What Is the Australian Standard for Test & Tag?

Short answer

The current Australian Standard used for test and tag is AS/NZS 3760:2022 – In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs.

It tells us how electrical equipment and RCDs within its scope are to be inspected, electrically tested, tagged and documented.

The Standard is not a standalone document that gives a narrow definition of what should or should not be tested.

Work Health and Safety legislation and Codes of Practice tell businesses what electrical risks they must identify, assess and control.

AS/NZS 3760 tells us how electrical equipment and RCDs within its scope are inspected and tested as part of those controls.

Think of it this way:

The law tells us WHAT electrical risks must be managed. AS/NZS 3760 tells us HOW the inspection and testing is carried out.

What is an Australian Standard?

Australian Standards do many different jobs.

Some deal with the design, manufacture or installation of products and systems. Others provide procedures for carrying out particular work.

AS/NZS 3760 is an in-service inspection and testing Standard.

Its focus is electrical equipment and RCDs that fall within its scope while they are in service.

The Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) found on electrical products is different. It relates to regulatory requirements that apply to the product itself.

That is different from in-service inspection and testing once equipment is being used in a workplace.

What does AS/NZS 3760 contain?

The structure of AS/NZS 3760:2022 is quite straightforward.

Section 1 – Scope and General covers:

• Scope
• General
• Interpretation
• Definitions

Section 2 – Inspection and Tests covers:

• 2.1 General
• 2.2 Frequency of inspection and tests
• 2.3 Personnel
• 2.4 Inspection and testing
• 2.5 Action resulting from inspection and testing
• 2.6 Documentation

The Standard also contains appendices dealing with specific testing methods and supporting information.

Some are marked Normative.

Normative material forms part of the requirements of the Standard.

Others are marked Informative.

Informative material provides guidance or supporting information rather than a mandatory requirement.

For example, the appendices dealing with polarity, earthing continuity, insulation testing and RCD operating time are normative.

The appendix dealing with the electrical knowledge of a competent person is informative.

The equipment determines the tests

Electrical equipment is not tested by performing the same test on every item.

The equipment first has to be inspected and its construction understood.

Class I equipment relies on protective earthing as part of its protection against electric shock.

Class II equipment uses double or reinforced insulation and does not rely on a protective earth. It is commonly identified by the double-square symbol.

A cord extension set provides a simple example.

Its inspection and testing process includes:

• Visual inspection
• Earth continuity testing
• Insulation resistance testing
• Polarity testing

AS/NZS 3760 contains separate normative procedures for these tests.

Where several inspections or electrical tests apply to an item, carrying out only part of that process is not the same as completing the inspection and testing required by the Standard.

Table 2.4 is not the whole answer

Table 2.4 contains the familiar indicative testing and inspection intervals for electrical equipment.

It should not be treated as a standalone test-and-tag rulebook.

Clauses 2.1 and 2.2 come before the interval table.

Inspection and testing frequency needs to be considered in the context of the equipment, how it is used and the environment in which it operates.

A workplace risk assessment may consider factors such as:

• Frequency and type of use
• Movement and flexing of cords
• Exposure to moisture, heat, dust or chemicals
• Mechanical damage or rough handling
• The type of workplace
• Manufacturer requirements
• Applicable legislation and regulatory guidance

Clause 2.2(d) is particularly important where an organisation establishes inspection and testing periods through a documented risk assessment.

Relevant legislative requirements and guidelines must also be considered.

In NSW, this now includes the strengthened status of approved Codes of Practice following the commencement of section 26A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 on 1 July 2026.

Reading only Table 2.4 is an oversimplification of the electrical risk-management process.

Where does the competent person fit?

The WHS framework requires electrical risks to be identified, assessed and controlled.

Where inspection and testing is used as a control, the work is carried out by a competent person.

That means a person with the knowledge and skills needed to perform the inspection and testing correctly.

From a risk-management perspective, inspection and testing by a competent person forms part of the administrative controls used to manage an identified electrical risk.

The process can identify damage, deterioration and electrical faults, determine whether equipment passes or fails, and provide evidence that the control has been carried out.

Inspection and testing does not replace the risk assessment.

It forms part of the risk-control process.

AS/NZS 3760 does not operate in isolation

AS/NZS 3760 is interconnected with other electrical Standards.

Its referenced documents include:

• AS/NZS 3000 – Electrical installations
• AS/NZS 3010 – Generating sets
• AS/NZS 3012 – Construction and demolition sites
• AS/NZS 3551 – Management programs for medical devices
• AS/NZS 4763 – Safety of portable inverters
• AS/NZS 5761 – Second-hand electrical equipment
• AS/NZS 5762 – Repaired electrical equipment

This helps show where AS/NZS 3760 fits within the wider electrical safety system.

Different equipment, installations and workplaces may bring other Standards into play.

AS/NZS 3760 should therefore be read as part of a wider system of electrical safety requirements rather than as a standalone document that covers every electrical situation.

Is AS/NZS 3760 legally enforceable?

There is no useful blanket rule that says an Australian Standard is either “law” or “not law”.

Some Standards are directly incorporated into legislation and become mandatory in particular circumstances.

For workplace electrical safety, the starting point is the duty to identify, assess and control electrical risks.

That means identifying the hazards presented by electrical equipment and the environment in which it is used, assessing the risk, deciding what controls are required and carrying out those controls correctly.

Where inspection and testing forms part of those controls, AS/NZS 3760 provides the recognised procedures for carrying out that work.

What about fixed wiring?

AS/NZS 3760 is not the general Standard for inspecting a building's fixed electrical installation.

Fixed electrical installations are dealt with through separate requirements, including AS/NZS 3000 – the Wiring Rules.

Electrical wiring work in NSW must also be carried out by appropriately licensed persons.

AS/NZS 3760 includes electrical equipment and RCDs within its stated scope, but routine test and tag should not be presented as an inspection or certification of a building's fixed wiring.

This is an important distinction between testing plug-in electrical equipment and carrying out work associated with the electrical installation itself.

Records are part of the process

Section 2.6 of AS/NZS 3760 deals specifically with documentation.

Inspection and testing therefore needs to produce a record of what was inspected, what testing was performed and the outcome.

For a business managing electrical risk, those records provide evidence that the identified control was carried out.

They can show:

• What equipment was inspected and tested
• When it was tested
• Whether it passed or failed
• The test results recorded
• What action was taken when a fault was identified

The tag is only one part of that record.

If you want to understand what happens when those obligations are not met, read our guide to SafeWork NSW electrical safety penalties.