SWMS generator

AI-drafted SWMS, ready for sign-off.

Describe the job by voice or text. Standardsmate™ identifies the hazards, recommends the controls and drafts a compliant Safe Work Method Statement. You review, sign and export, in minutes instead of the hour a paper template costs you.

Try the SWMS generator free

The free plan covers one SWMS a month. Pro and Business plans run unlimited.

What is a SWMS

Legal cover for high risk construction work.

A Safe Work Method Statement is a legal document required under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for all high risk construction work (HRCW) in Australia. It identifies hazards, assesses risks, and documents the control measures used to carry out the work safely.

Under the WHS Regulations, a PCBU must ensure HRCW is not carried out unless a SWMS is in place and signed by the workers involved. This applies across all states and territories, with specific requirements varying by jurisdiction.

Common tasks that require a SWMS: working at heights above 2 metres, electrical work near live conductors, demolition, confined space entry, working near traffic, and excavation deeper than 1.5 metres.

How a SWMS gets built

Three steps to a signed SWMS.

Voice in, document out. The whole flow takes minutes, not the hour you would lose to a paper template.

Describe the job
Speak it into your phone on site, or type it. Name the activity, the site and anything you already know is a hazard. Plain English, the way you would brief a foreman.
Standardsmate drafts the SWMS
It identifies the hazards, assigns risk ratings, recommends controls down the hierarchy of controls and lists the PPE. Drawn from the WHS Act and WHS Regulations, not guessed.
Review, sign and export
Check the draft, edit anything you want, then collect e-signatures from workers and supervisors on a phone or tablet. Export a branded PDF for the site file.

When is a SWMS required?

A SWMS is not optional paperwork. Under the WHS Regulations, high risk construction work cannot legally start until a SWMS is in place. High risk construction work is a defined list — if the task is on it, the obligation is automatic, and a regulator or principal contractor can stop the job if no SWMS exists.

The categories that require a SWMS include, among others:

  • A risk of a person falling more than two metres
  • Work on or near energised electrical installations
  • Work in or near a confined space
  • Demolition, or the disturbance of asbestos
  • Work in a trench or excavation deeper than 1.5 metres
  • Work near powered mobile plant, traffic or pressurised services

Not sure whether a task counts? That is the question to settle before the job starts — getting it wrong means the work was never compliant. The full guide to Safe Work Method Statements covers what a compliant SWMS must contain, who can prepare it, and how state rules differ.

What a compliant SWMS contains

Four things every SWMS has to do.

The WHS Regulations set the minimum. A document missing any one of these is not a compliant SWMS. Standardsmate™ structures every draft to cover all four.

Identify the work
State the high risk construction work being done, where it happens on site and the activities it covers.
Identify the hazards
Name the health and safety hazards the work creates, and the risks to the workers carrying it out.
Set the control measures
Describe the controls that remove or reduce each risk, worked down the hierarchy of controls.
Show how controls are run
Describe how the controls are put in place, monitored on site and reviewed if the work changes.

Stop filling out SWMS by hand.

The free plan includes one SWMS document a month. Pro and Business plans include unlimited SWMS generation with voice input and e-signatures.

Get started free