A traffic control SWMS (safe work method statement) is the document that sets out the high risk work on a job, what could go wrong and how the crew will control it. This builder walks you through it in five steps, starting from a hazard library written for traffic control, and prints a SWMS laid out like the paper document crews already sign.
It's a starting point. Every SWMS has to fit the actual site and the approved traffic guidance scheme (TGS), and the people doing the work must be consulted. The builder helps with the writing and the layout so your time goes on the site-specific parts.
When traffic control needs a SWMS
Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation, construction work that "is carried out on, in or adjacent to a road… that is in use by traffic other than pedestrians" is high risk construction work (s291(n)). So is construction work in an area where powered mobile plant is moving (s291(o)), which covers most road works with trucks, rollers or excavators.
For high risk construction work, the business (PCBU) must make sure a SWMS is prepared before the work starts (s299(1)). On a construction project, a copy goes to the principal contractor first (s301). If the work isn't being done the way the SWMS says, it must stop immediately or as soon as it's safe, and only restart in line with the SWMS (s300).
NSW and Queensland use the model WHS Regulations, so the clause numbers here match. Victoria uses its own OHS Regulations 2017; a SWMS is still needed for high risk construction work there, and WorkSafe Victoria publishes its own guidance and template. Read more in SWMS for traffic control and traffic management and WHS.
What a SWMS must contain
The builder's step 5 checks your SWMS against these points from s299:
| What the law asks (s299) | Where you cover it in the builder |
|---|---|
| Identify the work that is high risk construction work | Step 1: high risk construction work boxes and the description of the work |
| State the hazards and the risks from them | Step 3: each hazard, rated before controls |
| Describe the measures to control the risks | Step 3: controls in hierarchy order |
| Describe how controls are implemented, monitored and reviewed | Step 4: the monitoring paragraph; step 5: review triggers |
| Take into account the circumstances at the workplace | Step 1: site, road and speed, TGS/TMP reference |
| Be readily accessible and understandable to the people using it | Plain English, short controls, and the sign-on sheet |
It also flags any hazard still rated extreme after controls, a missing person responsible or review date, missing emergency details, and whether you've recorded how workers were consulted.
How the risk rating works
Each hazard gets two ratings on a 5×5 matrix: one before controls and one for the risk left after controls (the residual risk).
- Likelihood: 1 rare, 2 unlikely, 3 possible, 4 likely, 5 almost certain.
- Consequence: 1 insignificant (no injury), 2 minor (first aid), 3 moderate (medical treatment), 4 major (serious injury), 5 catastrophic (death or permanent disability).
The score is likelihood × consequence, and the matrix turns it into a rating: 1–3 low, 4–6 medium, 8–12 high, 15–25 extreme. A struck-by-vehicle hazard rated "possible" and "catastrophic" (3 × 5 = 15) is extreme. Bring the likelihood down to "unlikely" with good controls and it scores 10: still high, because the consequence of being hit doesn't change. The builder shows the matrix in colour and counts how many of your hazards sit in each cell, before and after controls.
The 5×5 matrix is industry convention, not something the law sets. If your company uses a different matrix, use that and keep it consistent across your SWMS, Take 5 and incident forms.
Controls in the hierarchy of control
The WHS Regulation sets the order for managing risk. Eliminate the risk if that's reasonably practicable (s35). If not, minimise it by substitution, isolation or engineering controls, then administrative controls, then PPE (s36). The builder sorts every hazard's controls in that order, so the most effective controls are read first.
For traffic control, that looks like:
- Eliminate: do the work off the road or behind an existing barrier.
- Substitute: portable traffic signals or a boom barrier instead of a controller with a bat.
- Isolate: a TMA or barrier between traffic and the crew; controllers on the shoulder, not in the lane.
- Engineering: lighting towers aimed away from drivers, reversing cameras on plant.
- Administrative: the TGS, sight distance checks, radio procedures, rotation, rest breaks.
- PPE: high-visibility clothing for day or night, boots, sun protection.
If a high risk is controlled only by administrative controls and PPE, the builder prompts you to show what higher-order controls you considered.
Worked example: a stop/slow job in Parramatta
A crew is running stop/slow shuttle flow on a two-lane 60 km/h road for footpath work, day shift, about 8,000 vehicles a day. The supervisor picks set-up and pack-down, stop/slow, manual handling, driving, heat and fatigue, then works through the stop/slow hazard "struck by a vehicle that doesn't stop":
| Step | Before controls | Controls kept or added | After controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | Possible (3) × Catastrophic (5) = Extreme | Unlikely (2) × Catastrophic (5) = High | |
| Substitute | Portable traffic signals at the busy end | ||
| Isolate | Controllers on the footpath with an escape route | ||
| Administrative | 1.5 × D = 90 m sight distance checked at both positions; radio check before start; PREPARE TO STOP signs per the TGS | ||
| PPE | Day high-visibility clothing |
The residual risk is still high, which the builder flags. The supervisor checks the sight distance at each position, confirms the signals, and records the crew's input at the pre-start. Then she prints the SWMS with 12 blank sign-on rows and hands the crew a Take 5 card to complete at their positions.
Review triggers
Under s302, a SWMS must be reviewed and, if needed, revised when its controls are reviewed under s38. Section 38 lists when that must happen:
- a control doesn't control the risk (for example after a near miss or an intrusion)
- before a change at the site likely to create a new or different risk, such as a new TGS, a different speed or a move to night works
- a new hazard or risk is found
- consultation with workers shows a review is needed
- a health and safety representative asks for one
The printed SWMS lists the triggers you ticked and has a review log for the date, the reason, the changes and who reviewed it. Logging every near miss makes the first trigger easy to spot: see near-miss reporting in traffic control.
Keeping, sharing and saving the SWMS
Under s303 you keep the SWMS until the work is finished, or for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident connected with the work. A copy must be readily available to the workers and available for an inspector.
The builder saves as you type in your browser. You can save named copies on the device, download the SWMS as a file and open it again later, or on another computer. Nothing is uploaded to TrafWise. Printing uses your browser's print dialog, so choose "Save as PDF" to email it.
When to get help
Use a WHS professional or your principal contractor's safety team when:
- the work also involves falls over 2 m, trenches over 1.5 m, energised services or work near water
- the job is part of a construction project with its own WHS management plan
- a hazard stays high or extreme after every control you can think of
- you work in Victoria and need the OHS Regulations wording
Heat and fatigue are where SWMS controls most often go stale. The guides on heat stress and fatigue management have controls you can paste straight into step 3.