Electrical safety in the workplace

As an employer or a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) you have duties to ensure your workplace is safe from dangers that may be caused by electrical equipment.

As part of your duties under electrical safety laws, you must ensure electrical equipment is kept in a safe condition. These duties include:

protecting extension leads and flexible cables from damage
using safety switches in certain situations
inspecting, testing and tagging certain electrical equipment on a regular basis
removing defective equipment
ensuring safety switches are working properly
avoiding the use of double adaptors and piggyback plugs for certain work
ensuring extension cords are regularly tested and tagged.

This guide provides a summary of electrical workplace safety practices.

Electrical workplace practices

As an employer you have a duty of care to familiarise yourself with management of electrical risks in the workplace.

There are a number of electrical safety codes of practice that may be useful in helping you to maintain a safe workplace.

Valuable information about electrical safety at work

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Electrical equipment and tool testing and tagging

According to the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld), as an employer you must regularly inspect and test specified electrical equipment and safety switches in your workplace.

The requirements for inspecting and testing differ depending on the type of work that is carried out with the electrical equipment.

For electrical equipment used in construction work, the information for inspecting and testing can be found in the AS/NZS 3012:2019 Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites standard.

For electrical equipment used in the manufacturing, service, office, amusement and rural industries, the information can be found in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld).

Only a person who has experience, qualifications and training (i.e. is competent) should test and tag electrical equipment. The definition of a competent person can be found in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld).

It is also an offence under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) to repair electrical equipment unless you have the appropriate electrical work licence.

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Find out more information about testing and tagging tools.

General electrical safety

Queensland's Electrical Safety Office undertakes a wide range of activities to help Queenslanders stay safe around electricity.

The Electrical Safety Office website provides a range of services and information about electrical safety in Queensland. Through this site you can:

find out if your electrician is properly licensed
receive information on electrical product recalls and alerts
register to attend an electrical safety forum
access a wide range of electrical safety fact sheets and brochures
learn about electrical safety around powerlines.

If you have questions about a potential electrical safety problem, call the Electrical Safety Infoline on 1300 362 128.

Queensland electricity distributors also provide information on electrical safety, especially regarding how to prepare for the summer storm season and what to do about fallen power poles.

Visit Energex or Ergon Energy for more electrical safety tips and advice.

Powerline safety

Powerlines are dangerous. They should be treated with extreme caution at all times.

As an employer or self-employed person, you have an obligation under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 to ensure that anyone performing work for your business or undertaking, involving contact with, or being near to exposed live parts, are electrically safe.

Excavating near electrical cables

You have safety responsibilities if you are excavating on your property where there are electrical cables. Underground electricity cables could be almost anywhere you dig, and damaging them may disrupt essential services, cause injuries and could result in a fine. To make sure your work is safe, visit Before You Dig Australia or phone on 1100 before you begin excavating.

Before You Dig Australia is a free service that covers electricity, gas, water and telecommunications, and provides the location of underground pipes and cables within your property. If the proposed excavation site within your property has underground networks, all relevant plans showing their location should be provided within 2 working days.

Also consider...

Learn more about keeping your workplace safe.
View our Tools for your small business webinar for information on safety fundamentals for small business, how to access resources, implement ideas and keep you and your workers safe.