Obras Onsite
Free check · structure, not adequacy

Is your SWMS actually complete?

Most rejected SWMS fail on the same handful of things, and none of them are the hazard list. This checks whether the document contains what a SWMS is required to contain — and tells you which bits are missing.

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This is not an approval or a compliance determination. A green result means nothing on this list is outstanding — it is not a sign-off, an audit, or advice that you comply with anything. The decision belongs to the competent person responsible for the work. This checks structure, not whether your controls are adequate for the work. A SWMS can tick every box here and still be wrong for the job. Only the competent person who knows the site can judge that.
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Where SWMS actually get rejected

Almost never on the hazards. They get rejected because the document is generic — no site name, no actual plant listed, controls copied from a template that has nothing to do with this job. Or because there is no evidence anyone consulted the workers doing the work, which is a requirement, not a courtesy. Or because there is no statement of how the controls will be implemented, monitored and reviewed — a list of controls is not a method. That last one catches almost everybody.

Questions

Does passing this mean my SWMS is compliant?

No. It means the structure is there. Whether the controls are adequate for your actual work is a judgement only the competent person on the job can make, and no tool can do it for you.

What is the most commonly missing item?

How the control measures will be implemented, monitored and reviewed. Most SWMS list controls and stop. The requirement goes further than the list.

Does this apply in Victoria?

Victoria runs the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations rather than the model WHS Regulations, and its requirements for a safe work method statement differ. The items here are broadly what a SWMS is expected to carry, but confirm against your own jurisdiction.

What makes a SWMS site-specific?

The site name, the actual tasks, the actual plant, the actual people, and controls that could not simply be lifted onto another job. If it would read identically on any site, it is a template rather than a SWMS.

Related free tools

HRCW checkerIs a SWMS required for this work at all? SWMS finderWhich SWMS you need for the work on site. What goes in a SWMSThe written guide. Review remindersCatch the one that lapses quietly.

A SWMS that proves it is current

Every Obras SWMS carries a QR band. Scan it on the deck and the live record shows the current approved revision — so the copy in the folder can prove it is the copy that is approved.

See Obras in action Take a free SWMS

This is a practical site-management tool. It is not legal, engineering or regulatory advice and does not guarantee compliance or a satisfactory inspection outcome. Requirements may vary by jurisdiction, project, contract and circumstances.

Want a person to look at it?

The tools above are free and yours to use. When you need the paperwork behind them reviewed by someone who has run sites, Obras HSE Services is a live consulting business in south-east Queensland.