Guides & Resources
The questions trade businesses actually ask about safety paperwork, answered. SWMS, workplace policies, psychosocial hazards, JSAs, VOCs and management systems.
How it works: buying & downloading
How to choose your SWMS, pick your state, pay securely, and download instantly. Start here.
Are Codes of Practice legally binding?
NSW made Codes of Practice enforceable on 1 July 2026 under section 26A. What changed, and how Victoria and the other states differ.
Psychosocial hazards: what you need to know
What psychosocial hazards are, your WHS duties, and how to manage them. Includes a free pack to get you started.
What are workplace policies?
What policies are, which ones your business needs (WHS, HR, governance), and how they fit your system. Includes a free 41-policy library.
What to do after you download a SWMS pack
The steps between downloading a template and taking it to site: site-specific hazards, controls, the risk matrix, consultation and sign-on.
What is a WHS management system?
What a WHS management system is, what goes in one, how it differs from a SWMS and from ISO 45001, and when a trade business actually needs one.
What is a SWMS?
What a Safe Work Method Statement is, what goes in one, and who prepares and signs it.
How to write your own SWMS
The step-by-step method for writing your own SWMS, and the mistakes that get one knocked back on site.
Do I need a SWMS?
When a SWMS is required: high-risk construction work, principal contractor requests, and state differences.
What is a VOC?
What a Verification of Competency is, why it is not a licence, who can assess and how long it lasts.
What is a JSA?
What a Job Safety Analysis is, what goes in one, and why it is not a legal requirement the way a SWMS is.
What is a risk assessment?
What a risk assessment is, when one is required, how to rate likelihood against consequence, and how it differs from a SWMS.
What is a competent person?
What the term means under work health and safety law, who decides, which tasks are stricter, and why there is no competent person certificate.
What is a PCBU?
Who counts as a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking, what duties apply, and why Victoria uses different wording.
SWMS vs JSA: what's the difference?
How a SWMS, a JSA and an SWP differ, and when to use each on site.
Free SWMS templates: are they any good?
Where free SWMS templates come from, why generic blanks get rejected, and how to get a state-specific one.
High-risk construction work: the 18 categories
The 18 categories of high-risk construction work that require a SWMS, and what each one covers.
SWMS requirements by state
The Act and regulator for NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT and ACT, and why Victoria is different.
Using these templates in your HSEQ / ISO system
Built with document control and HSEQ structure, so they drop into an ISO 9001, 45001 or 14001 system, or work on their own.
Just need the paperwork sorted?
Skip the reading. Grab the SWMS for your trade, written for your state, ready to edit.