BlueSafe
Excavation Work Under 1.5 Risk Assessment

Excavation Work Under 1.5 Risk Assessment

  • • 100% Compliant with Australian WHS Acts & Regulations
  • • Fully Editable MS Word & PDF Formats Included
  • • Pre-filled Content – Ready to Deploy Immediately
  • • Customisable – Easily Add Your Logo & Site Details
  • • Includes 2 Years of Free Compliance Updates

Excavation Work Under 1.5 Risk Assessment

Product Overview

Identify and control organisational risks associated with Excavation Work Under 1.5 Risk Assessment through structured planning, governance, and system-level controls across your operations. This management-focused document supports WHS Risk Management and demonstrates Due Diligence under the WHS Act, helping to protect your business from operational and legal liability.

Risk Categories & Hazards Covered

This document assesses risks and outlines management controls for:

  • Governance, Roles and WHS Accountability: Clarification of PCBU, officer and worker duties, safety leadership expectations, and allocation of WHS responsibilities for excavation activities under 1.5 metres.
  • Planning, Design and Engineering Controls: Assessment of pre-start planning, design reviews, selection of excavation methods, and engineering controls to minimise ground collapse and service strikes.
  • Service Location and Underground Asset Management: Management of Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) information, utility plans, locating techniques, exclusion zones, and controls to prevent damage to underground services.
  • Contractor and Worker Competency Management: Systems for verifying licences, tickets, experience and competency for operators, spotters and supervisors involved in excavation work.
  • Supervision, Monitoring and Field Leadership: Requirements for competent supervision, on-site decision-making, field leadership presence, and monitoring of changing ground and environmental conditions.
  • Documentation, Procedures and Work Authorisation: Development and control of excavation procedures, permits, JHAs, and authorisation processes to ensure only approved works commence.
  • Plant, Equipment and Maintenance Systems: Selection, inspection and maintenance of excavators, backhoes, compactors, shoring systems and associated plant used for shallow excavations.
  • Traffic, Pedestrian and Public Interface Management: Protocols for traffic management plans, barricading, signage, and separation of excavation zones from vehicles, pedestrians and the public.
  • Ground Stability, Inundation and Adjacent Structures: Assessment of soil conditions, vibration, water ingress, nearby structures and services, and the controls required to maintain excavation stability.
  • Training, Induction and Communication: Induction content, toolbox talks, task briefings and communication pathways to ensure workers understand excavation hazards and controls.
  • Consultation, Coordination and Contractor Management: Systems for consultation with workers, subcontractors, utilities and other PCBUs, including coordination of overlapping excavation activities.
  • Emergency Preparedness and Incident Management: Planning for ground collapse, service strikes, inundation, entrapment and other emergencies, including rescue resources and escalation procedures.
  • Health, Environment and Psychosocial Risk Management: Management of noise, vibration, dust, contaminants, fatigue, stress and community impacts arising from excavation activities.
  • Audit, Reporting and Continuous Improvement: Internal audit programs, incident and near-miss reporting, corrective actions, and performance review processes for ongoing improvement of excavation risk controls.

Who is this for?

This Risk Assessment is designed for Business Owners, Construction Managers, Project Managers and Safety Officers planning, approving or overseeing excavation work under 1.5 metres on civil, construction and maintenance projects.

Hazards & Risks Covered

Hazard Risk Description
1. Governance, Roles and WHS Accountability
  • • Lack of clear PCBU and officer accountability for excavation work under 1.5 m resulting in fragmented WHS decision‑making
  • • Absence of a documented WHS management plan or equivalent for managing low‑depth excavations across sites
  • • Inadequate consultation with health and safety representatives (HSRs) and workers about excavation‑related risks and controls
  • • No formal process to verify that principal contractor and subcontractor systems for excavation align with WHS Act 2011 and WHS Regulations
  • • Poor integration of excavation risk management into broader organisational WHS governance and reporting structures
2. Planning, Design and Engineering Controls
  • • Inadequate pre‑planning for excavation work leading to ad‑hoc risk controls onsite
  • • Failure to consider site‑specific geotechnical conditions for shallow excavations (e.g. variable soils, groundwater, adjacent loads) because depth is under 1.5 m
  • • Insufficient integration of design risk management (e.g. drainage, permanent works, alternative methods) to eliminate or minimise the need for excavations
  • • Lack of a structured process to review and approve excavation layouts, benching, shoring or shielding where required for shallow trenches
  • • Over‑reliance on generic SWMS and risk assessments that do not reflect site constraints (services, traffic, public interface, weather, slopes)
3. Service Location and Underground Asset Management
  • • Unidentified or poorly mapped underground services (electricity, gas, water, communications, sewer) in proposed excavation area
  • • Reliance on outdated or incomplete Dial Before You Dig / Before You Dig Australia plans without verification onsite
  • • Lack of a standardised service detection and verification procedure for excavations under 1.5 m on different sites
  • • Inadequate communication of known service locations to frontline workers, plant operators and subcontractors
  • • Failure to control residual risk of unknown services or inaccurate as‑built drawings
4. Contractor and Worker Competency Management
  • • Workers and subcontractors undertaking excavation tasks without verified competency or experience in excavation hazards, including shallow trenches
  • • Supervisors lacking the technical knowledge to identify early signs of ground instability or unsafe excavation practices
  • • Inconsistent competency requirements across sites and different business units for similar excavation work
  • • Over‑reliance on plant operator tickets without assessing understanding of site‑specific excavation risks and controls
  • • No systematic assessment of language, literacy and numeracy needs impacting comprehension of excavation procedures
5. Supervision, Monitoring and Field Leadership
  • • Insufficient supervision leading to deviations from approved excavation plans and controls
  • • Supervisors responsible for too many work fronts to adequately monitor excavation activities
  • • Informal work practices developing over time (e.g. narrowing trenches, placing spoil too close, entering unprotected excavations) due to lack of oversight
  • • Failure to identify and respond to changing ground conditions, weather or adjacent activities that increase risk
  • • Inadequate escalation and stop‑work authority for supervisors observing unsafe excavation conditions
6. Documentation, Procedures and Work Authorisation
  • • Lack of standardised organisational procedures governing excavation work under 1.5 m, resulting in inconsistent practices
  • • Use of generic risk assessments and SWMS that do not address site‑specific excavation hazards and controls
  • • Poor version control and accessibility of excavation‑related documents (procedures, standards, drawings) leading to outdated guidance being used onsite
  • • No formal permit or authorisation process for higher‑risk shallow excavations (e.g. near services, public areas, structures)
  • • Incomplete or inaccurate recording of excavations, changes to design or deviations from approved controls
7. Plant, Equipment and Maintenance Systems
  • • Use of unsuitable or poorly maintained plant (e.g. excavators, loaders, compactors, vacuum trucks) for excavation work under 1.5 m
  • • Lack of organisational standards for selection of plant and attachments for shallow excavation tasks in constrained areas
  • • Inadequate pre‑use inspection and defect reporting processes for excavation plant and equipment
  • • Failure to ensure safety features (e.g. reversing alarms, cameras, emergency stops, quick‑hitch safety devices) are functional and used correctly
  • • Ad‑hoc hire of plant and equipment without verifying maintenance history or safety compliance
8. Traffic, Pedestrian and Public Interface Management
  • • Uncontrolled interaction between excavation activities, mobile plant, workers and the public, particularly in urban or brownfield environments
  • • Inadequate traffic management planning for works involving shallow trenches adjacent to roads, car parks or pedestrian paths
  • • Poor delineation and signage around excavations, leading to inadvertent entry by workers or members of the public
  • • Insufficient coordination between excavation planning and broader site traffic management plans
  • • Failure to consider vulnerable road users (e.g. cyclists, mobility‑impaired pedestrians, children) in control design
9. Ground Stability, Inundation and Adjacent Structures
  • • Assumption that shallow excavations under 1.5 m are inherently low risk, leading to inadequate controls for ground collapse or undermining
  • • Failure to assess the impact of nearby loads (e.g. stockpiles, vehicles, materials, structures) on trench stability
  • • Inadequate planning for groundwater, stormwater or burst services causing inundation or erosion within excavations
  • • Lack of organisational criteria for when shallow trenches require shoring, benching or shielding
  • • Insufficient assessment of impact of excavation on adjacent structures, pavements or services (e.g. undermining, subsidence)
10. Training, Induction and Communication
  • • Workers and contractors unaware of organisational expectations and procedures for managing excavation risks under 1.5 m
  • • Site inductions not adequately addressing excavation‑specific hazards such as ground collapse, service strikes and traffic interfaces
  • • Inconsistent communication of changes to excavation plans, controls or site conditions between shifts and work groups
  • • Insufficient training in emergency response procedures related to excavation incidents (collapse, engulfment, service strike, flooding)
  • • Language, literacy or cultural barriers impacting understanding of excavation risks and controls
11. Consultation, Coordination and Contractor Management
  • • Poor coordination between multiple PCBUs (principal contractor, subcontractors, utilities) working around the same excavation areas
  • • Gaps and overlaps in responsibilities for excavation planning, supervision and emergency response
  • • Insufficient involvement of workers and HSRs in developing and reviewing excavation controls
  • • Inconsistent safety standards between contractor organisations leading to confusion or lowest‑common‑denominator practices
  • • Inadequate communication of schedule or scope changes affecting excavation activities
12. Emergency Preparedness and Incident Management
  • • Lack of site‑specific emergency response planning for excavation‑related incidents such as collapse, engulfment, service strikes or flooding
  • • Workers and supervisors unfamiliar with emergency procedures or unsure who has authority to initiate emergency response and stop work
  • • Inadequate provision or maintenance of emergency equipment appropriate to excavation hazards (e.g. rescue equipment, first aid, spill kits, fire extinguishers)
  • • Poor coordination with emergency services, utilities providers and regulators in the event of a serious incident
  • • Failure to systematically investigate and learn from excavation‑related incidents and near misses across the organisation
13. Health, Environment and Psychosocial Risk Management
  • • Failure to address health risks associated with excavation work such as noise, vibration, dust, manual handling and exposure to contaminants
  • • Environmental impacts from excavation activities (e.g. sediment run‑off, contamination spread, damage to flora and fauna) not integrated into WHS planning
  • • Psychosocial risks for workers involved in excavation work, including fatigue from extended shifts, production pressure and exposure to traumatic incidents (e.g. near misses, collapses, service strikes)
  • • Inadequate systems to manage hazardous substances potentially encountered in excavations (e.g. asbestos‑containing materials, contaminated soils, sewer gases)
  • • Poor integration between WHS, environmental and quality systems leading to conflicting instructions or gaps in control
14. Audit, Reporting and Continuous Improvement
  • • Lack of systematic review of excavation risk controls leading to stagnation and repeated incidents
  • • Inconsistent or incomplete reporting of excavation hazards, near misses and incidents across projects
  • • Audit tools that focus on paperwork rather than effectiveness of excavation controls in the field
  • • Limited analysis of organisational data to identify recurring excavation system failures
  • • Failure to share lessons learned about excavation incidents and best practices across projects and business units

Need to add specific hazards for your workplace?

Don't worry if a specific hazard isn't listed above. Once you purchase, simply log in to your Client Portal and add your own custom hazards at no extra cost. We take care of the hard work—creating the risk ratings and control measures for free—to ensure your document is compliant within minutes.

Legislation & References

This document was researched and developed to align with:

  • Work Health and Safety Act 2011
  • Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017
  • Excavation Work Code of Practice: Guidance on managing risks associated with excavation and trenching activities.
  • How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice: Framework for identifying hazards, assessing and controlling WHS risks.
  • Construction Work Code of Practice: Requirements for managing WHS risks on construction sites, including excavation interfaces.
  • Managing the Risk of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice: Safe selection, use and maintenance of excavation plant and equipment.
  • AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018: Risk management — Guidelines
  • AS 1742 Set: Manual of uniform traffic control devices for traffic management around excavation sites.
  • AS 4801 / ISO 45001: Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements for systematic WHS governance.
Standard Risk Assessment Features (Click to Expand)
  • Comprehensive hazard identification for all activities
  • Risk rating matrix with likelihood and consequence analysis
  • Existing control measures evaluation
  • Residual risk assessment after controls
  • Hierarchy of controls recommendations
  • Action priority rankings
  • Review and monitoring requirements
  • Consultation and communication records
  • Legal compliance references
  • Sign-off and approval sections

$79.5

Safe Work Australia Aligned