Working Near & Over Water SWMS
Work near and over water — jetty and pontoon inspection, marine construction supervision, floating plant operation, and emergency rescue planning. Life jacket requirements and man-overboard procedures.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Working near or over water exposes personnel to drowning, cold-water immersion, entrapment under floating plant, and fall-from-height risks that escalate rapidly when rescue response is delayed. This SWMS covers jetty and pontoon inspection, marine construction supervision, floating plant operation (work punts, barges, crane pontoons), and emergency rescue planning across estuarine, harbour, and inland waterway environments. WHS Regulation 2025 classifies work where there is a risk of a person drowning as High Risk Construction Work under Schedule 1, mandating a documented SWMS before work commences. AMSA Marine Orders and the Safe Work Australia Working Near or Over Water Code of Practice 2021 further require documented rescue procedures, life jacket selection per AS 4758, and competent person supervision. Without a compliant SWMS, the PCBU cannot demonstrate consultation, hazard identification, or control adequacy — a direct breach of primary duty under s19 of the WHS Act.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fatal asphyxiation within minutes; PCBU liable under WHS Act s19 for failure to provide rescue means
Aspiration drowning, cardiac arrhythmia, and incapacitation within 60 seconds preventing self-rescue
Crush injury to torso or limbs, internal haemorrhage, and drowning if pinned below waterline
Impact injury, head trauma, loss of consciousness leading to drowning before retrieval
Non-buoyant worker drowns; breach of AS 4758 service requirements and PCBU duty of care
Envenomation, traumatic limb loss, or fatality; rescue response complicated by predator presence
Delayed rescue response exceeding 4-minute survival window; coronial findings against PCBU and supervisor
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Where feasible, complete inspection or fabrication work onshore in dry dock or controlled facility rather than over live water surfaces.
- 2Elimination — Suspend all over-water work when sea state exceeds Beaufort 4, lightning is within 10km, or visibility drops below 500 metres.
- 3Substitution — Replace manual jetty pile inspection with ROV or pole-mounted camera survey to remove worker from over-water exposure entirely.
- 4Engineering — Install compliant edge protection (1m guardrails, mid-rails, toeboards) along all pontoon and jetty perimeters per AS/NZS 1657 clause 5.
- 5Engineering — Deploy rescue nets, scramble nets, and rated ladder access points at maximum 15m intervals along over-water work platforms.
- 6Administrative — Conduct documented pre-start brief covering tides, current, water temperature, and confirm two-way radio comms with shore-based observer before each shift.
- 7Administrative — Maintain minimum two-person buddy system with no lone work; nominate a trained spotter holding current first aid and rescue qualification.
- 8Administrative — Log all personnel on and off vessel or pontoon using muster board; verify headcount every two hours and at shift end.
- 9PPE — Issue AS 4758 Level 100 or Level 150 life jackets with serviced inflation mechanisms; inspect cartridge and bladder before each use.
- 10PPE — Provide thermal immersion suits, cut-resistant gloves, non-slip marine boots, and helmet with chin strap for all personnel within 2m of water edge.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Establishes mandatory rescue planning, life jacket selection, and competent observer requirements for any work with drowning risk.
Specifies buoyancy classification (Level 50, 100, 150, 275), service intervals, and labelling required for compliant PPE selection.
Governs commercial vessel operation including crew competency, safety management systems, and incident reporting for floating plant under 24m.
Defines edge protection geometry, guardrail loading, and ladder access standards for fixed jetty and pontoon structures.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
All tasks occur on, over, or immediately adjacent to navigable water where a fall would result in submersion and drowning risk.
Jetty deck levels, pontoon freeboard, and floating crane platforms commonly exceed 2m above water or substructure at low tide.
PCBU must prepare, consult on, and retain the SWMS for the duration of the work plus a minimum two years following any notifiable incident; penalties for non-compliance are substantial and indexed, with the current maximum following the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Marine construction contractors building jetties and pontoons
- →Port authority maintenance and inspection crews
- →Aquaculture operators servicing offshore pens
- →Dredging and floating plant operators in harbours
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 council-commissioned pontoon refurbishment project in a tidal estuary, the marine works supervisor opens this SWMS at the 6:30am pre-start brief on the work barge. Three deckhands and a dive tender sign on after the supervisor walks through each hazard line — flagging that overnight rainfall has dropped water temperature to 13°C, triggering the cold-water immersion control which requires thermal vests under life jackets that shift. The supervisor confirms each AS 4758 Level 150 jacket has a green-tagged service sticker within twelve months, demonstrates the manual inflation toggle, and verifies the shore-based observer holds a charged VHF radio on channel 73. The rescue plan is rehearsed: man-overboard call, throw bag deployment within 30 seconds, scramble net lowered, and EPIRB-equipped tender launched if retrieval exceeds two minutes. Mid-morning, swell increases as a tug passes the work zone — a deckhand pauses work, references the SWMS sea-state trigger, and the supervisor calls a 20-minute stand-down until wash subsides. The SWMS is amended in the field to add a 50m exclusion zone for passing vessel wash, all four workers re-sign the amendment page, and work resumes. At shift end, the muster board is reconciled, the SWMS filed in the site safety folder, and any near-miss logged for the weekly toolbox review.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces CoP