Cleaning
WHS Documents
The WHS documents your clients ask for.

The WHS laws require you to manage risks, consult your workers, train and supervise them, and keep certain records. They don't require one particular document set for every business. In practice, clients, principal contractors and prequalification platforms ask for a documented system before you start work. A WHS management system puts all of that in one place.

Most cleaning work isn't construction work, so a SWMS isn't legally required for it. If you clean on a construction site, such as builders' cleans, a SWMS is legally required before any high risk construction work starts, for example work where someone could fall more than 2 metres or work in areas with powered mobile plant. Outside that, many cleaning businesses use a SWMS as their written task risk assessment, in the same way as a JSA, because clients and principal contractors ask for one by name. The SWMS penalties in the WHS Regulations only apply to high risk construction work.

Clients and principal contractors often ask contractors for a safety management plan showing how you'll manage safety for your own team on their site. The Cleaning WHS Management System includes one, with a Victorian edition. If you're the principal contractor on a construction project above your state's value threshold, you'll need a WHS management plan instead, which is available separately.

They involve the same thinking: break the task into steps, identify the hazards and set the controls. The difference is legal status. A SWMS is legally required for high risk construction work. Outside that, many businesses use the SWMS format anyway because clients and principal contractors ask for it by name.

Our customers use them for prequalification on Avetta, Cm3 and similar platforms. If a client, principal contractor or platform asks for changes within 12 months of purchase, we'll revise your WHS manual or SWMS free until they're accepted.

Yes. The manual and safety management plan come in a WHS edition for all other states and territories and an OHS edition written for the Victorian OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017. Each SWMS also comes with a list of the Acts, regulations and codes of practice for every state and territory, including Victoria, so you can insert the references that apply where you work.

No. The documents suit everyone from a sole trader to a team with apprentices and subcontractors. Delete the procedures and SWMS that don't apply to your work and keep the rest.

Yes. Every document is a Microsoft Word file. Review each one and edit it to match how your business works, then consult your workers before you put it in place.

No. These are the documents that make up your WHS management system: the policies, procedures, forms and records you use day to day and show to clients, principal contractors, portals and inspectors. Certification, such as ISO 45001 certification, is a separate audit by an accredited body. The system follows the ISO 45001 structure, so it's a good starting point if you plan to go down that path.

The WHS laws name some documents in specific situations. These include a SWMS for high risk construction work, an emergency plan, first aid arrangements, a hazardous chemicals register, incident records and a WHS management plan for larger construction projects where you're the principal contractor. The rest, such as WHS policies, risk registers, induction and toolbox talk records, is how you show you're meeting your duties, and it's what clients, principal contractors and prequalification platforms ask to see.