Product Overview

Summary: This Underground Service Location Safe Operating Procedure provides a clear, step-by-step process for identifying, confirming, and working around underground utilities before any excavation or penetration works commence. It helps Australian businesses prevent service strikes, protect workers from serious injury, and maintain compliance with WHS and duty of care obligations.

Any work that involves breaking ground—whether with an excavator, auger, hand tools or directional drilling—carries a significant risk of striking underground services such as electricity, gas, water, sewer, communications and fibre-optic lines. In Australia, a single service strike can cause serious injury or death, major service outages, environmental harm and substantial financial penalties. This Underground Service Location Safe Operating Procedure sets out a practical, repeatable process to locate, verify and protect underground assets before work begins, aligning with WHS obligations and industry best practice, including the ‘Dial Before You Dig’ (Before You Dig Australia) requirements.

This SOP guides your team through the full lifecycle of underground service management: from pre-planning, utility plan requests and risk assessment, through to on-site marking, use of electronic locating equipment, potholing to prove services, and safe work methods around confirmed assets. It addresses both construction and maintenance contexts—urban, regional and remote—and clarifies roles and responsibilities between PCBU, supervisors, operators and subcontractors. By implementing this procedure, businesses can significantly reduce the likelihood of utility strikes, improve coordination with asset owners, and demonstrate a robust, documented system of work if an incident is ever scrutinised by regulators or insurers.

The document is written specifically for the Australian regulatory environment and is suitable for integration into existing WHS management systems, Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) and site-specific work packs. It supports consistent training of new staff and contractors, ensures that critical checks are not skipped under time pressure, and provides a defensible framework showing that all reasonably practicable steps were taken to identify and control underground service risks.

Key Benefits

• Reduce the risk of underground utility strikes that can cause serious injury, fatalities and significant asset damage.
• Ensure consistent, documented underground service location practices across all sites, teams and contractors.
• Demonstrate compliance with Australian WHS legislation and industry expectations around excavation and service protection.
• Improve coordination with asset owners and service authorities through standardised information requests and communication protocols.
• Support efficient planning and reduce costly delays by identifying service conflicts early in the project lifecycle.

Who is this for?

• Site Supervisors
• Construction Project Managers
• Civil Engineers
• Plant Operators
• Excavator Operators
• Utility Locators
• WHS Managers
• Maintenance Supervisors
• Facilities Managers
• Landscaping and Grounds Teams

Hazards Addressed

• Electrocution or arc flash from contact with underground electrical cables
• Explosion, fire or gas release from damage to gas mains or fuel lines
• Flooding, contamination or environmental harm from ruptured water or sewer pipes
• Service outages affecting communications, data networks and essential services
• Struck-by or crushing injuries during emergency responses to service strikes
• Ground instability or collapse due to unplanned excavation around major services
• Exposure to hazardous atmospheres from damaged sewer or stormwater infrastructure

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions and Abbreviations (including SUI classifications and BYDA terminology)
• 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities (PCBU, supervisors, operators, contractors, utility locators)
• 4.0 Applicable Legislation, Standards and Codes of Practice
• 5.0 Pre-Planning and Risk Assessment for Underground Service Work
• 6.0 Requesting and Interpreting Underground Service Plans (BYDA and asset owners)
• 7.0 Site Verification and Mark-Up of Underground Services
• 8.0 Use of Electronic Locating Equipment and Ground Penetrating Radar
• 9.0 Potholing and Proving of Underground Services (Non-destructive Digging Requirements)
• 10.0 Safe Work Methods Near Confirmed Underground Services
• 11.0 Controls for High-Risk Services (high-voltage, gas, critical communications, trunk mains)
• 12.0 Permit-to-Excavate and Authorisation Requirements
• 13.0 Communication, Consultation and Contractor Management
• 14.0 Emergency Response and Incident Reporting for Service Strikes
• 15.0 Training, Competency and Verification of Skills
• 16.0 Documentation, Records Management and Review of the Procedure

Legislation & References

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) and corresponding state and territory WHS Acts
• Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth) and corresponding state and territory WHS Regulations
• Safe Work Australia – Excavation Work Code of Practice
• Safe Work Australia – Managing Electrical Risks in the Workplace Code of Practice
• AS/NZS 3000: Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules
• AS 5488: Classification of Subsurface Utility Information (SUI)
• Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) – Duty of Care Guidelines for Safe Excavation
• AS/NZS ISO 45001: Occupational health and safety management systems