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What Does NSW Law Say About Testing Electrical Equipment?

A plain-English breakdown of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, the WHS Regulation 2025 and the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice — and why electrical safety is about managing risk, not just buying test tags.

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Short answer

NSW workplace safety law requires businesses to provide and maintain a workplace that is safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable.

For electrical safety, that responsibility is supported by the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 and SafeWork NSW Codes of Practice.

The key principle is not simply whether an appliance needs a test tag. It is whether electrical risks in the workplace have been identified and properly managed.

Start with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011

The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 establishes the primary duty of care for a person conducting a business or undertaking, commonly known as a PCBU.

That includes providing and maintaining:

  • A work environment without risks to health and safety
  • Safe plant and structures
  • Safe systems of work
  • Appropriate information, training, instruction and supervision

The Act also requires risks to be eliminated so far as reasonably practicable, or minimised where elimination is not reasonably practicable. Electrical safety forms part of that overarching duty.

What does the WHS Regulation 2025 add?

The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 is more specific.

Section 147

Requires a PCBU to manage risks to health and safety associated with electrical risks at the workplace.

These risks can relate to the installation, use, protection, maintenance and testing of electrical equipment.

Section 149

Requires unsafe electrical equipment to be disconnected or isolated and not returned to service until it has been repaired or tested and found to be safe, replaced, or permanently removed.

Only after these broader duties does section 150 deal specifically with inspection and testing of certain electrical equipment.

What does section 150 say?

Section 150 deals specifically with inspection and testing of electrical equipment.

It requires plug-in electrical equipment to be regularly inspected and tested by a competent person where its normal use exposes it to operating conditions likely to damage the equipment or reduce its expected life.

This includes exposure to

Moisture Heat Vibration Mechanical damage Corrosive chemicals Dust

Section 150 is important, but it sits within the broader requirement in section 147 to manage electrical risks at the workplace.

What role does the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice play?

SafeWork NSW's Code of Practice for Managing Electrical Risks in the Workplace provides detailed guidance on how electrical risks should be identified and controlled.

It covers matters including:

  • Identifying electrical hazards
  • Assessing and managing electrical risks
  • Consulting workers
  • Selecting and using suitable electrical equipment
  • Inspecting and testing electrical equipment
  • RCD protection and testing
  • Removing unsafe equipment from service
  • Maintenance and electrical work

Since 1 July 2026, section 26A of the WHS Act requires a PCBU to either comply with an approved Code of Practice or manage the hazard or risk in another way that provides an equivalent or higher standard of health and safety.

This means the Code forms an important part of deciding how electrical risks should be managed in practice, in a workplace.

It’s all about managing electrical risk

Reading section 150 by itself can make you think that electrical safety is simply about deciding which appliances legally require testing. It is more nuanced than that.

A business should be focused on managing risk, including electrical risks. This includes considering the condition of its equipment, how people use equipment, the environment it operates in, whether RCD protection is appropriate, how damaged equipment is managed, and whether existing controls are functionally operating in place and working as intended.

The starting questions should therefore be

What electrical risks exist in our workplace? And how can we manage those risks?

Test and tag is a control measure in response to identified risk in a workplace. It is just one part of that wider responsibility.

If you want to know what failing to manage those risks can actually cost a business, read our guide to SafeWork NSW electrical safety penalties.

Electrical risk management

Need help managing electrical risk in your workplace?

Liberty Test & Tag provides workplace electrical inspection and testing with clear digital compliance records across NSW and the ACT.

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