Traffic Controller SWMS
Traffic controller duties on construction sites and roadworks — stop/slow bat operations, site entry control, worker and public traffic management.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Traffic controller work involves directing vehicles and pedestrians around construction zones, roadworks, utility excavations, and site access points using stop/slow bats, verbal direction, and approved traffic guidance schemes. Controllers operate within live traffic streams — frequently at speeds exceeding 60 km/h — placing them in one of the highest-risk exposure positions on any construction or civil project. WHS Regulation 2025 classifies any work conducted in the vicinity of traffic as High Risk Construction Work under section 291, mandating a documented Safe Work Method Statement before commencement, signed by every worker undertaking the activity. The SWMS must identify exposure to plant and vehicle strike, document compliant traffic guidance schemes per AS 1742.3:2019, and demonstrate controller competency through endorsed accreditation. Without a compliant SWMS, the PCBU breaches primary duty of care under WHS Act s19 and exposes workers to mechanism-of-injury scenarios with a documented fatality rate among the highest in the construction sector.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Catastrophic blunt-force trauma, polytrauma, traumatic brain injury or fatality from impact at posted road speeds
Driver fails to perceive controller in time to stop, resulting in high-speed strike and fatal trauma
Heat exhaustion progressing to heat stroke, syncope, cognitive impairment causing signalling errors and secondary collisions
Crush injury from reversing trucks, excavators or rollers operating in the controller's blind spot
Psychological injury, assault, intentional vehicle strike from frustrated motorists in extended queues
Reduced driver perception-reaction distance leading to late braking, loss of vehicle control and strike injuries
Delayed signalling, microsleeps, impaired hazard recognition increasing strike risk and traffic management scheme failure
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Where feasible, fully close the road or use portable traffic signals or boom gates to remove the human controller from the live traffic stream entirely.
- 2Elimination — Schedule works during off-peak or night closures with full detour routing to eliminate live traffic interaction at the work face.
- 3Substitution — Replace manual stop/slow bat control with portable traffic signal systems (PTSS) compliant with AS 4191 for sites exceeding two-day duration.
- 4Substitution — Substitute single-lane shuttle control with two-way contraflow using temporary concrete barriers where road geometry permits per AGTTM Part 3.
- 5Engineering — Install Type 1 or Type 2 temporary barriers, water-filled barriers, or truck-mounted attenuators (TMAs) upstream of the controller per AS 1742.3:2019.
- 6Engineering — Position controller with minimum sight distance per AGTTM tables for prevailing speed, plus advance warning signs, speed reduction sequence and tapers.
- 7Administrative — Implement traffic guidance scheme (TGS) signed off by accredited TGS designer, with documented controller rotation every 30 minutes maximum.
- 8Administrative — Verify controller holds current state-endorsed Traffic Controller accreditation and conduct pre-start briefing using this SWMS with all sign-ons recorded.
- 9PPE — Class D/N day-night high-visibility garment compliant with AS/NZS 4602.1:2011, retroreflective at all angles, replaced when faded or contaminated.
- 10PPE — Wide-brim hat under hard hat, UV-rated safety glasses, sturdy lace-up safety boots to AS/NZS 2210.3, hydration pack and two-way radio for crew communication.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Mandates written SWMS for work in the vicinity of traffic, with worker consultation, on-site availability and stop-work triggers when controls fail.
Specifies sign sequence, taper lengths, controller positioning, sight distance and device standards forming the engineered basis of the TGS.
Provides risk-based selection of traffic management measures, controller placement criteria and competency framework referenced by state road authorities.
Defines Class D/N garment performance for day-night controller exposure, directly satisfying PPE control layer under WHS Reg 2025 s44.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Traffic controllers stand directly within or adjacent to live trafficable lanes by definition, satisfying the section 291 category criterion in full.
PCBU must prepare, consult workers on, and retain the SWMS for the duration of the work plus any incident period; penalties are substantial and indexed, with the current maximum following the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Traffic management companies servicing civil and roadworks contracts
- →Civil contractors on local government road maintenance projects
- →Utility contractors performing in-road service excavations
- →Principal contractors managing site access on urban construction projects
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 suburban water main renewal project requiring single-lane closure on a 60 km/h arterial road, the site supervisor convenes a pre-start brief at 6:30am with the traffic controller, pipe crew and excavator operator. The SWMS is opened on a tablet and projected against the crew truck. The supervisor walks through each hazard line — pausing on vehicle strike, sight distance and heat stress given the forecast 34°C day. The controller confirms her endorsed accreditation card, signs on digitally against the SWMS, and the crew agrees to a 25-minute rotation rather than the documented 30-minute maximum due to the heat. Engineering controls are verified on-site: advance warning signs at the AS 1742.3 distance, a 40 km/h speed reduction sequence, taper cones placed, and a truck-mounted attenuator positioned upstream. Mid-morning, a near-miss occurs when a vehicle fails to stop fully. The controller activates the documented stop-work trigger in the SWMS, the supervisor attends, and they jointly amend the control measure to add a second advance Prepare to Stop sign and extend the taper. The amendment is recorded on the live SWMS, re-briefed to the crew, and all workers re-sign before recommencement — demonstrating the document functioning as a live risk management tool rather than a shelf compliance artefact.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- AS 1742.3 — Traffic control devices for works on roads
Frequently asked questions
Do traffic controllers need their own SWMS?
Yes. Standing in or beside a live trafficable lane is work carried out on or near a road or traffic corridor in use by traffic other than pedestrians, which is high risk construction work under s291. A SWMS must therefore be prepared before the shift and signed by every worker doing the activity, under s299. It has to name the actual exposure — plant and vehicle strike — document the traffic guidance scheme under AS 1742.3:2019, and show controller competency through current state-endorsed accreditation. A generic site SWMS that mentions traffic in passing does not discharge the duty for the person holding the bat.
How often must a controller be rotated off the bat?
The documented maximum in this SWMS is 30 minutes, and crews are expected to shorten it when conditions demand. Static standing in hi-vis under direct sun produces heat exhaustion and then cognitive impairment, and an impaired controller signals late — which is how a heat hazard becomes a strike hazard. The worked example has a crew agreeing to 25-minute rotations on a forecast 34 degree day rather than running the documented maximum. Hydration packs, a wide-brim hat under the hard hat and UV-rated safety glasses are specified alongside the rotation, not instead of it.
When should we use portable traffic signals instead of a person?
Whenever you can, and specifically for sites running longer than two days, where the document substitutes portable traffic signal systems compliant with AS 4191 for manual stop and slow bat control. The elimination controls go further: full road closure, boom gates, or scheduling under off-peak or night closures with detour routing, all of which remove the human from the live traffic stream entirely. A controller is a person standing in front of traffic, so the hierarchy of control is not satisfied by better PPE — it is satisfied by not needing the controller in that position at all.
How is the controller's position chosen?
By sight distance for the prevailing speed, taken from the Austroads temporary traffic management tables and paired with the AS 1742.3 advance warning sequence, speed reduction steps and taper. Curves, crests and intersection approaches are the recognised failure points, because a driver who cannot see the controller in time cannot stop in time. Upstream protection is added through Type 1 or Type 2 temporary barriers, water-filled barriers or a truck-mounted attenuator, and the traffic guidance scheme itself is signed off by an accredited designer rather than sketched on site.
What happens after a near miss?
The SWMS carries a stop-work trigger, and using it is the point. In the worked example a vehicle fails to stop fully, the controller activates the trigger, the supervisor attends, and together they amend the controls — adding a second advance Prepare to Stop sign and extending the taper. The amendment is recorded on the live document, re-briefed and re-signed by all workers before work restarts. You receive the template as an editable Microsoft Word DOCX bought once, and it only does its job if it is treated that way on the day rather than filed at induction.
Document details
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