SWMS: when and how

A Safe Work Method Statement is a document that describes high-risk construction work, the hazards involved, and how you'll control them. It's a Work Health and Safety requirement in every state and territory of Australia for certain types of work. Karven generates SWMS from your quote inputs because the information needed is mostly already there.

When you legally need a SWMS

If the work involves any of these activities (the list is from the model WHS Regulations), you need a SWMS before work starts:

• Work at heights of 2m or more
• Work near energised electrical
• Work in confined spaces
• Demolition (load-bearing)
• Work involving asbestos
• Tilt-up or precast concrete
• Work near traffic where vehicles aren't separated by physical barriers
• Use of explosives
• Work near pressurised gas mains
• Work near chemical or fuel lines
• Work below ground level (excavations 1.5m+, tunnels, shafts)
• Work in or near water where there's drowning risk
• Diving work

If you're a domestic builder doing a kitchen reno, you usually don't need a SWMS for the whole job, but you might need one for the day you're up on the roof flashing a new range hood vent.

When you don't strictly need one but should have one

For a lot of trades, SWMS are a contractual requirement rather than a strict legal one. Most principal contractors, commercial sites, and government clients will require a SWMS for any sub-trade on site, even for low-risk work. Easier to have one ready than to be turned away from site at 6am.

How Karven generates it

From an open quote, click Generate SWMS. Karven looks at:

• The trade (which determines the relevant hazards).
• The job inputs (heights, materials, location).
• Your business profile (insurance, licence, qualifications).
• Your saved hazard-control library.

It produces a draft SWMS with:

• Job description, derived from the quote line items.
• A hazard register, populated with the standard hazards for the trade plus any specific ones triggered by your inputs (e.g. "Working at heights" if any line item references "first floor").
• Controls for each hazard, in the order: elimination → substitution → engineering → admin → PPE.
• A sign-off page for everyone on the crew.

You review the draft, edit the parts that don't apply, add anything site-specific, then hit Issue. Karven generates the final PDF and emails it to whoever needs a copy (you, the principal contractor, the customer if requested).

Editing the hazard library

Settings → Compliance → SWMS library.

You'll see Karven's defaults grouped by hazard category. You can add your own hazards (e.g. "specific local-council noise restriction zone") and your own control measures. Anything you add becomes available the next time Karven generates a SWMS.

High-risk work licences

Some activities (operating a forklift, rigging, scaffolding) require a high-risk work licence. Karven doesn't generate licences, you have to have one. But if you've added your HRWL details to your business profile, Karven includes them on every SWMS PDF, which most principal contractors require.

Site-specific vs trade-generic

A SWMS has to be site-specific. A generic "deck-building SWMS" you've had on file for three years doesn't cut it legally and increasingly doesn't cut it on site either. Karven addresses this by:

• Anchoring the SWMS to the specific quote (job address, customer, dates).
• Asking you a short list of site-specific questions when you generate ("Is there overhead power within 5m of the work? Is the site occupied during works?").
• Including those answers in the document.

The result is a document that's defensibly site-specific without you having to write it from scratch.

Crew sign-off

The SWMS isn't complete until everyone working under it has signed. Karven offers two ways:

• In-app. Each crew member gets a Karven link, ticks the boxes confirming they've read it, signs with their finger or mouse.
• Printed. You print the PDF and have signatures on paper. You can then scan/photo it back into Karven for the record.

Either way, Karven stores the signed document against the job, with audit timestamps.

Revisions

If site conditions change, a new hazard appears, you bring on a new sub, issue a revision. Karven preserves the original signed SWMS in the audit log and tracks who's signed the new one. You can't just edit an issued SWMS; you have to revise it. That's a feature, not a bug.

After the job

Karven keeps SWMS for seven years (in line with most state retention requirements). You can export the full pack for an audit in one click.

What Karven doesn't do

Karven isn't a substitute for actually knowing how to do the work safely. The hazard library reflects common-sense controls; it's not a guarantee. If you've never worked at heights and you're about to start, talk to your insurer and your licensing body, not just a SWMS generator.