Site Set-Up for Demolition SWMS
Pre-demolition site establishment covers perimeter hoarding install, public exclusion zones, services disconnection (gas, water, electrical), asbestos identification register, and WorkCover notification for Class A and B demolition.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Site set-up for demolition is the critical establishment phase where the contractor takes control of a site prior to any structural removal. This work involves erecting perimeter hoarding, defining public and worker exclusion zones, disconnecting and isolating live services (gas, water, electrical, telecommunications), compiling and verifying the asbestos identification register, and submitting WorkCover or equivalent regulator notifications for Class A (friable) and Class B (non-friable) demolition. Under WHS Regulation 2025, demolition work is classified as High Risk Construction Work (HRCW) under Schedule 1, which makes a documented Safe Work Method Statement legally mandatory before any worker steps onto site. The set-up phase carries disproportionate risk because services may be live, asbestos may be disturbed during inspection, and adjacent public infrastructure remains exposed until hoarding is sealed. A compliant SWMS controls these exposures from day one.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Electrocution, cardiac arrest, severe burns, fatality, and prosecution under WHS Reg 2025 s140 for failure to verify isolation
Inhalation of respirable fibres causing mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer with 20-40 year latency period
Public injury or fatality from falling debris, plant strike, civil liability and criminal prosecution of PCBU
Fractures, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury or fatality from unprotected edge or scaffold failure
Crush injuries, run-over fatality, particularly during reversing and blind-spot manoeuvres on confined urban sites
Explosion, flash fire, asphyxiation in confined service pits and prosecution under Gas Safety Regulations
Acute lumbar strain, disc herniation, crush injuries to hands and feet from dropped panels exceeding 25kg
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Remove the need for at-height hoarding work by specifying ground-mounted modular fence panels with pre-cast concrete feet wherever site geometry permits.
- 2Elimination — Eliminate live service exposure by requiring full utility disconnection and written authority-to-work from network operator before any site worker enters the property.
- 3Substitution — Substitute manual asbestos sampling with licensed asbestos assessor undertaking inspection using remote camera tools and bulk sampling under controlled wet methods.
- 4Engineering — Install Class A solid hoarding minimum 1.8m high with overhead gantry where public footpath is within 3m, complying with AS 4687-2022 Temporary Fencing and Hoardings.
- 5Engineering — Use lockable utility isolation cages, tagged switchboards and physical blanking plates on gas and water mains to prevent reconnection during establishment.
- 6Engineering — Deploy spotter-controlled exclusion zones with hard barriers when mobile plant operates within 5m of pedestrians, per AS 2601-2001 Demolition of Structures.
- 7Administrative — Issue daily pre-start briefings referencing this SWMS, confirm asbestos register sign-off, and verify WorkCover notification lodged minimum 5 days before Class B demolition commences.
- 8Administrative — Maintain permit-to-work system for all service disconnections, signed by licensed electrician, plumber and gas fitter prior to physical isolation.
- 9PPE — Issue P2 disposable respirators, Type 5 coveralls, cut-resistant gloves and safety eyewear for any inspection within suspected asbestos-containing material zones.
- 10PPE — Provide hi-vis Class D/N garments, steel-cap boots, hard hats compliant with AS/NZS 1801, and fall-arrest harnesses for any hoarding work above 2m.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Mandates pre-demolition survey, service disconnection sequencing, exclusion zones and notification thresholds for Class A and B demolition activities
Requires asbestos identification register, licensed removalist engagement for friable material, and air monitoring prior to demolition commencement
Specifies structural performance, wind loading, height and access control requirements for Class A solid hoarding on public-interface demolition sites
Establishes SWMS preparation, consultation, review and retention duties for all High Risk Construction Work including demolition set-up activities
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Hoarding panel installation, gantry erection and signage fixing routinely require workers to operate on stepladders, scaffolds or platforms above 2 metres
Service identification and isolation requires workers to interact with live mains, switchboards and underground cables until network operator confirms disconnection
Hoarding delivery vehicles, mobile cranes, telehandlers and excavators operate concurrently with on-foot site establishment crews in confined zones
PCBU must prepare, consult workers on, and retain the SWMS for the duration of the work plus 2 years after a notifiable incident. Penalties for non-compliance are substantial and indexed; current maximum follows the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Principal contractors managing Class A and B demolition projects
- →Licensed demolition contractors mobilising urban infill sites
- →Site supervisors overseeing pre-demolition establishment crews
- →WHS managers preparing regulator notifications and SWMS packs
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
On a four-storey commercial strip-out and demolition project in a mixed-use precinct, the site supervisor convenes a pre-start briefing on day one of establishment. Six workers are present: two riggers, a licensed electrician, a plumber, a gas fitter and a labourer. The supervisor opens this Site Set-Up for Demolition SWMS on a tablet and walks through each identified hazard. Workers confirm the asbestos register has been received from the licensed assessor and that two ceiling tile locations on Level 2 are flagged as non-friable ACM requiring exclusion until removal. The supervisor then assigns the electrician to verify mains isolation using the permit-to-work attached to the SWMS, and confirms the gas fitter has the network operator authority-to-work in hand. Hoarding installation is sequenced to occur after the rear laneway is closed by traffic control, eliminating pedestrian interaction. Each worker signs the SWMS sign-on register. Two hours into the shift, a courier attempts to access the rear gate during a crane lift; the supervisor halts work, reviews the mobile plant interaction control with the spotter, and adds a secondary swing-gate lock as an immediate corrective action. The amendment is recorded on the SWMS revision log, workers re-sign, and the task resumes under the updated control.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces CoP