Free printable JSA template
Type into the table, add rows as you need them, then print it or download it as a CSV or plain text file. The four columns are job steps, hazards, controls and the responsible person.
Type straight into the template, or print it blank and fill it in by hand. Printing sends only the template to the printer (landscape A4 works best). Downloads are built in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Job safety analysis (JSA)
Starting point only. Adapt it to your site, your job and the people doing it. General information, not legal advice. If the site asks for its own JSA format or a SWMS, use that.
| Job step | Hazards | Controls | Responsible person |
|---|---|---|---|
How to fill it in
There is no official JSA format, so this is a common way to work through one. Follow the site’s own format if it has one.
- Name the job and where it happens. A JSA for “maintenance” is too broad. Write the specific task, site and equipment.
- Break the job into steps. Put them in the order they will happen, from getting to the work area to leaving it clean and safe.
- List the hazards at each step. Ask what could cause harm at that step, including from other people, plant and the environment nearby.
- Set specific controls. Say exactly what will be done or used. The Construction Work Code of Practice makes the same point about a SWMS: a statement such as “use appropriate PPE” does not describe a control measure.
- Name a responsible person for each control. A named person, not “the crew”.
- Involve the people doing the work. They know where a job really goes wrong. Record who took part.
- Review it when the job or the conditions change. If the work, the weather, the plant or the people change, check the JSA still fits.
What a JSA is
JSA stands for job safety analysis. JHA, job hazard analysis, is used in the same way. Both are names that industry uses for a task-level risk assessment. We did not find a statutory definition of either term in the sources below, so what a JSA must contain is whatever the buyer’s or site’s safety system says it must.
When a JSA is required
No law we found requires a document called a JSA. Two things sit behind it instead.
- The legal duty to manage risk. The Code of Practice says that for construction activities that do not need a SWMS, a business must still manage risks to health and safety by eliminating or minimising them so far as is reasonably practicable (Code of Practice, section 4.1). A JSA is a common way to record that for a task.
- Site and company rules. Mines and principal contractors usually set their own requirements for task-level risk assessment and often ask for a JSA for a wider range of work than the law strictly requires. These rules are in the site’s contractor management or safety system, and in what a prequalification platform such as Avetta or ISNetworld asks you to upload. See Avetta vs ISNetworld.
JSA or SWMS?
If the work is one of the 18 high risk construction work activities, the law requires a SWMS, which must contain set information (Safe Work Australia). See the free SWMS template for the full list. WorkSafe Victoria says a SWMS is similar to a JSA, and that an existing JSA format can be used where it includes everything a SWMS requires (WorkSafe Victoria). Do not assume your JSA form does; check it against the SWMS content rules first.
For the full comparison, including how mining legislation in Western Australia and Queensland fits in, read SWMS and JSA for mining work.
Frequently asked questions
What is a JSA?
A JSA (job safety analysis) is a task-level risk assessment. You break a job into steps, identify the hazards at each step, and set the controls that will be used, with a named person responsible for each. JSA, and the related term JHA (job hazard analysis), are industry terms. We did not find a statutory definition of either.
Is a JSA a legal requirement?
Not by that name. The legal duty is to manage risks to health and safety by eliminating or minimising them so far as is reasonably practicable, and a JSA is one common way to record that for a task. Most JSA requirements come from the site or the company hiring you. The legal document for high risk construction work is a SWMS, not a JSA.
What is the difference between a JSA and a SWMS?
A SWMS is required by the model WHS Regulations for 18 listed types of high risk construction work and must contain set information. A JSA has no statutory content rules, so its format is whatever the site or company system says. WorkSafe Victoria says a SWMS is similar to a JSA and that an existing JSA format can be used if it includes all the information a SWMS requires.
Does a mine site require a JSA?
Many do, as part of their own contractor or safety management rules, often for a wider range of tasks than the law strictly requires. Requirements differ between sites. Ask the site safety team what format and what level of detail it wants before you write one.
Can I use this JSA template as it is?
No. It is a starting point. A JSA is only useful if it describes the actual job at the actual site, so fill every row with real steps, hazards and controls, and involve the people doing the work. Replace vague controls such as 'be careful' with specific actions.
Sources
Last checked 8 October 2026. Every legal or regulatory statement in this guide comes from one of these pages. Rules and platform terms change, so confirm against the source before you rely on them.
- Commonwealth legislation register: Work Health and Safety (Construction Work) Code of Practice 2015 (text checked for the SWMS rules and the duty to manage risks)
- Safe Work Australia: Model Code of Practice, Construction work (November 2024)
- Safe Work Australia: Information sheet, Safe work method statements
- WorkSafe Victoria: Safe work method statements (SWMS)