SWMS Victoria: Safe Work Method Statements under the OHS Act 2004.
Draft a Victoria-compliant SWMS in under 60 seconds. Victoria retains its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 — not the harmonised WHS Act — so Victorian SWMS cite different legislation and use "employer" rather than "PCBU".
Important for Victoria: Victoria has not adopted the harmonised WHS model and retains its own OHS Act and Regulations. This means SWMS for Victorian sites must reference Victorian legislation and use "employer" rather than "PCBU".
WHS legislation for Victoria
WHS Act
Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)
WHS Regulation
Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic)
Regulator
WorkSafe Victoria
Duty-holder term
employer
Victoria retains "employer" rather than the harmonised "PCBU" — one of the key terminology differences when preparing SWMS for Victorian sites.
Key codes of practice for Victoria SWMS
These codes are commonly cited in construction SWMS for Victoria. RAE IQ references the applicable codes at the clause level when drafting your document.
- Construction Compliance Code (Vic)
- Prevention of Falls in General Construction Compliance Code (Vic)
- Hazardous Manual Handling Compliance Code (Vic)
- Confined Spaces Compliance Code (Vic)
- Plant Compliance Code (Vic)
Three steps to a VIC SWMS.
- 1
Tell us about the work
A guided form captures the activity, site, people and conditions: the inputs your safety document actually needs.
- 2
We ground the draft
The drafting engine applies your state's WHS Act, regulations, codes of practice and any reference documents you've uploaded.
- 3
You review and ship
Edit anything, accept the rest, and download a signature-ready PDF with your logo and the right legislation citations.
SWMS Victoria — frequently asked questions
Does Victoria use the harmonised WHS Act?
No. Victoria retained its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) and the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic). It has not adopted the model WHS Act. This means SWMS for Victorian sites must reference Victorian legislation (the OHS Act and Regulations) rather than the WHS Act and WHS Regulation used in Queensland, NSW, SA, Tasmania, ACT and NT.
Does Victoria use PCBU or employer?
Victoria uses "employer" and "self-employed person" rather than the harmonised "PCBU". This terminology difference matters when preparing SWMS for Victorian sites — the duty-holder description, consultation requirements, and legislative references all differ from harmonised states.
What legislation governs SWMS in Victoria?
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic) govern SWMS in Victoria. The regulator is WorkSafe Victoria. Compliance codes rather than codes of practice are the Victorian equivalent of approved codes.
Does RAE IQ generate SWMS with the correct Victorian legislation?
Yes. Selecting Victoria switches the drafting engine to cite the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017, name WorkSafe Victoria as the regulator, use "employer" rather than "PCBU", and reference the applicable Victorian compliance codes.
Other states and territories