Traffic Management SWMS (Construction Sites)

Construction site traffic management governs the controlled interface between site plant, delivery vehicles, workers on foot and the live road corridor adjacent to or passing through the workzone. This work routinely involves traffic controllers deploying stop/slow batons within metres of moving traffic, the erection of temporary signage and barriers under AS 1742.3:2019, and the marshalling of trucks across footpaths and shared zones. WHS Regulation 2025 r.206 makes a documented traffic management plan and a corresponding SWMS mandatory whenever construction work creates a risk of vehicle interaction with workers, and the activity is classified as high risk construction work under section 291 because it occurs in or near a road corridor open to traffic and involves powered mobile plant. Without a current SWMS signed by every controller and operator before shift start, the PCBU is in direct breach of r.291 and exposes workers to one of the highest-fatality hazard profiles in Australian construction.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — Schedule deliveries and concrete pours outside peak traffic windows and, where possible, fully close the carriageway under a road occupancy licence to remove worker-vehicle interaction entirely.
2. 2Elimination — Use off-street loading bays or internal site haul roads so reversing trucks never enter the live traffic corridor or interact with pedestrian footpaths.
3. 3Substitution — Replace human stop/slow controllers with portable boom gates, automated portable traffic signals (PTS) or truck-mounted attenuators (TMA) for high-speed (>60km/h) corridors per AS 1742.3:2019.
4. 4Substitution — Substitute light-vehicle deliveries with consolidated heavy-vehicle drops to reduce total vehicle movements crossing the worker exclusion zone each shift.
5. 5Engineering — Install Type 2 water-filled barriers, crash cushions and reflective delineators at workzone tapers in accordance with AS 1742.3:2019 Section 4 to physically separate workers from traffic.
6. 6Engineering — Provide positive sight-line treatments at egress points including mirrors, CCTV spotters and high-mast lighting compliant with AS/NZS 1158.4 for night operations.
7. 7Administrative — Implement a documented traffic management plan under WHS Reg 2025 r.206, with daily pre-start checks, signed sign-on register, and TCWC/TMI-accredited controllers per state roads authority requirements.
8. 8Administrative — Enforce maximum 2-hour rotation on baton duty, mandatory hydration breaks, and a documented fatigue management procedure aligned with WHS Reg r.39 environmental controls.
9. 9PPE — Issue AS/NZS 4602.1:2011 Class D/N day-night hi-vis garments, hard hats with chinstrap, and safety footwear to AS/NZS 2210.3 for every worker entering the traffic-exposed zone.
10. 10PPE — Supply impact-rated eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1 and Class 5 hearing protection to AS/NZS 1270 where controllers work adjacent to sustained traffic noise above 85dB(A).

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

On a suburban arterial intersection upgrade, the site supervisor opens the pre-start brief at 6:30am with the day's traffic controllers, the excavator operator and two concrete truck drivers expected on site. Using this SWMS, the supervisor walks the crew through the seven listed hazards, focusing on the high-priority risks of controller strike and reversing-truck blind spots given the morning peak begins at 7:15am. The crew confirms the AS 1742.3:2019-compliant taper layout drawn on the attached site diagram, identifies that the eastern egress has restricted sight distance due to a parked skip bin, and selects the engineering control of repositioning the bin plus deploying a second spotter — both noted as adjustments in the SWMS amendment column. Each worker signs on, including a visiting electrician who is briefed separately. At 10:40am, wind gusts displace a Type 2 advance warning sign; the lead controller halts traffic, re-erects and ballasts the sign per the SWMS administrative control, and records the deviation in the daily diary. At shift handover, the afternoon controller signs onto the same SWMS, reviews the morning's amendments, and the document continues as the live control record — exactly as WHS Reg 2025 r.291 requires for HRCW.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• AS 2550 — Cranes, hoists and winches; AS 1418 series

Frequently asked questions