Last reviewed: November 2026
Four free permit templates, each as a PDF and Word file with a filled-in example: permit to work, hot work, lockout tagout and confined space entry. Not sure which one your job needs? The guide below the cards will help you pick.
Permit to work
Planned maintenance and non-routine work: scope, hazards, controls, sub-permits, sign-off and closure.
See template & example →
Hot work permit
Welding, cutting and grinding: fire prevention checks, fire watch and a final area check.
See template & example →
Lockout tagout permit
Isolating plant before work: energy sources, isolation points, locks, verification and release.
See template & example →
Confined space entry permit
Tanks, pits and vessels: gas testing, hazards and controls, the entry log and the standby person.
See template & example →
Planned maintenance, repairs or other non-routine work where the hazards and controls need to be agreed and signed off before work starts: permit to work.
Welding, cutting, grinding, brazing or anything else that makes sparks or heat near things that can burn: hot work permit.
Work on machinery or plant where electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, stored or gravity energy has to be isolated, locked, tagged and tested first: lockout tagout permit.
Going into a tank, pit, silo, vessel, sewer or other confined space: confined space entry permit.
Many jobs need more than one. The permit to work template has a sub-permits section so you can tie them together. See how it's filled in on the permit to work template page
The exact job, location and equipment, and the time the permit is valid for.
The hazards, and the controls that must be in place before work starts.
Isolations, gas tests or fire checks, with who did them and when.
Who issued the permit, who is in charge of the work, and the workers signed on.
Closure: the work is finished, the area is safe, and the permit is signed off and handed back.
A permit controls when work can start and under what conditions. A SWMS sets out how high risk construction work will be done, step by step. On a construction site you may need both. See the free SWMS template
Doing confined space work on a construction site? See the confined space SWMS example
For lower risk tasks, a JSA may be all your site asks for. Get the free JSA template
Most states and territories follow the model work health and safety laws, but Victoria has its own OHS laws, and guidance differs between regulators. We're not a regulator, so check yours before you rely on any template:
Confined spaces: Safe Work Australia's confined spaces code
Hot work: SafeWork NSW's welding code of practice
Isolation: SafeWork NSW's energy isolation guidelines
The model WHS laws don't set out a general permit to work form, but they do require risks to be controlled, and a permit is a common way to do that for high risk maintenance. Confined space entry is different: a written entry permit is needed before a worker goes in. See Safe Work Australia's confined spaces code
Yes. Replacing a conveyor gearbox, for example, can need a permit to work, an isolation and a hot work permit at the same time. List the extra permits on the permit to work so everyone can see how they connect.
Usually the person who issues it, the person in charge of the work and the area owner or supervisor, with each worker signing on. Your site's procedure decides who is authorised to issue permits.
Usually a single shift or the time written on the permit. If the job, the conditions or the crew change, stop and review the permit, and issue a new one if needed.
Yes. Send us one of these templates, or the permit you already use, and we can set it up in the Shadow Forms app so your crew can fill it in and sign on their phones. Upload a form
General information only, not legal advice. Check your state or territory regulator.
Send us the permit you already use, or one of these templates, and we'll set it up in the Shadow Forms app, no obligation.
Questions? Email us at info@neonroom.com.au
