Not just red tape - a plain-English look at what the standards require, who's on the hook, and what's actually at stake if testing lapses.
The standard for in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment. It sets out how portable electrical equipment should be visually inspected, tested, and tagged, and how often, based on the risk of the environment it's used in - from 3-monthly on a construction site to 5-yearly in a low-risk office.
The standard for routine service of fire protection systems and equipment - extinguishers, fire blankets, hose reels and suppression systems. It sets fixed inspection and service intervals (6-monthly, yearly, and up to 5-yearly depending on the item) to make sure fire equipment actually works when it's needed.
The standard for inspecting and maintaining exit signs and emergency lighting. Every 6 months, each fitting must pass a 90-minute battery discharge test to prove it will light the way out if the power fails, backed by a yearly inspection of every fitting.
Compliance responsibility depends on who controls the workplace or equipment - and it's not always who you'd assume.
Under work health and safety law, employers have a duty to ensure electrical equipment and fire safety measures in their workplace are safe - that duty doesn't transfer away just because you lease the building.
Fixed fire protection systems (hose reels, suppression systems, building-wide equipment) are typically the building owner's responsibility, even where tenants are responsible for their own portable equipment.
In strata and multi-tenant buildings, common-area fire equipment and shared electrical infrastructure usually falls to the body corporate or managing agent to keep compliant.
Not sure where your obligation starts and ends? We can help you work it out - get in touch and we'll walk through it.
If a fire or electrical incident occurs and your equipment wasn't tested to the required standard, insurers can - and do - decline claims on the basis that the property wasn't compliant.
Failing to meet your work health and safety duty of care can result in regulator fines, and in the event someone is hurt, significantly higher personal and business liability.
Untested or untagged equipment is one of the most common findings in a workplace safety audit - an easily avoidable red flag that can hold up bigger compliance sign-offs.
The whole point of routine testing is catching faults before there's an emergency. An untested extinguisher or a frayed power cord is a real, physical risk to the people using it - not just a paperwork issue.
The retest cycles exist so equipment gets checked before it has a chance to fail - not as a one-off box to tick.
We assess your site, register every piece of equipment, and set the right testing schedule based on your risk category.
We test, tag and certify on the required cycle - 6-monthly, yearly, or longer depending on the item and standard - and replace anything that fails.
You get a digital certificate after every visit, and we track your next due date so nothing lapses without you knowing.
Testing and tagging to AS/NZS 3760 for offices, sites and workshops.
Learn more →Extinguishers, blankets, hose reels, suppression systems and emergency lighting to AS 1851 & AS/NZS 2293.2, with replacements supplied.
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