Elevating work platforms (EWPs) can provide safe access for work at height when the right machine is selected, the site is assessed and the work is properly controlled. Before anyone raises the platform, the team should understand the ground conditions, operating area, task, load, nearby structures, electrical hazards and emergency arrangements.
Information current: 6 August 2026. Local requirements vary across Australia, so check current material from the WHS or OHS regulator for the jurisdiction where the work will occur. The national Model Code is useful general orientation but is not automatically applicable law in every jurisdiction.
What is an elevating work platform?
An EWP is powered mobile plant designed to lift or lower people and equipment from a supporting base. Common types include scissor lifts, vertical mast lifts, telescopic and articulated boom lifts, trailer lifts, truck-mounted lifts and appropriately configured telehandlers.
The machine must suit the actual task and site. A compact electric scissor lift suitable for a level warehouse floor may be completely unsuitable for sloping, soft or uneven construction ground.
Main EWP hazards
EWP incidents can cause serious or fatal injuries. Important hazards include:
- overturning or collapse due to unstable ground, excessive slope, overloading or mechanical failure
- crushing or entrapment between the platform and an overhead structure
- collisions with workers, vehicles, structures or other plant
- falls from the platform, including being ejected from a boom-type EWP
- contact, arcing or flashover near energised electrical lines
- falling tools, materials or components
- wind, storms, poor visibility and other changing site conditions
- inadequate inspection, maintenance, communication or supervision.
These hazards interact. For example, using an EWP to reduce exposure to a fall can introduce moving-plant, ground-stability and crush risks that also need controls.
What should be sorted before work starts?
Planning should begin with the scope of work and consultation with the people involved. Operators, supervisors, subcontractors, the principal contractor and relevant suppliers may all hold useful information about the task or site.
Before use, confirm matters such as:
- whether an EWP is the right access method
- required working height, outreach and platform capacity
- machine dimensions, access routes and setup space
- ground strength, slope, edges, trenches, pits and underground services
- overhead electrical lines, structures and potential crush points
- pedestrian, vehicle and other plant movements
- manufacturer limits, including wind and operating conditions
- operator competency and machine familiarisation
- inspections, logbook status and visible defects
- emergency lowering, rescue, communication and first aid arrangements.
An available machine should not be selected simply because it is already on site. Selection should be based on the work, environment and conditions in which it will operate.
Controls and documents commonly used
Good EWP arrangements usually combine physical controls, safe systems and supporting records. Depending on the work, these may include:
- barriers and exclusion zones around the operating area
- traffic controls and a spotter where movement or visibility creates risk
- suitable outrigger pads or load-spreading measures used according to manufacturer instructions
- secured tools and materials to manage falling-object risks
- correct use of platform gates, guardrails, anchor points and required fall-protection equipment
- pre-start checks, inspection records, maintenance records and an up-to-date logbook
- a task risk assessment, safe work procedure or site-specific EWP plan
- a traffic management plan where the EWP interacts with roads or site traffic
- an emergency plan covering communication, emergency controls, lowering and rescue
- toolbox talks, consultation records, competency evidence and site instructions.
Controls should be reviewed when conditions change, a new hazard is found, serious weather affects the site or workers identify a problem. Information, training and instructions should match the machine, task, risks and controls.
When is a SWMS commonly required?
A safe work method statement (SWMS) applies when EWP use forms part of high risk construction work under the requirements applying in the relevant jurisdiction.
Under the model WHS approach, examples include construction work where a person could fall more than two metres, or work on, in or adjacent to a road or other traffic corridor used by traffic other than pedestrians. Other high risk construction work triggers may also apply to the task or location.
The SWMS should be site-specific and connected to how the work will actually be performed. Workers and their health and safety representatives, where applicable, should be consulted during its preparation and review. Other EWP work may still require a risk assessment, safe work procedure, emergency plan or site documentation even where a SWMS trigger is absent.
Practical warning signs
Stop and reassess the work if:
- the EWP rocks, sinks or sits close to an unsupported edge
- the platform load or wind conditions are uncertain
- workers climb on rails or use ladders inside the platform
- the travel path or exclusion zone is uncontrolled
- electrical approach arrangements are unclear
- inspection or maintenance records are missing or overdue
- ground controls are obstructed or nobody knows the lowering procedure
- the task, weather or site layout has changed without the controls being reviewed.
How Blue Safe can help
Blue Safe provides compliant WHS documents tailored to the client’s activities, applicable Australian WHS/OHS requirements, jurisdiction and industry. Blue Safe guarantees the document compliance of the WHS documents it provides, including eligible customer documents after Blue Safe has reviewed and upgraded them.
Customers actively put the compliant documents into practice through controls, consultation, training, actions, records and evidence. Blue Safe can help align EWP procedures, risk assessments, SWMS, emergency arrangements, inspection records and supporting site documents into a practical system for supervisors and workers.