Fuel Tanker Loading & Unloading SWMS
Bulk fuel road tanker loading and unloading at depots, service stations and bulk customers — site arrival and chock / bond, vapour-recovery connection, bottom / top loading, ADG / dangerous-goods placard verification, spill control, static dissipation, post-transfer disconnect.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Fuel tanker loading and unloading covers the transfer of bulk fuel at depots, service stations, and bulk customers — site arrival and chocking and bonding, vapour-recovery connection, bottom or top loading, dangerous-goods placard verification, spill control, static dissipation, and post-transfer disconnection. The work brings together two independent High-Risk Construction Work triggers: work in or near a flammable or contaminated atmosphere from the Class 3 flammable liquid and its vapour, and work on a pressurised system in the bottom-loading and vapour-recovery connections. A documented safe system of work is required before the transfer begins.
The controlling hazard is the flammable fuel vapour. Petrol and many other fuels are Class 3 dangerous goods whose vapour forms an explosive mixture with air, and the loading and unloading operation generates vapour and carries a static-ignition risk during the high-flow transfer. A single ignition event at a loading gantry or a forecourt can be catastrophic. The transport, handling, and placarding follow the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, the flammable-liquid storage and handling follows AS 1940, and the static, bonding, and vapour-recovery controls follow the fuel-industry standards and the hazardous-chemicals framework.
This SWMS is jurisdiction-neutral within Australia and written to the model WHS framework. Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017 — check the VIC-specific variant for the local equivalents of the duties and codes cited here.
Hazards identified
12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fire or explosion causing fatal burn and blast injury if fuel vapour ignites at the loading gantry, tanker, or receiving tank during the transfer.
Ignition of the flammable atmosphere from a static discharge during high-flow loading if the tanker and equipment are not bonded and earthed.
Large flammable-liquid spill creating a fire, environmental, and slip hazard if a tank is overfilled or a connection fails during transfer.
Fuel spray, injection, or vapour release if a pressurised bottom-loading or vapour-recovery connection is opened or fails under pressure.
Narcosis, irritation, and chronic exposure effects from inhaling petrol and fuel vapour during connection, transfer, and disconnection.
Drive-away or roll-away tearing the transfer connection and releasing fuel if the tanker is not chocked and immobilised during the transfer.
Serious fall injury when accessing the top of the tanker for top loading or hatch inspection without fall protection.
Dermatitis, defatting, and eye irritation from skin and eye contact with fuel during connection, disconnection, and spill handling.
Musculoskeletal injury manoeuvring heavy loading hoses, couplings, and vapour-recovery connections.
Sprain, fracture, or fall on a fuel-contaminated loading pad or forecourt.
Delivery of the wrong product into a tank, creating a contamination and potentially a safety hazard, if compartments and grades are not verified.
Struck-by injury from other vehicles or members of the public at a forecourt or depot during the transfer.
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Eliminate ignition sources in the transfer zone — no smoking, no naked flame, engine off where required, mobile phones and non-rated electrical items prohibited, and only equipment rated for the flammable atmosphere used in the hazardous zone.
- 2Bond and earth the tanker and the loading or receiving system before any transfer to dissipate static, and maintain the bond throughout the transfer, controlling flow rates to limit static generation during high-flow loading.
- 3Chock and immobilise the tanker and apply a drive-away prevention measure (interlock or keys-secured procedure) before connection, so the vehicle cannot move and tear the transfer connection.
- 4Verify the dangerous-goods placards, the product grade, and the receiving-tank capacity before transfer, and use overfill protection so a tank cannot be overfilled.
- 5Connect vapour recovery where fitted and use closed bottom-loading where available to minimise vapour release, depressurising connections before disconnection to control pressurised release.
- 6Provide spill control at the transfer point — bunding or a spill kit, a drain-isolation capability, and a documented spill response — to contain a release and prevent it reaching drains or ignition sources.
- 7Provide fall protection for top-loading access — a gantry with edge protection or a fall-restraint system — where the operator must access the top of the tanker.
- 8Control fuel inhalation and contact with vapour-minimising connection technique, position relative to wind, and the skin, eye, and respiratory protection specified for the product.
- 9Use mechanical aids and good handling technique for hoses and couplings, and maintain housekeeping and footing controls on the loading pad or forecourt.
- 10Manage site traffic and the public with a controlled transfer zone, exclusion of non-essential people and vehicles, and clear separation of the transfer from forecourt traffic.
- 11Maintain a fire and emergency response capability appropriate to a Class 3 fuel — extinguishing media, an emergency shutdown, and an evacuation plan — rehearsed and available at the transfer point.
- 12Provide PPE as the final layer — anti-static and flame-resistant clothing and footwear, chemical gloves and eye protection, and respiratory protection where vapour exposure is credible — inspected before use.
- 13Verify dangerous-goods, fuel-transfer, and emergency-response competencies for the operator, and brief on the SWMS, the bonding and spill controls, and the emergency response before transfer.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Becomes legally binding under Section 26A of the WHS Act from 1 July 2026. Governs the control of the flammable atmosphere, ignition-source management, spill control, and emergency response for the fuel transfer.
Governs the transport, handling, placarding, and segregation of the Class 3 flammable liquid, and the verification of placards and documentation before transfer.
The storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids. The controlling standard for the transfer operation, hazardous zoning, bonding and earthing, and spill control at the loading and unloading point.
Explosive atmospheres. Informs the hazardous-area classification and the selection of equipment and lighting rated for the flammable atmosphere in the transfer zone.
Becomes legally binding under Section 26A from 1 July 2026. Governs the fall controls for top-loading access to the top of the tanker, including gantry edge protection and restraint.
Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment. Drives the selection of respiratory protection where fuel-vapour exposure is credible during connection and transfer.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
The transfer of a Class 3 flammable liquid generates fuel vapour that forms an explosive mixture with air at the loading gantry, tanker, and receiving tank. The operator works in and near this flammable atmosphere throughout connection and transfer, squarely satisfying the WHS Regulation s. 291 flammable-atmosphere trigger.
Bottom-loading and vapour-recovery connections operate under pressure, and the transfer involves connecting to and disconnecting from a pressurised system. Working on these pressurised connections, with the release hazard they present, satisfies the s. 291 pressurised-system trigger alongside the flammable-atmosphere category.
Failure to prepare a SWMS before High-Risk Construction Work commences is a contravention of WHS Regulation s. 291. Category 2 offences under WHS Act s. 32 — where a duty breach exposes a person to a risk of death or serious injury without proof of recklessness — attract substantial monetary penalties for body corporates and individual duty holders; refer to the current SafeWork NSW penalty schedule for the NSW-indexed 2025-26 figures. Category 1 reckless-conduct offences under WHS Act s. 31 attract up to approximately $10.42 million for a body corporate, $2.17 million for an individual PCBU or officer, and $1.04 million for an individual worker, with up to 10 years' imprisonment (NSW-indexed at 1 July 2025). VIC maximum penalties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 differ in structure and amount and are set at VIC variant-generation time.
Who this is for
- →Bulk fuel transport operators loading and unloading road tankers at depots and customers.
- →Service-station operators and contractors receiving bulk fuel deliveries to forecourt tanks.
- →Fuel-depot terminal operators managing gantry loading of road tankers.
- →Bulk-fuel customers (mines, farms, fleets) receiving deliveries to on-site storage.
- →Dangerous-goods drivers performing the connection, transfer, and disconnection.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word .docx — open in Word or Google Docs, drop in your company logo and ABN.
- ✓State-specific variant matched to the jurisdiction selected at checkout (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT, or ACT).
- ✓All 12 hazards risk-assessed with inherent and residual ratings against a documented control set.
- ✓Flammable-atmosphere and pressurised-system controls referenced to AS 1940, the ADG Code, AS/NZS 60079, and the model codes.
- ✓Reg 291 HRCW breakdown showing the flammable-atmosphere and pressurised-system triggers and the legal duty to prepare the SWMS first.
- ✓CIH-reviewed content written to be defended in front of a terminal operator or a SafeWork inspector.
- ✓Instant download on payment, with a re-download window so you can retrieve the file again if needed.
- ✓Sign-on register and review-log structure ready for site-specific completion by the PCBU.
Worked example
A bulk fuel transport operator delivers petrol and diesel from a terminal to service stations across regional New South Wales. The work — loading at the terminal gantry and unloading into forecourt tanks — triggers two High-Risk Construction Work categories, flammable atmosphere and pressurised system, so the operator prepares a SWMS using this product with the NSW variant. On a typical delivery, the driver arrives at a service station, positions the tanker, chocks and immobilises it, and applies the drive-away prevention measure before any connection. The dangerous-goods placards, the product grade, and the receiving-tank ullage are verified to prevent a wrong-product delivery or overfill. The tanker and the receiving system are bonded and earthed before transfer to dissipate static, and the vapour-recovery connection is made. Ignition sources are excluded from the transfer zone — engine off, no smoking, no mobile phones, no non-rated equipment. The transfer proceeds with overfill protection active and a spill kit and drain-isolation capability ready at the fill point. Connections are depressurised before disconnection. Fuel-vapour exposure is minimised by connection technique and position relative to the wind, and the driver wears anti-static, flame-resistant clothing. The forecourt transfer zone is kept clear of the public. The delivery is completed without a fire, spill, or overfill, and the signed SWMS and the delivery documentation are retained by the operator. The same SWMS, adapted to the terminal, governs the gantry loading at the start of the run.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — Sections 19 (primary duty of care), 31 (Category 1 offence), 32 (Category 2 offence)
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (NSW) — Sections 291 (HRCW definition), 299 (SWMS), 328-394 (hazardous chemicals)
- Australian Dangerous Goods Code (ADG Code) — transport, handling, and placarding of Class 3 dangerous goods
- AS 1940-2017 — The storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids
- AS/NZS 60079 series — Explosive atmospheres (hazardous-area equipment selection)
Frequently asked questions
Why is fuel tanker loading and unloading High-Risk Construction Work?
It triggers two Reg 291 categories — work in or near a flammable atmosphere (the Class 3 fuel vapour forms an explosive mixture with air during transfer) and work on a pressurised system (the bottom-loading and vapour-recovery connections). A SWMS is required before the transfer, and the work also engages the Australian Dangerous Goods Code and AS 1940 for the storage and handling of flammable liquids.
Why is static electricity such a concern during loading?
High-flow fuel transfer generates static charge, and a static discharge in the flammable vapour atmosphere at the gantry or fill point can ignite it. The SWMS requires the tanker and the loading or receiving system to be bonded and earthed before transfer and the bond maintained throughout, with flow rates controlled to limit static generation. Static control is treated as a primary ignition-source control alongside the no-ignition-sources rule.
How is a drive-away incident prevented?
A tanker driven or rolled away during transfer tears the connection and releases fuel. The SWMS requires the tanker to be chocked and immobilised and a drive-away prevention measure — an interlock or a keys-secured procedure — applied before connection, so the vehicle cannot move during the transfer. Drive-away prevention is treated as a distinct high-consequence control.
What spill controls are required at the transfer point?
The SWMS requires spill control at the fill point — bunding or a spill kit, a drain-isolation capability, and a documented spill response — so a release can be contained and kept away from drains and ignition sources. Overfill protection is also required to prevent a tank being overfilled. A fuel spill is both a fire and an environmental hazard, so containment is built into the transfer procedure.
Does this cover both loading at the terminal and unloading at the customer?
Yes. The safe system of work covers both ends of the operation — gantry loading at the terminal and unloading into forecourt or customer tanks — with the same bonding, ignition-control, spill, and pressurised-connection controls, adapted to each location. The operator selects the relevant state variant and adapts the SWMS to the specific terminal and delivery sites.