Demolition Task Analysis Template (New Zealand)
A demolition task analysis must be built from the structure, surroundings and planned removal sequence. This copyable form helps a New Zealand PCBU and its competent demolition team document how a specific job will be carried out and controlled. Do not use a generic table to approve demolition of an unknown structure. An appropriately competent person must assess stability, services, hazardous materials, plant loading and the sequence before work starts, with engineering input where required.
WorkSafe's health and safety by design guidance points to the importance of information about load paths for future demolition. Its current asbestos guidance and 2026 updated asbestos guidance announcement mean asbestos checks need a current, job-specific source review. This template does not decide whether asbestos is present, select a removal licence or authorise structural work.
Task and approval record
| Field | Complete for this job |
|---|---|
| Project/site; exact structure and work zone | |
| PCBU, principal contractor and demolition contractor | |
| Competent planner, supervisor and structural adviser where needed | |
| Scope: what is being removed and what must stay | |
| Drawings, surveys and version/date checked | |
| Adjacent buildings, occupants, roads, utilities and public interface | |
| Asbestos survey/assessment and other hazardous material findings | |
| Service isolation owner, date, evidence and residual live services | |
| Plant, lifting and temporary works plan references | |
| Environmental controls: dust, noise, debris, runoff and waste | |
| Emergency/rescue route and stop-work authority | |
| WorkSafe/local authority notifications or permits checked by |
Step-by-step task analysis
Replace the example controls with a competent plan for the actual structure. Give each step one owner and identify the evidence that must exist before the next step begins.
| Step | What could cause harm? | Controls and hold point | Owner / evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Establish scope and survey | Unknown load path, concealed damage, asbestos, contamination | Review as-built information and site survey; confirm demolition limits; obtain competent structural/asbestos advice and update plan for unknowns. Hold work until key uncertainties are resolved. | |
| 2. Coordinate interfaces | People enter drop zone; traffic or neighbouring activity conflicts | Agree exclusion zone, access, protection and timing with other PCBUs and affected neighbours; inspect physical barriers. | |
| 3. Isolate services | Electric shock, gas release, flooding or fire | Identify all above/below-ground services; relevant service owner isolates/verifies; mark residual live services and emergency contacts. Do not assume a switch or plan proves isolation. | |
| 4. Set temporary support and sequence | Premature collapse or progressive failure | Competent person approves sequence, support, plant position and loading; communicate no-go zones. Hold before removing a load-bearing element. | |
| 5. Remove materials | Falling debris, dust, cuts, hazardous waste | Use controlled removal and suitable plant/access; prevent uncontrolled dropping; segregate hazardous material; maintain dust controls and waste route. | |
| 6. Manage height and edges | Falls from or through slabs/roof, falling objects | Eliminate access where possible; install suitable collective protection and exclusion below; inspect after changes. | |
| 7. Clear and hand over | Unstable remnant, buried services, unauthorised entry | Competent final inspection, waste records, residual hazards and written handover of remaining structure/site. |
Pre-start questions the supervisor must answer
- Does the plan identify which elements carry loads and what happens when each is removed? If no, stop planning the removal step until competent structural advice is obtained.
- Has asbestos and other hazardous material been assessed under current New Zealand rules before disturbance? If uncertain, keep the material undisturbed and obtain specialist assessment.
- Have electrical, gas, water, telecoms and other services been identified and isolated by appropriate people? Record verification and any services intentionally left live.
- Can debris, dust or plant affect members of the public, occupied parts of the site or neighbouring PCBUs? Specify physical separation and communication.
- Could the demolition involve particular hazardous work or a separate asbestos notification? Check the exact trigger and notice procedure; notification is not approval of the method.
- Who can stop work when an unexpected beam, material, service, crack or movement is found? Give every worker a clear route to that person and a safe stand-down area.
Change control and sign-off
Change observed: ___ . Immediate safe state: ___ . Planner/engineer/asbestos specialist consulted: ___ . Revised sequence/controls: ___ . Workers and adjacent PCBUs rebriefed: ___ . Date/time and approval: ___ . Do not continue on the strength of an old analysis when the structure or assumptions differ. A competent supervisor should walk the site at each major stage and verify the conditions assumed in the plan.
Crew briefing: names/roles ___ ; date/time ___ ; language/understanding check ___ ; questions/actions ___ . Supervisor confirmation: ___ . Client/adjacent PCBU interface agreed: ___ . Signatures record communication; they do not certify structural stability or asbestos clearance.
Example: partial demolition beside an occupied building
A contractor must remove a rear extension while keeping the main building occupied. The survey shows shared services and a wall that may help restrain the retained building. The team pauses the removal sequence for a structural engineer's decision, isolates the relevant supplies, creates a protected occupant route and separates demolition plant from the occupied area. The task analysis names the wall-removal hold point and the person authorised to release it. A template that simply says “demolish safely and wear PPE” would provide no useful method.
Common failures
- Treating a demolition drawing as proof of the actual structure's condition.
- Starting before asbestos/service status is established.
- Letting a plant operator improvise the removal sequence after a support is exposed.
- Failing to protect workers or the public below a drop zone.
- Keeping one analysis after a concealed condition changes the plan.
- Treating a notification or a signed form as engineering approval.
Ownership, links and product truth
This is a demolition-specific NZ task form, distinct from the broader NZ SSSP, generic risk-assessment pages and the separate electrical, excavation, roofing, scaffolding and height-work task analyses. Targeted search found no exact live NZ Complys demolition-task template; final repository/gated owner search is required. The verified Complys New Zealand host can be used as a neutral brand link. The proposed /nz/risk-assessment-software route and any claim that Complys creates, approves or signs off NZ demolition methods must be proven in the actual product before a money-page CTA is added. WorkSafe construction topics provide related guidance.
Source/claim QA, 6 October 2026: WorkSafe health-and-safety-by-design, asbestos and particular-hazardous-work guidance are the primary basis. No numerical demolition clearance, statutory form, licence conclusion or structural sign-off is invented. This copy requires specialist site adaptation and final current-law review. Writer-side disposition: READY as a usable form and guide, with publication gates above.