew member is wearing an AS 4758 Level 50 lifejacket, cut-resistant gloves and marine boots, and ticks the PPE verification line. The Bureau of Meteorology forecast and predicted tide curve are stapled to the SWMS as the day's environmental record. Each worker signs the consultation acknowledgement, including a new casual picker who is briefed on the two-person rule and the abort trigger if wind exceeds 25 knots. Mid-task, the crew encounters heavier-than-expected biofouling, increasing saturated basket weight beyond the 15 kg substitution threshold. The supervisor halts work, returns to the SWMS, escalates to the engineering control of mechanical winch transfer and documents the change in the deviation log before resuming. At shed return, the signed SWMS, deviation note and rotation log are filed in the project register for the statutory retention period.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• AS/NZS 2299 — Occupational diving operations

Frequently asked questions