Steel & Metal Fabrication SWMS Templates

Yes. Under Part 6.3 of the WHS Regulation 2025, structural alterations requiring temporary support and work performed at heights of two metres or more are both classified as high-risk construction work (HRCW). Steel erection typically involves both triggers simultaneously, meaning a SWMS must be prepared, signed off by the PCBU, and available for inspection before work starts. The SWMS must identify hazards, document control measures aligned to the hierarchy of control, and be reviewed if controls are revised or an incident occurs.

Workshop plant operation is not automatically HRCW under the WHS Regulation 2025, but the Code of Practice for Managing the Risks of Plant requires documented safe operating procedures, guarding assessments and lockout/tagout for press brakes, guillotines and shears. Most fabricators issue a SWMS or equivalent safe work procedure because of crush, amputation and laser-curtain bypass risks. If the press brake work is performed as part of a construction project on-site, then SWMS obligations under Part 6.3 do apply.

A SWMS is a legally mandated document under WHS Regulation 2025 section 299 for high-risk construction work, with prescribed content: hazards, controls, how controls are implemented, monitored and reviewed. A JSA (Job Safety Analysis) is a broader risk assessment tool with no fixed legal format. For structural steel erection on a construction site, you must have a compliant SWMS — a JSA alone will not satisfy the regulator. For workshop-only fabrication, a JSA may suffice unless plant-specific procedures are required.

Yes, where the work involves structural welding. AS/NZS 1554.1 requires welders to hold current qualification certificates matching the weld procedure specification (WPS) being used. The SWMS should document the verification step — checking welder tickets, WPS availability and inspection hold points — as part of the control measures for weld defect and structural failure hazards. Sites under AS 4100 supervision will also require weld category (SP or GP) confirmation in your documentation.

Foundry pouring and drop forging performed in a fixed workshop are governed by general WHS Regulation 2025 duties — particularly Chapter 3 risk management and Chapter 7 hazardous chemicals — rather than Part 6.3 construction provisions. However, if the products are installed on a construction site, the install phase becomes HRCW. PCBUs should issue task-specific safe work procedures for molten metal handling, hot metal splash, silica exposure and noise, referencing AS/NZS 1715 for respiratory protection and the Managing Noise Code of Practice.