Traffic Management SWMS (Construction Sites)
Construction site traffic management plan implementation. Covers traffic controller responsibilities (stop/slow baton, TAA accreditation), temporary signage placement per AS 1742.3, exclusion zone establishment for workers and plant, delivery vehicle marshalling, site entry/exit sight-line requirements, speed limit enforcement in work zone, and emergency vehicle access maintenance.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Construction site traffic management governs the controlled interface between site plant, delivery vehicles, workers on foot and the live road corridor adjacent to or passing through the workzone. This work routinely involves traffic controllers deploying stop/slow batons within metres of moving traffic, the erection of temporary signage and barriers under AS 1742.3:2019, and the marshalling of trucks across footpaths and shared zones. WHS Regulation 2025 r.206 makes a documented traffic management plan and a corresponding SWMS mandatory whenever construction work creates a risk of vehicle interaction with workers, and the activity is classified as high risk construction work under Schedule 1 because it occurs in or near a road corridor open to traffic and involves powered mobile plant. Without a current SWMS signed by every controller and operator before shift start, the PCBU is in direct breach of r.291 and exposes workers to one of the highest-fatality hazard profiles in Australian construction.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Multiple-trauma fatality or catastrophic crush injury; Coronial inquest and Category 1 prosecution of PCBU under WHS Act s31
Crush fatality or lower-limb amputation; SafeWork notifiable incident under WHS Act s35 triggering immediate site shutdown
Multi-vehicle collision, civil liability against PCBU, and breach of AS 1742.3:2019 clause 3.3 advance warning requirements
Loss of vehicle control near workers, struck-by fatalities, and police-issued infringements escalating to WHS prosecution
Heat stroke, syncope into live lane, and impaired hazard recognition; breach of WHS Reg r.39 duty to manage environmental hazards
Driver confusion, lane incursion into workzone, and non-conformance with AS 1742.3:2019 clause 4.5 device stability requirements
Delayed emergency response, secondary casualties, and breach of WHS Reg r.43 emergency plan duty held by the PCBU
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Schedule deliveries and concrete pours outside peak traffic windows and, where possible, fully close the carriageway under a road occupancy licence to remove worker-vehicle interaction entirely.
- 2Elimination — Use off-street loading bays or internal site haul roads so reversing trucks never enter the live traffic corridor or interact with pedestrian footpaths.
- 3Substitution — Replace human stop/slow controllers with portable boom gates, automated portable traffic signals (PTS) or truck-mounted attenuators (TMA) for high-speed (>60km/h) corridors per AS 1742.3:2019.
- 4Substitution — Substitute light-vehicle deliveries with consolidated heavy-vehicle drops to reduce total vehicle movements crossing the worker exclusion zone each shift.
- 5Engineering — Install Type 2 water-filled barriers, crash cushions and reflective delineators at workzone tapers in accordance with AS 1742.3:2019 Section 4 to physically separate workers from traffic.
- 6Engineering — Provide positive sight-line treatments at egress points including mirrors, CCTV spotters and high-mast lighting compliant with AS/NZS 1158.4 for night operations.
- 7Administrative — Implement a documented traffic management plan under WHS Reg 2025 r.206, with daily pre-start checks, signed sign-on register, and TCWC/TMI-accredited controllers per state roads authority requirements.
- 8Administrative — Enforce maximum 2-hour rotation on baton duty, mandatory hydration breaks, and a documented fatigue management procedure aligned with WHS Reg r.39 environmental controls.
- 9PPE — Issue AS/NZS 4602.1:2011 Class D/N day-night hi-vis garments, hard hats with chinstrap, and safety footwear to AS/NZS 2210.3 for every worker entering the traffic-exposed zone.
- 10PPE — Supply impact-rated eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1 and Class 5 hearing protection to AS/NZS 1270 where controllers work adjacent to sustained traffic noise above 85dB(A).
Applicable Codes of Practice
Prescribes mandatory advance warning, taper, longitudinal buffer and termination zones plus device spacing for every road-corridor workzone — directly governs sign layout.
Requires a documented traffic management plan controlling vehicle and pedestrian movement on site; the SWMS operationalises this plan at task level.
Defines the duty to identify HRCW including work near road corridors and powered mobile plant interaction, mandating SWMS preparation under r.291.
Specifies Class D/N garment performance for day-night exposure to vehicular traffic, referenced by state roads authorities as minimum PPE for all traffic controllers.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Traffic controllers and signage crews operate within and adjacent to live trafficked lanes during sign deployment, baton control and delivery marshalling on the road reserve.
Excavators, tippers and concrete trucks routinely enter and reverse from site across the public carriageway, creating powered-plant-versus-traffic interactions requiring controlled SWMS sign-on.
PCBU must prepare, consult workers on, and retain this SWMS for the duration of the work plus two years after any notifiable incident; penalties for Category 1 breaches are substantial and indexed, with current maximum following the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Principal contractors managing road-corridor construction projects
- →Traffic management subcontractors deploying TCWC-accredited controllers
- →Civil construction site supervisors marshalling heavy vehicle deliveries
- →Local government works crews on shared-zone infrastructure renewal
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
On a suburban arterial intersection upgrade, the site supervisor opens the pre-start brief at 6:30am with the day's traffic controllers, the excavator operator and two concrete truck drivers expected on site. Using this SWMS, the supervisor walks the crew through the seven listed hazards, focusing on the high-priority risks of controller strike and reversing-truck blind spots given the morning peak begins at 7:15am. The crew confirms the AS 1742.3:2019-compliant taper layout drawn on the attached site diagram, identifies that the eastern egress has restricted sight distance due to a parked skip bin, and selects the engineering control of repositioning the bin plus deploying a second spotter — both noted as adjustments in the SWMS amendment column. Each worker signs on, including a visiting electrician who is briefed separately. At 10:40am, wind gusts displace a Type 2 advance warning sign; the lead controller halts traffic, re-erects and ballasts the sign per the SWMS administrative control, and records the deviation in the daily diary. At shift handover, the afternoon controller signs onto the same SWMS, reviews the morning's amendments, and the document continues as the live control record — exactly as WHS Reg 2025 r.291 requires for HRCW.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- AS 2550 — Cranes, hoists and winches; AS 1418 series