Non-invasive service location SWMS, drafted for your job
Locators and ground radar can miss services or trace the wrong line, leaving a digging crew with a misleading picture of what is underground. Tell us the job and the site: your SWMS is drafted around them, and you check it with the crew before work starts.
A$39per job
However many high-risk activities it covers.
- However many high-risk activities it covers.
- 3 for A$99
- 10 for A$249
- Yearly A$129 for 120
- Monthly A$60 for 10
You review it on site before work starts.
Your Business
Safe Work Method Statement
Version 1
Draft
Non-invasive service location
Site Your site address
Law Your state
High-risk construction work
- Work next to a road, railway or other traffic corridor in use
- Work on or near energised electrical installations
Job steps, hazards and controls
| 1 | Review plans and surface clues | Missing or conflicting service records | High | Compare plans with pits, meters and visible service entries |
| 2 | Protect the locating area | Traffic around the receiver operator | High | Separate vehicle routes before scanning begins |
| 3 | Check and run locating equipment | Wrong line or missed signal | High | Check equipment and cross-check traces using suitable methods |
| 4 | Mark routes and uncertain areas | Estimated depth mistaken for proof | High | Distinguish detected routes from unresolved areas on the plan |
| 5 | Hand over the location findings | Digging from paint marks alone | High | Explain limitations and identify where services need physical exposure |
Illustrative first page. Yours carries your business name only.
What you get
What your non-invasive service location SWMS will contain
An A4 document your crew can read on site, a PDF for the builder and a sign-on register.
- Job and site detailsYour business, the site, the principal contractor, the dates.
- High-risk construction workThe categories your job involves, ticked.
- Step-by-step methodEach step with its hazards, risk rating and controls.
- How controls are checkedWho puts each control in place, monitors and reviews it.
- PPE, plant and permitsEquipment and training the job needs.
- Emergency planAssembly point, first aid, nearest hospital to confirm on site.
- Consultation and reviewWho was consulted, when it is reviewed.
- Sign-on registerYour crew signs by QR or on paper.
High-risk construction work
Categories this task often involves
You tick the ones your job involves. Each ticked category gets its own steps and controls, in your state's wording.
- Work next to a road, railway or other traffic corridor in use
- Work on or near energised electrical installations
State notes
Rules depend on your state
Pick your state when you start. Your state's regulator publishes the rules and guidance for this work.
Hazards and controls
What goes wrong on a non-invasive service location job, and how the SWMS controls it
These rows are written for this task. Your draft adds the ones your site and method need.
- 1
Undetected plastic pipes or cables outside the locator scan pattern
High- Combine site records, visual clues and suitable locating methods
- Mark unresolved areas and arrange physical exposure before excavation
- 2
Locator signal tracing an adjacent service instead of the target
High- Cross-check the trace using different connection points and scan directions
- Record uncertain signals separately and avoid presenting them as a proven route
- 3
Shock connecting the locator transmitter to energised electrical parts
Extreme- Use non-contact locating methods where direct connection exposes live parts
- Have electrical isolation and access arranged before opening electrical enclosures
- 4
Traffic striking a locator following a trace across a road
Extreme- Separate the scan area from traffic before walking the trace
- Use a spotter where the operator’s attention is on the receiver
- 5
Crush injuries lifting pit covers to identify service routes
High- Barrier the opening before lifting the cover with a suitable tool
- Keep hands clear of cover seats and work from outside the pit
- 6
Excavator crews treating painted locator marks as exposed services
High- Give the digging crew a marked plan showing confidence and unresolved areas
- Explain that route and depth estimates need proving before mechanical digging
How the job usually runs
- 1Review plans and surface cluesMissing or conflicting service records → Compare plans with pits, meters and visible service entries
- 2Protect the locating areaTraffic around the receiver operator → Separate vehicle routes before scanning begins
- 3Check and run locating equipmentWrong line or missed signal → Check equipment and cross-check traces using suitable methods
- 4Mark routes and uncertain areasEstimated depth mistaken for proof → Distinguish detected routes from unresolved areas on the plan
- 5Hand over the location findingsDigging from paint marks alone → Explain limitations and identify where services need physical exposure
PPE for this job
- Safety boots
- High visibility clothing
- Handling gloves
- Safety glasses
Your draft lists the PPE your site and method need.
After you finalise
Brief your crew and send it to your builder
Crew signs by QR
Send to my builder
PDF and register
Builder sent it back?
Make their changes and re-issue the same job free. Workers re-sign the new version.
Questions
Non-invasive service location SWMS questions
- Last reviewed
- 21 October 2026
- How
- Hazard rows checked against the task; no legal line is stated unless it is logged from primary text.
- Next review
- Every six months, or when the method or rules change
Does a painted service line mean digging can start?
No. The draft covers marking and reporting the detected route, including uncertain areas. The excavation crew still needs to prove the service position using a suitable exposure method before bringing mechanical plant near it.
Can the draft include radar as well as an electromagnetic locator?
Yes. Describe the equipment and ground conditions. The draft includes cross-checking different methods and recording where buried services could not be traced clearly, rather than treating a blank scan as proof that nothing is there.
How much does a non-invasive service location SWMS cost?
One job uses 1 SWMS when you finalise: A$39 for one, however many high-risk activities it covers. AI drafting needs a SWMS pack or plan. Packs and Yearly cost less per SWMS.
Is this a template?
No. You describe the job and the site, and the SWMS is drafted for them. You edit anything, then finalise it.
Who checks the SWMS?
You do, with your crew, on site before work starts. The draft gives you a strong starting point; the person running the work makes sure it matches the site.
My builder sent it back. What now?
Open it, make the changes they asked for and re-issue it. Corrections to the same job are free.
How does my crew sign it?
Show the QR code on your phone or print the A4 sign-on sheet. Workers read and sign on their own phones without an account.
Does it work in my state?
Yes. You choose the state before drafting, and the document names the law that applies there. Victoria uses its OHS Regulations.
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