Corrected against current Queensland temporary-structure, demolition and concrete-processing guidance on 20 July 2026.
Concrete cutting or core drilling may be required so that an engineered temporary-works system can be installed, altered or removed. The cutting contractor creates the approved opening, hole or removal boundary; it does not design the temporary structure, calculate its capacity, select an anchor from appearance, or certify that the permanent or temporary condition is stable.
This Brisbane and South East Queensland guide explains how to coordinate cutting around propping, bracing, formwork, façade retention, staged demolition, access and other temporary conditions. The useful starting point is the approved design and sequence—not a promise of rapid mobilisation or a universal cutting method.
Temporary works is a design and coordination problem
Temporary works can include systems that support a structure, construction process, access arrangement or work area for a limited period. A cut may form an anchor hole, access opening, separation line, pocket or removal boundary within that system. Its effect depends on the existing structure, the temporary design, the construction stage and what is installed before and after the concrete is altered.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland lists the Safe design of structures, Formwork, Demolition work and Scaffolding codes of practice among Queensland's current approved guidance. The relevant document and duties depend on the system and work. A generic blog article cannot declare which code, licence or design check is sufficient for every project.
Identify each party's role
- Client or principal contractor: coordinates the design, site information, duty holders, permits, programme, access and communication.
- Temporary-works or structural designer: defines the design assumptions, loads, support arrangement, cut or drilling locations, sequence, tolerances, hold points and acceptance requirements.
- Temporary-works installer: installs, inspects, alters and removes the system within its approved design and work method.
- Cutting contractor: performs the accepted cutting or drilling scope, manages the cutting task and stops when conditions conflict with the approved information.
- Engineer, competent person or other authorised verifier: performs the inspections, design confirmation or release decisions assigned by the project.
One organisation may hold more than one duty, but the outputs should still be explicit. A concrete cutter should not become the default designer merely because the opening is marked on site.
Issue a cut-ready design package
Before mobilisation, provide drawings and instructions that are approved for the construction stage. Depending on the work, useful inputs include:
- the permanent structure, temporary system and elements that must remain;
- the location, dimensions, depth, orientation and purpose of each cut or core;
- the installation, loading, cutting, removal and unloading sequence;
- supports, props, braces, restraints or exclusions required before cutting starts;
- anchor or fixing details supplied by the responsible designer or system provider;
- reinforcement, post-tensioning, services and hazardous-material information;
- the weight, support, lifting and destination of every released concrete section;
- hold points, inspection records and the person authorised to release each stage; and
- what constitutes a design change and who can approve it.
A mark with no drawing revision, purpose or approving name is not a complete temporary-works brief. Confirm that the latest information is at the work face and that superseded marks cannot be mistaken for approved set-out.
Stability must exist through every stage
The permanent structure and temporary system can pass through conditions that do not exist in the final design. Removing a strip, drilling an anchor hole, cutting reinforcement, releasing restraint or changing a prop load can alter the load path before the next component is installed. The designer should define the required sequence and any stage that cannot be left unattended.
WHSQ's formwork-collapse alert emphasises following the formwork designer's instructions, maintaining stability and confirming the supporting structure can carry construction loads. Although not every temporary-works job is formwork, the same practical lesson applies: the cutter should not improvise around props, bracing or load assumptions.
Check whether demolition requirements apply
Cutting can form part of alteration, repair or demolition. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland explains that altering, maintaining, remodelling or repairing a structure can be classed as demolition when it requires demolition or dismantling of a load-bearing part. Its current demolition-licence guidance also identifies work and structural conditions that require licence checks.
The responsible project team should classify the work, confirm any licence, notification or high-risk construction-work requirements and identify the competent supervision before cutting. Describing work as "temporary" does not remove requirements that apply to the actual alteration or removal.
Scan and investigate without promising a clear zone
Concrete scanning can reduce uncertainty about selected reinforcement, post-tensioning and services where the target, material, depth, congestion, access and method allow. It does not determine the structural consequence of cutting an item and cannot guarantee that an unmarked area contains nothing.
Agree the scan face, proposed cut, target priorities, mark-out, limitations and response to uncertain findings. Combine the result with structural, post-tension, service and as-built information. The responsible designer or authorised party should decide whether a conflict requires relocation, redesign or another investigation; the cutting contractor should not move a temporary-works fixing or cut without that decision.
Define anchors and substrate checks
Temporary systems may rely on fixings, anchors, pockets or bearing areas. Their type, diameter, embedment, spacing, edge distance, installation procedure, testing and acceptance cannot be selected from a generic core-drilling table. They depend on the substrate, reinforcement, cracked or uncracked condition, loads, system and designer's specification.
Confirm whether Cutcore is creating a hole only or also installing an item. Record who supplies the fixing, checks the substrate, approves any reinforcement conflict, installs and torques or tensions the system, conducts proof or other testing, and accepts the result. Do not describe a clean-looking hole as a certified anchor point.
Control released sections and the far side
Plan what happens when the cut completes. A wall, slab or core section can move, rotate or fall when its last connection is released. The design and method should address support, lifting points, rigging, exclusion, travel path, floor loading and disposal. Protect the area behind, below and beside the work from the blade, bit, water, slurry and released material.
Cut sequence, lifting sequence and temporary support sequence should use the same references. If the calculated section differs from what is found, stop rather than creating a smaller or larger piece without approval.
Use current cutting and silica controls
Cutting and drilling concrete can generate respirable crystalline silica. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland publishes the current crystalline-silica-substance processing framework and task guidance for core saws and drills. Controls must suit the selected equipment, material, orientation, work area and current risk-control process.
Plan water supply, containment, electrical conditions, wet vacuum or other recovery, slip control and lawful slurry disposal. Coordinate noise, vibration, dust and work-zone controls with the temporary system and other trades. Do not rely on fixed depth, diameter, production-rate, water-flow or equipment promises from another project.
Check hazardous materials and existing systems
Coatings, membranes, fire-stopping, façades, services and older building materials may contain hazards not visible at the surface. Review the workplace asbestos register, surveys and other material information before disturbance. WHSQ's asbestos guidance explains identification and management responsibilities.
Identify who reinstates fire, waterproofing, acoustic, corrosion-protection or service systems affected by the cut. Temporary closure or protection should not be mistaken for final compliant reinstatement.
Use hold points and change control
- Design accepted: stage, loads, set-out, sequence, support and responsibilities are issued.
- Site verified: structure, access, services, scans, materials and conditions are checked against the design assumptions.
- Temporary support accepted: required props, braces, restraints and exclusions are installed and released for cutting.
- Pre-cut hold point: the correct marks, equipment, section handling and controls are confirmed.
- Staged cutting: work stops at the specified points for inspection, installation, lifting or changed conditions.
- Handover: completed cuts, deviations, unexpected findings, cleanup and outstanding reinstatement are recorded.
- Removal or final release: only the authorised party confirms when temporary components can be altered or removed.
Stop and escalate unexpected cracking, movement, noise, load transfer, reinforcement, post-tensioning, voids, material changes, service conflicts, damaged support or a failed control. Programme pressure does not authorise a design change.
Temporary-works cutting quote checklist
- site address, contacts, access, inductions, work hours and programme;
- approved temporary-works and structural drawings with revision status;
- cut or core schedule, dimensions, orientation, tolerance and finish;
- support, bracing, load, sequence, hold-point and release instructions;
- reinforcement, post-tension, service, scan and hazardous-material records;
- section weights, lifting, far-side protection, access and disposal plan;
- power, water, silica, slurry, noise, vibration and occupied-area constraints;
- licence, permit, inspection, test and documentation requirements; and
- installation, temporary protection, reinstatement and final acceptance responsibilities.
Temporary-works cutting questions
Can Cutcore design the props or temporary system?
No. Cutcore can scope and perform agreed concrete cutting, core drilling and scanning work. The temporary system, loads, sequence and release decisions must come from the responsible designer and authorised project parties.
Does scanning approve an anchor or cut location?
No. Scanning is one investigation input with limitations. The responsible designer or authorised party must review conflicts and approve the location.
Can the cut start before every support is installed?
Only if the approved design and sequence explicitly permit that stage and the assigned hold point has been released. The cutting contractor should not infer stability from appearance.
Coordinate the structure before the saw
Review Cutcore's cutting, drilling, scanning and demolition services, the Queensland concrete-cutting safety guide and the robotic-demolition project-scope guide. Request a project discussion with the approved drawings, cut schedule, supports, sequence, scans, section-handling plan and hold points.
This article provides general project information only and is not temporary-works, structural, demolition, anchoring, lifting, hazardous-material, work-health-and-safety or legal advice. Final design, licences, sequence, supports, equipment, controls, inspections and release decisions must reflect the site and advice from the responsible competent and authorised parties.