SafeWork NSW inspections can place a sharp focus on electrical safety compliance, especially in workplaces using portable electrical equipment, extension leads, power boards, chargers, workshop tools, kitchen appliances, and other plug-in equipment used every day.
One of the most common compliance problems is partial testing. Some equipment may be tagged, while other items across the workplace have never been inspected or recorded. During a SafeWork inspection, this can quickly raise questions about whether the workplace has a complete and defensible electrical safety system.
Work Health and Safety Act In more serious cases, penalties may apply.
What Is a Penalty Unit in NSW?
Under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act, penalties are often expressed in penalty units rather than fixed dollar amounts.
Penalty units are indexed so their value can be updated over time.
As of the 2025–2026 financial year, one penalty unit in NSW is valued at $123.31.
When offences are expressed in penalty units, the actual fine is calculated by multiplying the number of penalty units by the current value. This means that penalties can quickly become significant for businesses that fail to meet their safety obligations.
Maximum WHS Penalties
The Work Health and Safety Act outlines three categories of offences.
Category 1 involves reckless conduct that exposes a person to a risk of death or serious injury.
Category 2 applies where a duty holder fails to comply with safety obligations and exposes a person to risk.
Category 3 applies where a duty holder fails to comply with a health and safety duty.
Penalties can apply to individuals, officers of a business, and corporations. For this reason, WHS compliance is not simply a procedural task. It forms part of how a workplace demonstrates that risks are being properly managed.
Examples of maximum penalties under the Work Health and Safety Act include:
Category 1 – Reckless conduct
This is the most serious offence and applies where a person engages in reckless conduct that exposes someone to the risk of death or serious injury.
Maximum penalties can include:
- Individuals – fines exceeding $1 million and up to 10 years imprisonment
- Officers of a business – fines exceeding $2 million
- Corporations – fines exceeding $10 million
Category 2 – Failure exposing a person to risk
This applies where a duty holder fails to comply with safety obligations and exposes someone to the risk of serious injury or illness.
Maximum penalties include substantial fines for individuals, officers, and corporations, often reaching hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars depending on the circumstances.
Category 3 – Failure to comply with a safety duty
Even where no injury occurs, failing to meet workplace safety obligations can still lead to significant financial penalties for individuals and businesses.
These penalties illustrate why businesses must be able to demonstrate that workplace risks — including electrical equipment risks — are identified, tested and properly documented.
For many workplaces, electrical equipment testing is one of the easiest compliance gaps for an inspector to spot because the evidence is either there or it is not.
When electrical equipment has not been inspected consistently across a workplace, it can quickly become a visible compliance gap during an inspection.
Check Your Workplace Electrical Compliance
If you're unsure whether your electrical equipment testing records would stand up to a SafeWork inspection, Liberty Test & Tag can carry out a compliance inspection aligned with AS/NZS 3760.
Book a Compliance InspectionSafeWork NSW Enforcement Powers
SafeWork NSW inspectors have several enforcement powers when they identify safety issues in a workplace.
An improvement notice may be issued when a safety breach must be corrected within a specified time.
A prohibition notice can be issued when an activity involves an immediate or serious safety risk and work must stop until the risk is controlled.
In more serious situations, SafeWork NSW may pursue prosecution.
Inspectors may also return to confirm that identified issues have been addressed.
Example: SafeWork Inspection at a Western Sydney Workplace
In many industrial workplaces, electrical equipment compliance problems occur because testing has only been carried out in certain areas.
For example, SafeWork inspectors may find that equipment in the dispatch area has been tagged while tools, chargers, or extension leads in other areas have never been inspected.
When this occurs, inspectors may question whether the workplace can genuinely demonstrate that electrical risks across the site are being managed properly.
Resolving this situation usually requires a full electrical equipment inspection across the site, including electrical equipment testing and fire equipment servicing, followed by testing and documentation of the equipment in use.
When businesses take corrective action and maintain proper records, they are in a far stronger position to demonstrate compliance.
Why Electrical Equipment Testing Is Required
Workplaces that use portable electrical equipment must ensure that equipment remains safe and properly maintained.
In most workplaces, inspection and testing is carried out in accordance with AS/NZS 3760:2022 portable appliance testing requirements through regular RCD testing.
Construction sites may also require testing under AS/NZS 3012.
The point is not just to attach a tag. The point is to show that the business has an actual system for identifying electrical hazards, testing relevant equipment, and keeping evidence that the work has been done.
Businesses unsure about testing requirements can read our guide explaining what Test & Tag involves for NSW workplaces.
Common Compliance Failures
Many workplaces do not intentionally ignore electrical safety. More often, compliance problems develop gradually as equipment is added, replaced, or moved without being inspected or recorded.
A few items may be tagged while other equipment is missed, records may be incomplete, and over time the workplace ends up with a patchwork system that would be difficult to defend during an inspection.
Examples include:
- only office equipment being tested
- workshop tools not inspected
- extension leads and power boards still in use without testing records
- expired test tags
- missing equipment registers
- inability to produce compliance documentation when requested
These are exactly the kinds of issues that can undermine a business during a SafeWork visit, because they suggest the workplace does not have a complete and reliable electrical safety system.
How Businesses Demonstrate Compliance
A stronger compliance position usually comes from having a simple and consistent process. This documentation is often what SafeWork inspectors request during a workplace inspection.
This often includes visual inspection of equipment, electrical safety testing where required, tagging of inspected items, maintaining an equipment register, and producing compliance reports that can be kept on record.
When records are organised and up to date, businesses are better positioned to demonstrate that electrical risks have been properly managed.
Under AS/NZS 3760:2022, the frequency of testing depends on the workplace environment—ranging from every 3 months for hostile environments, to every 6 months for commercial settings, to every 12 months or more for low-risk environments. Regular retesting ensures tags remain current and compliance can be demonstrated at any time.
Electrical Safety Compliance for NSW Workplaces
Electrical safety compliance should be practical, repeatable, and easy to demonstrate.
Liberty Test & Tag provides portable appliance testing, RCD testing, and compliance reporting aligned with Australian Standards for workplaces across Sydney and the Macarthur region.
Our guide on how to choose a Test & Tag provider in NSW explains what businesses should look for when arranging electrical equipment inspections.