Shaft Sinking SWMS
Vertical shaft excavation by drill-blast, raise bore, or shaft sinking jumbo. Stagework, ground support, hoisting safety, confined-space classification at depth.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Shaft sinking excavates a vertical or steeply inclined shaft downward from the surface, by drilling and blasting or mechanical excavation, supporting the shaft walls, and removing the spoil up the shaft, to provide access, ventilation or haulage for an underground mine or tunnel. The vertical geometry makes shaft sinking distinctively hazardous: everything and everyone is suspended or working at the bottom of a deep, narrow excavation, so falling objects and materials down the shaft, falls of persons into the shaft, the failure of hoisting and access systems, and the management of the shaft-wall support and any water inflow all carry severe consequences. The work also has the underground hazards of atmosphere, respirable crystalline silica, diesel particulate and, where used, explosives. This document is written on the basis that shaft sinking is carried out under rigorous control of the vertical hazards — hoisting, falling objects, fall prevention and shaft support — alongside the underground atmosphere and silica controls.
Shaft sinking engages several high risk construction work categories under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations — work in or near a shaft with an excavated depth greater than 1.5 metres, work involving a tunnel, work in or near a confined space, work in a contaminated or flammable atmosphere, a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, and where blasting is used the use of explosives — so a safe work method statement is required before the work commences, kept readily accessible, and given to the principal contractor if one is appointed. Where the rock is silica-bearing the work is high-risk processing of a crystalline silica substance, and diesel particulate is controlled against its standard. This document coordinates the hoisting, falling-object, fall-prevention, shaft-support, atmosphere and silica controls so the shaft is sunk safely.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fatal impact injury to workers at the shaft bottom from falling objects
Fatal fall into the deep shaft from unprotected edges
Fall of the conveyance or load, and entrapment, from hoisting failure
Collapse of the shaft wall onto workers at the bottom
Inundation and engulfment from an uncontrolled inflow
Silicosis and respiratory disease from sustained underground inhalation
Carcinogenic diesel exhaust exposure compounding the dust burden underground
Asphyxiation, poisoning or explosion in the confined underground atmosphere
Premature initiation, misfire and post-blast fumes in the confined shaft bottom
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Engineering: control falling objects down the shaft — edge protection and toe boards at the collar and working levels, exclusion of the shaft bottom during hoisting, secured loads and tools, and protective coverings — so nothing falls onto workers below.
- 2Engineering: a designed and maintained hoisting and access system for the shaft — the headframe, winder, kibble or conveyance, and guides — inspected and operated to standard, with fall-prevention and arrest for persons at the collar and in the shaft.
- 3Engineering: shaft-wall support designed by a competent person and installed as the shaft advances, with monitoring of the shaft walls and management of any water inflow up the shaft.
- 4Engineering: forced underground ventilation designed to dilute and remove respirable crystalline silica, diesel particulate, dust and other contaminants and maintain a safe atmosphere, with continuous atmospheric monitoring.
- 5Engineering: control respirable crystalline silica at the source — wet drilling and cutting, water suppression and dust capture — supported by ventilation, to keep airborne silica below the exposure standard, monitored against the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m3 (eight-hour TWA), reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026.
- 6Engineering: low-emission or filtered underground plant and ventilation to control diesel particulate matter, monitored against the diesel particulate matter exposure standard, currently 0.1 mg/m3 (eight-hour TWA, sub-micron elemental carbon), with a Workplace Exposure Limit of 0.01 mg/m3 (respirable elemental carbon) from 1 December 2026.
- 7Administrative: where the shaft is sunk by drill and blast, a defined drill-charge-blast-re-entry cycle, a licensed shotfirer, a misfire-management procedure, compliance with the explosives legislation, and ventilation to clear post-blast fumes before re-entry.
- 8Administrative: prepare a SWMS before the work for the tunnel and confined space high risk construction work, apply the confined space entry and atmospheric controls and permits, and where the work is high-risk processing of a crystalline silica substance, a silica risk control plan with air and health monitoring.
- 9Administrative: air monitoring for respirable crystalline silica against the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m3 (eight-hour TWA), reframed as a workplace exposure limit from 1 December 2026, and for diesel particulate, dust and gases, with health monitoring for workers carrying out high-risk silica work and records retained.
- 10Administrative: a documented underground emergency response and rescue capability — refuge, self-rescuers where required, communication and rescue arrangements — briefed to all workers.
- 11Administrative: all workers must hold a valid White Card (General Construction Induction Training, CPCCWHS1001) before entering any construction workplace, with underground, confined space and tunnelling competencies verified as applicable.
- 12Administrative: conduct a pre-shift toolbox talk covering the day's work, ground and atmospheric conditions, the controls, plant movements, required PPE and emergency and rescue procedures, and record attendance in the consultation section.
- 13Administrative: consult workers and health and safety representatives on the work and its risks, record the consultation, and keep this document available at the workplace.
- 14PPE: underground 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.
- 15Administrative: review and update this SWMS 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 national model code for tunnelling work, covering ground control, atmosphere, ventilation, emergency and the management of underground hazards.
Excavation, shaft and ground-support controls for the excavated openings and access shafts of the tunnelling work.
Atmospheric testing, ventilation, entry permit and rescue controls for the confined underground workings, shafts and chambers.
The risk assessment, silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring duties where the work generates respirable crystalline silica.
Selection, fit testing and use of P2, powered and supplied-air respiratory protection for the silica, dust, diesel particulate and atmospheric hazards of the underground work.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Sinking a shaft is work in or near a shaft far exceeding 1.5 metres, which is high risk construction work requiring a SWMS before the work commences.
The shaft bottom and the shaft itself, which may be oxygen-affected or have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere, bring the work within the confined space category and its controls.
The deep shaft presents a fall risk far exceeding 2 metres from the collar and working levels, bringing the work within this category and driving the fall-prevention controls.
This is tunnelling work, which engages the high risk construction work categories above under the model WHS Regulations, 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. Tunnelling is carried out to the model Tunnelling work Code of Practice and a rigorous regime of ground control, ventilation and emergency preparedness, and the confined space, excavation and, where relevant, explosives controls apply. 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. An incident in a tunnel can trap and kill workers with limited means of escape, and breaches of the primary duty of care under the model WHS Act 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
- →Shaft-sinking crews excavating and supporting vertical shafts.
- →Hoisting and winder operators and riggers serving the shaft.
- →Licensed shotfirers where the shaft is sunk by drill and blast.
- →Tunnelling and geotechnical engineers designing shaft support and hoisting.
- →Project managers and supervisors overseeing the shaft SWMS and the vertical-hazard controls.
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 PCBU name, ABN, site address, project name, principal contractor details, and document revision date.
- ✓Hazard register with the shaft sinking hazards — each with a documented consequence, inherent risk rating on a 5x5 likelihood-consequence matrix, hierarchy-of-control measures, and residual risk rating.
- ✓Falling-object and shaft-collar protection prompts, a hoisting and access system section, a shaft-support and water-management section, and silica, atmosphere and blasting control fields.
- ✓Confined space entry, atmospheric-monitoring and underground emergency and rescue prompts, and a silica risk control plan aligned to the model crystalline silica Code of Practice referencing the 0.05 mg/m3 exposure standard.
- ✓Competency, ticket and induction verification fields, and a respiratory protection selection and fit-test record per AS/NZS 1715.
- ✓Worker consultation record per the model WHS Act consultation duty and a worker sign-on register (blank, expandable).
- ✓Applicable legislation and Codes of Practice schedule pre-populated for the model WHS jurisdiction with a state-variance reference table covering the harmonised states, plus Victoria.
- ✓Emergency procedure template and a revision log.
Worked example
A crew is sinking a vertical shaft from the surface to provide access for an underground project, excavating by drill and blast, supporting the shaft walls and hoisting the spoil up the shaft. Because the work is in a deep shaft, involves a tunnel and confined space, presents a fall risk far exceeding 2 metres, and uses explosives, a SWMS is prepared and the explosives work complies with the explosives legislation. Falling objects are controlled with edge protection and toe boards at the collar and working levels, exclusion of the shaft bottom during hoisting, secured loads and tools, and protective coverings. The hoisting and access system — headframe, winder, kibble and guides — is designed, inspected and operated to standard, with fall-prevention and arrest for persons at the collar and in the shaft. Shaft-wall support is designed by a competent person and installed as the shaft advances, with the walls monitored and water inflow managed. Wet drilling and forced ventilation control the silica, diesel particulate and gases, the blast cycle is controlled with a licensed shotfirer and misfire management, and post-blast fumes are cleared before re-entry. Air monitoring tracks silica and diesel particulate with health monitoring for exposed workers, and a rescue capability is in place. The SWMS and 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, the confined space provisions, and where relevant the crystalline silica high-risk processing, silica risk control plan, air monitoring and health monitoring provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Model Codes of Practice — Tunnelling work; Excavation work; Confined spaces; and Managing risks of respirable crystalline silica in the workplace (2025).
- Where blasting is used, the explosives legislation governs the licensing and authorisation of shotfirers and the storage, transport and security of explosives; and the diesel particulate matter exposure standard, 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, applies underground.
- Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, with the high risk construction work, tunnelling and confined space provisions applying in place of the model instruments.
Frequently asked questions
Why is shaft sinking distinctively hazardous?
The vertical geometry means everything and everyone is suspended or working at the bottom of a deep, narrow excavation, so falling objects and materials down the shaft, falls of persons into the shaft, failure of the hoisting and access systems, and shaft-wall and water management all carry severe consequences, alongside the underground hazards of atmosphere, silica, diesel particulate and explosives. It engages several high risk construction work categories at once.
How are falling objects controlled in a shaft?
Through edge protection and toe boards at the collar and working levels, exclusion of the shaft bottom during hoisting, securing loads and tools so they cannot fall, and protective coverings, so that nothing falls down the shaft onto workers below. Falling objects down a deep shaft can be fatal, so preventing material entering the shaft is a primary control.
What makes the hoisting system critical?
Workers, spoil and materials move up and down the shaft on the hoisting and access system — the headframe, winder, kibble or conveyance and guides — so a failure can cause a fall of the conveyance or load and entrapment. The system is designed, inspected and operated to standard, with fall-prevention and arrest for persons, because the shaft has no alternative means of vertical movement.
Is shaft sinking high-risk silica work?
Where the rock is silica-bearing, excavating and processing it is high-risk processing of a crystalline silica substance, so a silica risk control plan is prepared, wet drilling and forced ventilation control the silica, and air monitoring against the 0.05 mg/m3 standard with health monitoring for exposed workers applies, in addition to the shaft, confined space and fall controls.
What categories apply to shaft sinking?
Shaft sinking engages the shaft-or-trench-over-1.5-metres, tunnel, confined space, contaminated-or-flammable-atmosphere, fall-over-2-metres and, where blasting is used, explosives high risk construction work categories, so a SWMS is required before the work begins, with the vertical-hazard controls — hoisting, falling objects and fall prevention — central to the safe method.