SafeWork NSW inspections can place a sharp focus on electrical safety compliance, especially in workplaces using portable electrical equipment, extension leads, powerboards, 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.
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) sets the overarching duty for NSW workplaces to manage electrical risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
From 1 July 2026, Section 26A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 requires a PCBU to comply with an approved Code of Practice or use another method that provides an equivalent or higher standard of safety. For workplace electrical safety, this includes the Managing Electrical Risks in the Workplace Code of Practice.
Section 150 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 applies to electrical equipment supplied through a socket outlet and used in operating conditions likely to result in damage to the equipment or a reduction in its normal life expectancy.
In more serious cases where WHS duties are not met, 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 2026–2027 financial year, one penalty unit in NSW is valued at $128.36.
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 in NSW
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) establishes three main categories of WHS offences. The penalties below are the maximum court penalties for the 2026–2027 financial year, based on the current NSW penalty unit value of $128.36.
Source: SafeWork NSW — Penalties for WHS offences.
Category 1 — Section 31
Category 1 is the most serious WHS offence and applies to reckless conduct that exposes a person to a risk of death or serious injury.
Maximum penalties:
- Individual: $1,160,117 or 10 years imprisonment
- Individual as a PCBU or officer of a PCBU: $2,413,809 or 10 years imprisonment
- Body corporate: $11,606,824
Category 2 — Section 32
Category 2 applies where a person fails to comply with a health and safety duty and that failure exposes another person to a risk of death or serious injury.
Maximum penalties:
- Individual: $232,716
- Individual as a PCBU or officer of a PCBU: $465,433
- Body corporate: $2,326,910
Category 3 — Section 33
Category 3 applies where a person fails to comply with a health and safety duty.
Maximum penalties:
- Individual: $77,914
- Individual as a PCBU or officer of a PCBU: $155,829
- Body corporate: $779,145
What This Means for Electrical Safety Compliance
These are maximum penalties for breaches of WHS duties. They are not automatic penalties for an expired test tag, a missed appliance or an incomplete equipment register.
For workplace electrical safety, the practical issue is whether the business can show that electrical risks are being managed in accordance with the WHS framework. This includes understanding when Section 150 of the WHS Regulation 2025 applies, following the relevant Code of Practice, arranging inspection and testing where required, and maintaining clear records of the work completed.
Where testing has been inconsistent across a workplace, equipment has been missed or records are incomplete, those gaps should be identified and corrected as part of the business's broader electrical risk-management system.
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 an electrical equipment inspection and testing program aligned with AS/NZS 3760:2022.
Book Electrical TestingSafeWork 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: Partial Electrical Testing 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, a Western Sydney workplace may have equipment in the dispatch area that has been tagged while tools, chargers or extension leads in other areas have never been inspected.
When this occurs, the business may have incomplete evidence that electrical risks across the site are being managed consistently.
Resolving this situation may require a broader review of electrical equipment across the site, followed by inspection, testing and documentation where required.
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
Where Section 150 applies, relevant electrical equipment must be inspected and tested.
AS/NZS 3760:2022 provides the recognised in-service inspection and testing methodology used where inspection and testing are required.
Construction and demolition sites have additional electrical testing requirements 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.
Testing intervals should reflect the equipment, operating environment, applicable requirements and workplace risk.
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 powerboards still in use without testing records
- equipment with expired test tags requiring review
- incomplete or inconsistent testing records
- inability to produce compliance documentation when requested
These issues can make it harder for a business to demonstrate that electrical risks are being managed consistently.
How Businesses Demonstrate Compliance
A stronger compliance position usually comes from having a simple and consistent process.
This often includes visual inspection of equipment, electrical safety testing where required, tagging of inspected items, maintaining organised testing records and, where useful, 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.
Electrical Safety Compliance for NSW Workplaces
Electrical safety compliance should be practical, repeatable and easy to demonstrate.
If your workplace has incomplete testing records, missed equipment, outdated tags or uncertainty around what should be inspected, Liberty Test & Tag can review the testing coverage and carry out the required electrical equipment testing.
Portable appliance testing, RCD testing and compliance reporting are available across Sydney and the Macarthur region.
Need to close the gaps before they become a problem?
For a plain-English walkthrough of the obligations behind all of this, our NSW law on testing electrical equipment explains the WHS Act and Regulation, our guide to what SafeWork NSW says about Test & Tag sets out the regulator's real position, and what the Australian Standard requires covers AS/NZS 3760:2022. From there, you can see which test and tag records to keep, what can happen when a SafeWork NSW Inspector visits, and who is responsible for electrical safety in the workplace.