Tradie Run Sheet Builder / Before you start / Electrical work
Electrical work
Printed on a job only when this tag is ticked or electrical is in its tags column. Never read from the task text.
What the sheet prints
- Isolate, lock and tag, test before touch; live work only under r 157 to 161 (necessary, risk assessed, SWMS, safety observer) WHS Regs r 154 to 156, r 157 to 161; AS/NZS 4836:2023 3.1.3, 3.1.4
- Portable tools on RCD, test tags current WHS Regs r 164 and 165; AS/NZS 3760:2022 2.4 (RCD operating time) and 2.5 (tagging)
The clauses behind it
Each clause below is our statement of it, cited to it, not the text verbatim.
the model WHS Regulations, r154-156
rr 154 to 156 No work on energised equipment; test before work; treat parts as live; prevent re-energising. The PCBU carrying out electrical work ensures it is not done on energised equipment (subject to r 157), that before work the equipment is tested by a competent person to determine whether it is energised, that every exposed part is treated as energised until isolated and proved de-energised, that high-voltage exposed parts are earthed after de-energising, and that de-energised equipment is not inadvertently re-energised while work continues (lockout and tagging).
the model WHS Regulations, r157-161
rr 157 to 161 Energised electrical work only when permitted, with risk assessment, SWMS, access control and safety observer. Electrical work on energised equipment is carried out only where it is necessary in the interests of health and safety, necessary for the work to be done properly, necessary for testing, or where there is no reasonable alternative; before it starts a competent person conducts and records a risk assessment, the area is clear, the isolation point is marked, unobstructed and quickly operable (unless on the supply side of the main switch and not reasonably accessible), and the PCBU authorises the work after consulting the person with management or control of the workplace; only authorised people enter the area, all persons are prevented from inadvertent contact, and the work is done by a competent person with suitable, tested and maintained tools, test equipment and PPE used properly, under a safe work method statement identifying the work, hazards, risks and controls, with a safety observer competent in emergency controls and in rescue and resuscitation (assessed within the last 12 months), except for testing-only work shown by the risk assessment to carry no serious risk.
AS/NZS 4836, 3.1.3
3.1.3 Isolating the electrical equipment from all supplies. The equipment must be isolated from every source of supply by switching off, withdrawing fuses or links, tripping or opening breakers, or disconnecting conductors, and procedures must be in place to find alternative supplies (inverters and UPS, standby generators, solar, neutrals fed back from mixed circuits, ring main arrangements, separate auxiliary control supplies, backfeed from ELV controls, emergency lighting supplies, batteries). Control circuits and systems such as PLCs, emergency stops and selector switches must not be used as the means of isolation. Automatic control devices can re-energize wiring. When removing connections, actives should be disconnected first, then neutrals, with earths last.
AS/NZS 4836, 3.1.4
3.1.4 Securing isolation: locks, padlocks and tags. Isolating devices must be secured open or in the zero energy state so they cannot be operated inadvertently (an adaptor may be needed), and nobody may operate an isolator or use equipment carrying an isolation securing device. Where the isolator can be locked, the lock facility must be used. Securing devices need a deliberate action to fit or remove and can be a physical device (clip, screw, bolt, pin, padlock), a personal danger tag, a lockout or permit arrangement, or another system giving the same safety. Personal padlocks should be red, uniquely keyed and identify the owner by name, employer and contact number; a multi-lock device suited to the isolator must be used where more than one person locks on. Tags must be fixed with a lock, string or tie (never PVC tape), with legible permanent entries; permit systems use their own sign-on and tagging. Danger tags, which protect the individual, go at every point of switching, isolation or disconnection unless a padlock is used; warning or out of service tags go on equipment not to be operated except as the tag says. A danger tag comes off only with the signatory's permission or under a tag removal procedure; a warning or out of service tag only by a competent person given evidence the equipment is safe.
the model WHS Regulations, r164-165
rr 164 and 165 Use RCDs for socket outlets in hostile environments and test RCDs regularly. Where electrical equipment is used in a hostile operating environment, moved where damage to it or its cord is reasonably likely, frequently moved in normal use, or part of or used with an amusement device, the PCBU ensures so far as reasonably practicable that socket outlet supply risks are minimised by an appropriate residual current device (tripping at no more than 30 milliamps for outlets up to 20 amps), unless the supply is 50 V AC or less, DC, via an isolating transformer or via a non-earthed isolated winding generator giving equivalent protection; the person with management or control of the workplace takes reasonable steps to have RCDs tested regularly by a competent person and keeps test records (other than daily tests) until the next test or removal.
AS/NZS 3760, 2.4.3-rcd
2.4 Testing: operating time of RCDs (Appendix H, Table 2.3). RCDs, including in Australia fixed RCDs in the installation and portable RCDs, are tested for operating time by the normative method in Appendix H, and the measured tripping time must not exceed the maximum in Table 2.3 for the device type. RCDs wired permanently into equipment are checked with the test button, watching that they trip without undue delay, and timed with an external circuit if in doubt. The push-button test by the user and the operating time test each have their own indicative interval in Table 2.4. The same method may be used to verify RCDs where AS/NZS 3000, 3001, 3002, 3012 or 3019 require it.
AS/NZS 3760, 2.5.2
2.5 Tagging of compliant equipment, and new-to-service tags. Equipment that passes is given a tag or similar marker that lasts, can be read, cannot be reused, is not metal and needs no special technique to read (a code for electronic data capture may be added). The tag shows at minimum who tested it (person or firm), when it was tested or inspected, when the next test is due, and that the test was to AS/NZS 3760; colour coding by test period is optional unless a regulator requires it. In Australia, new equipment entering service untested carries a tag stating new to service, the date of entry to service, the date the next test is due, and that the item has not been tested to AS/NZS 3760 (Clause 2.5.2.1(c), cited in the 2022 text of 1.2.1.1). Where a tag does not carry the tester and date information, the records must be available on site for audit by the next working day.
In Victoria
A Victorian sheet prints, in place of the lines above:
- Damaged electrical plant cut off from supply and kept out of use until repaired; no use in conditions likely to create electrical hazards; permit to work systems in place; work on or near live electrical installations is high risk construction work, so a SWMS OHS Regs (Vic) r 114, r 322(l); OHS Act (Vic) s 21(2)(a)
- In a confined space: connected plant and services isolated so nothing is introduced or energised OHS Regs (Vic) r 57
Victoria: the lines below cite the Victorian OHS Act and OHS Regulations; the Regulations are due to sunset, so check the version in force.
Each clause below is our statement of it, cited to it, not the text verbatim.
the Victorian OHS Regulations, r114
r 114 Electrical plant and plant exposed to electrical hazards. For electrical plant, and for any plant exposed to an electrical hazard, a self-employed person or employer must ensure three things: where damage to the plant creates an electrical hazard, the plant is cut off from its power supply and kept out of use until the damaged part has been repaired or replaced; the plant is not used in conditions likely to create electrical hazards; and suitable permit to work systems are in place to prevent accidental energising of isolated plant that is still physically connected to the electrical supply.
the Victorian OHS Act, s21-2-a
s 21(2)(a) Provide and maintain safe plant and systems of work. An employer breaches s 21(1) if it fails to supply or maintain plant (machinery, equipment, appliances, tools and their components and attachments) and systems of work that are, as far as reasonably practicable, safe and free of risks to health. Systems of work include the methods, procedures, rosters, permits and supervision arrangements under which tasks are carried out. Plant must be kept safe over its whole working life through inspection, guarding, servicing and repair. Maximum penalty for the underlying s 21(1) offence: 1800 penalty units (individual) or 9000 penalty units (body corporate).
the Victorian OHS Regulations, r57
r 57 Isolate plant and services connected to a confined space. Employers and self-employed persons must eliminate, as far as reasonably practicable, risks from any substance or condition being introduced into the space by connected plant or services, and from connected plant or services being activated or energised in any way. Where elimination is not reasonably practicable, those risks must be reduced as far as reasonably practicable (ss 21, 23, 24).
Trades that meet it most: electricians.