Concrete cutting SWMS: what to include
Most concrete cutting and core drilling jobs touch at least one category of high risk construction work, so most of them need a safe work method statement (SWMS) before the saw starts. This guide covers what a SWMS must contain, the hazards particular to sawing and drilling, the silica rules for concrete, and a checklist. It is general information drawn from Safe Work Australia and regulator guidance, not legal advice, and your state or territory regulator has the final word.
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When a SWMS is required
Under the model WHS Regulations a SWMS is required for high risk construction work, and Safe Work Australia's SWMS information sheet lists 18 activities. Cutting crews meet several regularly: work on or near energised electrical services or pressurised gas mains, demolition of a load-bearing element, structural alterations needing temporary support, work in or near a confined space or a trench deeper than 1.5 metres, a risk of falling more than 2 metres (3 metres in some jurisdictions), work beside a road in use by traffic, and work among moving powered mobile plant.
Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice: Construction work (November 2024) says the business carrying out the high risk work must prepare the SWMS, or make sure one has been prepared, before that work starts. On a construction project (work worth $250,000 or more, with a principal contractor) a copy must be given to the principal contractor before the work starts, and the principal contractor must take reasonable steps to obtain it. One SWMS can cover several high risk activities on the same job.
Work that is not high risk construction work does not need a SWMS, but you still have to manage its risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Victoria is not a model WHS jurisdiction. It runs its own OHS Act and the OHS Regulations 2017, with a similar SWMS requirement and its own wording, so check WorkSafe Victoria's guidance if you work there. Other regulators publish their own guidance too.
What a SWMS must contain
The Code of Practice sets four things every SWMS must do. Everything else is good practice.
- Identify the work that is high risk construction work, for example "wall sawing a new opening in a load-bearing wall, level 3".
- Specify the hazards relating to that work and the risks to health and safety they create.
- Describe the measures that will control those risks. The Code warns against wording that leaves the decision to the crew, such as "use appropriate PPE". Name the control: "P2 respirator, fit tested, worn inside the barricaded zone".
- Describe how the control measures will be implemented, monitored and reviewed, and who is responsible for each.
- Good practice, according to Safe Work Australia's SWMS template: the business name and contact details, the principal contractor, the site address, the date prepared and the date given to the principal contractor, who was consulted, the person responsible for compliance, and a review date.
Concrete cutting hazards and controls to describe
Common hazards for a sawing or drilling SWMS, with example controls. Your own job and site set the real list.
| Hazard | What can go wrong | Controls to describe |
|---|---|---|
| Silica dust | Fine dust from cutting, coring, grinding and chasing | Wet cutting or on-tool extraction to a suitable vacuum, exclusion zone, fit-tested respirators, wet clean-up instead of dry sweeping |
| Buried and embedded services | Cutting live cables, gas or water lines in a slab or wall | Scanning or service location, site permit, isolation confirmed, stop if not confirmed |
| Structural integrity | A section moves or drops as the cut finishes | Engineer's instructions, propping checked before cutting, cut sequence agreed |
| Falling cores and slabs | A core or block falls to the floor below | Exclusion zone below, cores caught, blocks supported and lifted with plant |
| Kickback and binding | A blade or bit binds and throws the saw or twists the drill | Right blade and bit, rig anchored, guards fitted, wedges in long cuts |
| Water and slurry | Slips, water into electrics, slurry into drains or below | Containment and vacuum recovery, RCDs, disposal agreed with the site |
| Power and water supply | Damaged leads, hoses across walkways | Tested and tagged leads, RCDs, protected routes |
| Noise and vibration | Hearing damage, hand-arm vibration | Quieter equipment, hearing protection, rotating tasks |
| Manual handling | Lifting saws, rails, cores and cut blocks | Lifting aids, team lifts, block sizes to suit the plant |
| Heights and edges | Falls through new openings or off suspended slabs | Barricades or edge protection, covers over cores, harnesses |
General examples only. Safe Work Australia notes that noise and manual tasks need not be written into the SWMS, but they still have to be managed.
Silica dust rules for cutting concrete
From 1 September 2024, the model WHS Regulations strengthened the rules for crystalline silica substances: any material with 1% or more crystalline silica, which Safe Work Australia says includes concrete. Its model Code of Practice: Managing risks of respirable crystalline silica in the workplace lists "brick, concrete or stone cutting" as an example of processing.
Under that Code, processing must be controlled with at least one of: isolating people from the dust, an enclosed filtered cabin, effective wet dust suppression, effective on-tool extraction, or effective local exhaust ventilation. Anyone still at risk must be given, and must wear, respiratory protection. You also have to assess whether the processing is high risk. If it is, you need a silica risk control plan, nationally accredited or regulator-approved crystalline silica training for the workers involved, and training records kept for 5 years after a worker leaves. The Code says that when the high risk processing is part of construction work, a SWMS can stand in for the silica risk control plan, provided it covers everything the plan must contain.
Safe Work Australia's silica duties page sets the workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica at 0.05 mg/m3 as an eight-hour time weighted average, with air monitoring required where you are unsure whether it is exceeded, and health monitoring for workers doing ongoing processing where there is a significant risk to health. The standards become Workplace Exposure Limits from 1 December 2026, so check the current figure.
The engineered stone ban that started on 1 July 2024 covers engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs. It does not cover cutting in-situ concrete: Safe Work Australia's engineered stone ban page says engineered stone does not include concrete and cement products. The general silica rules above still apply to concrete. In Victoria the equivalent rules sit in Part 4.5 of the OHS Regulations 2017, where high risk crystalline silica work needs a crystalline silica hazard control statement, and WorkSafe Victoria says that statement can be incorporated into a SWMS. Confirm the detail with your own regulator.
Concrete cutting SWMS checklist
Run your SWMS against these before it goes to the builder.
- Each high risk construction work category that applies on this job is named.
- The tasks are listed in the order the crew will do them: set-up, scanning, propping, cutting or coring, removal, clean-up.
- Every hazard has a control that a crew member can check, with no "as required" or "appropriate" wording left in.
- Services: how they are located, who confirms isolation, and what happens if they cannot be confirmed.
- Structure: who decided the propping, when it is checked, and the agreed cut sequence.
- Silica: the dust control used for each task (wet cutting or on-tool extraction), the respirator type, and how slurry and dust are cleaned up.
- If the processing is assessed as high risk: everything a silica risk control plan needs is in the SWMS, and crystalline silica training is recorded for each worker.
- Exclusion zones above, below and around the work, including the floor below a slab.
- Workers were consulted, and each worker on the job has read it and signed against the current version.
- Emergency arrangements for this site: first aid, the nearest hospital and how to stop the job.
Signatures, versions and reviews
A SWMS works only if the crew on the job have read the version that matches the job.
- 01
Consult before you finalise
The Code requires workers, and their health and safety representative if there is one, to be consulted when a SWMS is prepared and when it is reviewed, for example at a toolbox talk.
- 02
Sign against the version in use
Signatures are a common way to record that each worker has read the SWMS. Record which version they signed, because a signature on last year's document says nothing about what changed.
- 03
Stop if the work does not match
If work is not being done in accordance with the SWMS, the Code says it must stop immediately or as soon as it is safe, and not resume until it can be. Review the SWMS before restarting.
- 04
Review when controls change
Review the SWMS when a control is revised or stops working (an incident or near miss often shows this), before a change on site that brings a new risk, when a new hazard is found, and when a health and safety representative asks. Tell the crew and the principal contractor, and have the crew sign the new version.
- 05
Keep every version
Keep the SWMS, accessible to the crew and available for inspection, until the high risk work is finished, or for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident. The Code recommends keeping every revised version, and a SWMS can be kept electronically.
Where Core Docket fits
SWMS, Take 5, toolbox talks, site packs and pre-starts are included in Core Docket at no extra cost.
Your own SWMS, signed on the phone
Upload the PDF or Word SWMS you already have, or write one from a template. The crew sign on their phone against the version they read. More on SWMS and pre-starts.
A new version asks again
A new version asks the crew to sign again and keeps the old signatures. Signing can be every job, once a day or only when the document changes.
Stop questions on the docket
A safety question on the digital docket can stop the crew going further, for example a "No" to "Services located?" can stop the docket with an instruction to call the site manager.
One plan, everything included
There is one plan with every feature in it, with no tiers and no add-ons. Safety costs nothing extra, and new features and updates are free as soon as they are available.
Questions
Does every concrete cutting job need a SWMS?
A SWMS is required when the job includes high risk construction work as defined in the WHS Regulations, such as work near energised electrical services or gas mains, demolition of load-bearing elements, temporary propping, or work beside live traffic. Many cutting and coring jobs meet at least one of these. Work that is not high risk construction work does not need a SWMS, but its risks still have to be managed.
Can I use one generic SWMS for all our cutting jobs?
Safe Work Australia's Code of Practice allows a generic SWMS for work you do regularly, but it must be reviewed for the hazards at each specific workplace and revised as needed. A generic SWMS used unchanged on every site may not meet the requirements.
Does the engineered stone ban apply to cutting concrete?
The ban covers engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs, and Safe Work Australia says engineered stone does not include concrete and cement products. Cutting and drilling concrete is still covered by the crystalline silica rules that took effect from 1 September 2024 under the model WHS Regulations.
Can our SWMS be our silica risk control plan?
Safe Work Australia's silica Code of Practice says that where high risk processing of a crystalline silica substance is part of construction work, a SWMS can be used in place of a silica risk control plan, as long as it includes everything the plan must contain. In Victoria, WorkSafe says the crystalline silica hazard control statement can be incorporated into a SWMS.
How long do we have to keep a SWMS?
Under the model WHS Regulations a SWMS must be kept until the high risk construction work is finished, or for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident connected with that work. Safe Work Australia recommends keeping every revised version, and a SWMS can be kept electronically.
Read next
- SWMS and pre-startsSWMS, Take 5, toolbox talks and equipment pre-starts signed on the crew's phones, included in Core Docket at no extra cost.
- Concrete cuttingHow Core Docket works for concrete cutting businesses: the crew's docket on the phone, a rate card that prices saw cuts and core holes, and invoices into your accounting suite.
- Core drillingHow Core Docket works for core drilling and diamond drilling businesses: core holes priced by diameter band and depth, digital job sheets signed on site, and invoices into your accounting suite.
- Choosing job softwareA buyer's guide for trade businesses with a crew in the field and an office that invoices: what to check before choosing job software, the questions to ask any vendor, and how to run a fair trial. Written by Core Docket.
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