PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) and Current NSW Legislation and Compliance

New Regulations 

Simplified safety regulations for electrical equipment in the workplace specifically identifies working environments where testing and tagging of electrical equipment is required, such as electrical equipment used for construction work (as defined in the Regulation) and electrical equipment used in other ‘hostile operating environments’. 

What Are The Legislative Requirements Regarding Testing And Tagging? 
  • If you are an employer or self-employed person, you have a duty of care to ensure that employees and visitors to the workplace are safe from injury and risks to health. You must, therefore, manage any safety risks surrounding electrical hazards, in accordance with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (the Act) and the Regulation. 
  • All electrical equipment that is used in construction work to be regularly inspected, tested and maintained by a competent person to ensure it is safe for use, and
  • All electrical equipment that is used at a place of work where the safe operation of the electrical equipment could be affected by a hostile operating environment is regularly inspected, tested and maintained by a competent person to ensure it is safe for use, and
  • All electrical equipment at a place of work that is found to be unsafe is disconnected from the electricity supply and is repaired, replaced or permanently removed from use. 

What Is A Hostile Operating Environment?
An operating environment at a place of work where an item of electrical equipment is, in its normal use, subject to operating conditions that are likely to result in damage to the item of equipment. This includes an operating environment that may: ​​
  • Cause mechanical damage to the item of equipment, or
  • ​Expose the item of equipment to moisture, heat, vibration, corrosive substances or dust that is likely to result in damage to the item of equipment. 
​

Does All Electrical Equipment Have To Be Tested And Tagged? ​
No. Testing and tagging of those items of electrical equipment that are used for construction work or used in a hostile operating environment where the safe operation of the electrical equipment could be affected. 

Employers may  note that following completion of a risk assessment determine that inspection and testing of identified electrical equipment is warranted. 
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​WHAT HAPPENS TO ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT THAT IS NOT USED IN A HOSTILE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT OR FOR CONSTRUCTION WORK? 
Employers must ensure that any risk of injury from electricity at a place of work is eliminated or, if elimination is not reasonably practicable, the risk is controlled. 
A risk assessment must be carried out on electrical equipment that does not fit into the above categories. After the risk assessment, you can then implement a range of control measures to manage the safe operation of electrical equipment that is used in the workplace, including:
  •  Routine visual checks by the equipment user
  • Formal visual inspections
  • Maintenance
  • Repair
  • Replacement
  • Use of fixed or portable residual current devices (RCDs) more commonly known as safety switches.
  • Training and instructing employees in the safe use of the electrical equipment
  • If determined as an outcome of a risk assessment, inspection and testing of identified electrical equipment.

​The WorkCover publication entitled Electrical Equipment Risk Assessment can be used to help you undertake the risk assessment and comply with the legislative requirements described in the Regulation. 
​Do I Have To ‘Test And Tag’ My Desktop Computers And Office Type Electrical Equipment?
 No. Office type equipment such as computers, photocopiers, printers, extension cords sets, power outlets devices (power boards) electrical equipment used in office tea and lunch rooms does not normally present a risk to the user. This is due to:
  • The permanent nature of their location
  • The low risk working environment in which the electrical equipment is used
In workplaces like these, a risk assessment must be carried out in accordance with the risk management provisions of the OHS Regulation. If the risk assessment determines the electrical equipment is being used in a hostile operating environment it must then be regularly inspected and tested in accordance with the provisions of the Standard, AS/NZS 3760. 
Do I Have To Comply Fully With The Inspection And Testing Intervals ​​Described In Table 4 Of The As/Nzs 3760? 
No. The inspection and testing intervals only need to be applied to electrical equipment that has been assessed as operating in a hostile operating environment as described in clause 64 of the Regulation.

​Note: The testing time-frames recommended in AS/NZS 3760 can be varied subject to a risk assessment carried out in accordance with the OHS Regulation. 
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