Tuckpointing & Mortar Grinding SWMS
Heritage and repair mortar raking, grinding and re-pointing on masonry walls — wet methods or on-tool dust extraction, respirable crystalline silica controls under Ch 8A, dust-extracted grinder / chasing tool use, scaffolded / EWP access, post-work health-monitoring duty.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Tuckpointing and mortar grinding covers heritage and repair mortar raking, grinding, and re-pointing on masonry walls — wet methods or on-tool dust extraction, respirable crystalline silica controls, dust-extracted grinder and chasing-tool use, scaffolded or elevating-work-platform access, and the post-work health-monitoring duty. The work is High-Risk Construction Work on one ground: it involves working with a material containing crystalline silica that generates respirable crystalline silica dust above the workplace exposure standard. Grinding and raking old mortar produces fine silica dust that, inhaled over time, causes silicosis and other serious lung disease, which is why silica is one of the most tightly controlled hazards in Australian construction. A documented safe system of work is required before the work begins.
The workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica is 0.05 mg/m³ as an eight-hour time-weighted average, and dry grinding of mortar can exceed this many times over. The controls follow the silica framework introduced into the WHS Regulations and the relevant code of practice — wet cutting or on-tool dust extraction as the primary engineering controls, air monitoring, and the duty to provide health monitoring for workers at risk of silica exposure. The work also involves at-height access on scaffolding or an elevating work platform, which carries its own fall controls under the falls 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
11 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Silicosis, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from inhaling respirable crystalline silica generated by dry grinding and raking of mortar over time.
Accelerated silicosis from intense exposure during prolonged or enclosed grinding without effective dust control.
Serious or fatal fall injury during at-height mortar work on a masonry wall from a scaffold or EWP without adequate fall protection.
Secondary silica exposure to other workers and the public from dust migrating beyond the work area if it is not contained.
Eye injury or corneal abrasion from mortar particles, grit, and disc fragments ejected during grinding and raking.
Hand-arm vibration syndrome from prolonged use of grinders and chasing tools over repeated work.
Noise-induced hearing loss from grinder and extraction-unit noise during the work.
Laceration or impact injury from a disc bursting or a grinder kicking back during raking and grinding.
Musculoskeletal injury handling grinders, extraction units, and re-pointing materials on a scaffold or EWP.
Electrocution from a damaged lead or tool, worsened by wet methods used for dust suppression.
Sprain, fracture, or fall on a work platform congested with leads, tools, and mortar debris.
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Eliminate dry grinding — use wet methods (water suppression at the cutting point) or on-tool dust extraction with a high-efficiency (H-class) extractor as the primary engineering control for all mortar raking, grinding, and chasing, never dry cutting without control.
- 2Select tools and methods that minimise silica generation — hand-raking or low-dust techniques where feasible, and dust-extracted chasing tools matched to the work — so the respirable crystalline silica concentration is kept below the 0.05 mg/m³ eight-hour exposure standard.
- 3Contain the work area to prevent silica dust migrating to others and the public — screening, exclusion zones, and housekeeping with H-class vacuuming rather than dry sweeping or compressed air.
- 4Conduct air monitoring to verify the controls keep exposure below the workplace exposure standard, and review the controls if monitoring shows otherwise.
- 5Provide health monitoring for workers carrying out work that exposes them to respirable crystalline silica, as required by the WHS Regulations, including the baseline and periodic assessments and record-keeping.
- 6Control the fall risk for scaffold or EWP access — scaffolding erected and inspected by a competent person, or an EWP operated by a licensed operator — with edge protection and fall protection appropriate to the access, applying the falls hierarchy.
- 7Control hand-arm vibration with low-vibration tools, task rotation, and limits on continuous tool time, and signpost and manage noise with hearing protection.
- 8Use guarded grinders with the correct rated discs, inspect discs before use, and maintain technique to control disc burst and kickback.
- 9Use mechanical aids and good handling technique for equipment and materials at height, and maintain housekeeping and footing on the work platform.
- 10Control electrical risk with inspected leads, residual-current protection, and the correct use of electrical equipment with wet dust-suppression methods, to AS/NZS 3000.
- 11Provide PPE as the final layer — respiratory protection rated for respirable crystalline silica (a minimum of a P2, with higher protection for high-exposure tasks) and fit-tested, eye protection, hearing protection, and gloves — inspected before use, as a supplement to, not a substitute for, the engineering controls.
- 12Verify the silica-awareness and at-height competencies of the crew, brief every worker on the SWMS, the dust controls, and the health-monitoring duty, and consult workers on the silica controls before work starts.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Becomes legally binding under Section 26A of the WHS Act from 1 July 2026. The controlling code for respirable crystalline silica — engineering controls, air monitoring, and the health-monitoring duty for mortar grinding.
Becomes legally binding under Section 26A from 1 July 2026. Governs the fall controls for scaffold and EWP access during at-height mortar work on masonry walls.
Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment. Drives the selection and fit-testing of respiratory protection rated for respirable crystalline silica.
Respiratory protective devices. Specifies the performance requirements for the respirators used to protect against respirable crystalline silica.
Scaffolding. Governs the erection, inspection, and use of the scaffolding providing access for the at-height mortar work.
Cranes, hoists and winches — Safe use — Mobile elevating work platforms. Governs the safe use of an EWP where it provides access for the work.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Mortar raking and grinding disturbs masonry mortar that contains crystalline silica, generating respirable crystalline silica dust that can exceed the 0.05 mg/m³ eight-hour workplace exposure standard. This silica-generating construction work satisfies the WHS Regulation s. 291 trigger for work involving crystalline silica and engages the associated health-monitoring duty.
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
- →Heritage and restoration masons performing mortar raking and re-pointing on older masonry.
- →Bricklaying and repointing contractors grinding and replacing failed mortar joints.
- →Building-restoration firms working on heritage facades and masonry walls.
- →Builders requiring a defensible silica SWMS for mortar grinding and tuckpointing subcontractors.
- →Tradespeople using dust-extracted chasing and grinding tools on masonry.
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 11 hazards risk-assessed with inherent and residual ratings against a documented control set.
- ✓Silica and at-height controls referenced to the silica code, AS/NZS 1715, AS/NZS 1576, and the model codes.
- ✓Reg 291 HRCW breakdown showing the crystalline-silica trigger and the legal duty to prepare the SWMS first.
- ✓CIH-reviewed content written to be defended in front of a builder 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 heritage restoration mason in Adelaide is engaged to rake out and re-point the failed lime mortar on the upper facade of a heritage-listed sandstone building, working from a scaffold. The job runs over two weeks. Because mortar grinding generates respirable crystalline silica, the work is High-Risk Construction Work, and a SWMS is prepared before work using this product with the SA variant which references the WHS Act 2012 (SA) and the SA framework. All raking and grinding uses on-tool dust extraction with an H-class extractor, with wet methods where the substrate allows, so the respirable crystalline silica concentration is kept below the 0.05 mg/m³ eight-hour exposure standard — there is no dry cutting without control. The work area is screened to prevent dust migrating to the public street below, and housekeeping uses H-class vacuuming rather than sweeping or compressed air. Air monitoring confirms the controls are effective, and the mason and labourer are enrolled in the health-monitoring programme required for silica-exposed workers. The scaffold is erected and inspected by a competent person to AS/NZS 1576, with edge protection for the at-height work. Hand-arm vibration is managed with task rotation, and the crew wears fit-tested P2 respiratory protection as a supplement to the engineering controls. The re-pointing is completed without an exposure or fall incident, and the signed SWMS, air-monitoring results, and health-monitoring records are retained by the contractor and provided to the builder and the heritage authority.
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), 49-50 (health monitoring), and the respirable crystalline silica provisions
- Managing the Risks of Respirable Crystalline Silica and Welding Fume — Code of Practice
- AS/NZS 1715:2009 — Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment
- AS/NZS 1576 series — Scaffolding (erection, inspection, and use)
Frequently asked questions
Why is mortar grinding High-Risk Construction Work?
Mortar contains crystalline silica, and raking and grinding it generates respirable crystalline silica dust that can exceed the 0.05 mg/m³ eight-hour workplace exposure standard. This silica-generating work triggers the Reg 291 crystalline-silica category, so a SWMS is required before work, and the work also engages the legal duty to provide health monitoring for silica-exposed workers.
Is dry grinding ever acceptable?
No. The SWMS eliminates dry grinding — all raking, grinding, and chasing uses wet methods (water suppression at the cutting point) or on-tool dust extraction with an H-class extractor as the primary engineering control. Dry cutting without control is prohibited because it generates silica dust many times above the exposure standard, and engineering controls come before PPE in the hierarchy.
What is the health-monitoring duty?
The WHS Regulations require a PCBU to provide health monitoring for workers carrying out work that exposes them to respirable crystalline silica, including a baseline and periodic assessments. The SWMS sets out this duty as a control, because health monitoring detects early lung changes and is a legal obligation for silica-exposed work, not an optional extra.
What respiratory protection is required?
Respiratory protection rated for respirable crystalline silica — a minimum of a fit-tested P2 respirator, with higher protection for high-exposure tasks — is provided to AS/NZS 1715 and AS/NZS 1716. It is the final layer, supplementing the engineering controls rather than replacing them, because controlling the dust at source through wet methods or extraction is the primary protection and PPE is the backstop.
Does the SWMS cover the at-height access as well?
Yes. Mortar work on a wall is usually performed from a scaffold or an elevating work platform, so the SWMS includes fall controls under the falls framework — scaffolding erected and inspected to AS/NZS 1576, or an EWP operated by a licensed operator, with edge protection. The at-height access is addressed alongside the silica controls, because both are present on a typical tuckpointing job.