Electrical Safety Management Protocol

1. The purpose of our protocol

Our protocol sets out how Adelaide University conducts safety inspections/testing of electrical equipment and conducts electrical work.

This protocol should be read in conjunction with the Hazard Management Procedure, which gives effect to the Wellbeing and Safety Policy. Additional requirements apply for construction, battery systems and solar systems.

2. Our protocol applies to

2.1 Inclusions

members of our Adelaide University Community
in-service electrical equipment under our control
reasonably foreseeable hazards associated with electrical equipment.

Exclusions

the design, manufacture and supply of electrical equipment (see Plant Safety Protocol)

3. Our electrical testing protocols

3.1 Roles and responsibilities

University roles and responsibilities for managing Wellbeing and Safety risks, including risks associated with electrical safety, are set out in the Hazard Management Procedure.

Ensuring electrical equipment inspection and testing

The table below outlines the key roles and responsibilities for inspecting and testing electrical equipment.

Role	Responsibilities	Actions
[Manager/ Supervisors] – College /School/Portfolio/ Research Institute	Must: Ensure staff, students, visitors, engaged contractors, and with this protocol. Approve the introduction of new, second-hand, or hired electrical equipment. Ensure hazards associated with electrical equipment are identified and managed. Support reporting of hazards, the implementation, and communication of appropriate corrective actions Ensure there is a system for users to be trained and inducted before granting access to high-risk areas and equipment.	Ensure relevant electrical equipment is tested and inspected in accordance with section 3.3. Tag out and discontinue the use of unsafe equipment until repaired or replaced. Ensure testing and inspection results are recorded and corrective actions implemented as soon as reasonably practicable. Ensure records are retained locally until the next test date for equipment and 5 years for RCDs. Identify during Workplace Inspections any obvious wear/tear and determine if the electrical testing is up to date. Respond to emergencies and report hazards and/or incidents via Unisafe. Ensure that anyone working in an area under your control who receives a suspected electric shock seeks medical treatment, and the incident is reported via Unisafe within 24 hours.
Electrical Testers	Must: Comply with this protocol and take all reasonable care of their own and others’ wellbeing and safety	Follow the processes in the Contractor Safety Procedure Ensure you hold a Certificate of Compliance (CoC). Ensure you have appropriate systems in place for isolation, locking out, access and tagging as part of the risk assessment. Notify the relevant staff (e.g. Supervisor/person in control of the area) if: the work requires a service isolation the work has identified faulty/unsafe equipment an installation has been tagged out with a “Danger Tag” and where it impacts on the operations of the area. Verify that electrical equipment, including RCDs, are electrically sound. Tag out unsafe equipment. Provide documented results.
Staff/Students	Must: Follow reasonable instructions and work practices to maintain their own and others’ wellbeing and safety. Report hazards/incidents identified through Unisafe. Have been trained/inducted on any equipment before use and have prepared a risk assessment and safe operating procedure.	Use work-related electrical equipment according to the manufacturer's instructions and your training. Do not use any electrical equipment tagged out of service. any electrical equipment not tested (see 3.4 for exceptions) international adapters unless modified (see 3.5) double adapters Power boards must have overload protection and be directly plugged into wall outlets. Power cords must not be frayed, and use must be limited. Daisy-chaining of power boards or extension leads is not allowed. Respond to emergencies and report damaged/faulty equipment/hazards and/or incidents in Unisafe.
Wellbeing and Safety Team	Must: Lead investigations related to electric shock	All investigations related to electrical equipment or result in electric shock are to be reported and investigated in Unisafe. Notifiable incidents must be reported in accordance with the Incident Management Procedure

Electrical testing intervals

Equipment Portable Residual Current Devices (RCD) must be tested in accordance with AS/NZS 3760:2022, In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs.
Equipment types must be electrically tested and tagged by a Competent person at the following intervals (minimum):

Work Area Type	Inspection and Testing Interval
Kitchen/General Office Equipment that is not regularly moved	Every 5 Years
Kitchen/General Office Equipment that is regularly plugged in and out and moved from location to location	Every 2 years
Workshop Equipment	Every 6 months
Laboratory Equipment	Every 12 months

Electrical equipment introduced to the University

Equipment introduced into AU includes new, second-hand or hired equipment, or personal items brought from home.

New Equipment General – Deemed safe by the supplier and does not need testing until the next scheduled testing period unless on visual inspection there are signs of damage.
New equipment in higher risk workplaces must meet Australian electrical safety standards and should be tagged with a ‘new to service’ tag and recorded in the electrical equipment register.
Second-hand or hired equipment must be tested before first use, unless already tested and tagged by the previous owner or hire company.
Equipment purchased from overseas or custom-made must ensure compliance with Australian electrical safety standards.
Personal electrical items brought from home must be tested and tagged before use.
Fans or heaters brought into the work environment for temperature comfort must be approved, via a Customer Service Request, by Estates & Facilities for a review of the effectiveness of the local air-conditioning.
Electrical equipment used in a fume hood located in an area where flammable gases, vapours or dust may be present must be powered by an intrinsic power supply.

3.2 International adapters

International adaptors are non-compliant with the requirements of Australian Standards and must not be used. Any international or overseas plugs or adaptors must be replaced with Australian fittings by a competent electrician.

4. Our electrical work safety protocols

4.1 Roles and responsibilities

University roles and responsibilities for managing wellbeing and safety risks, including those risks associated with electrical safety, are set out in the university's Hazard Management Procedure.

4.2 How we assess and manage electrical work

The table below outlines key roles and responsibilities for electrical work.

Role	Responsibilities	Protocols
Manager, Leaders – College /School/Portfolio/ Research Institute	Must: Ensure hazards associated with electrical work are identified and managed. Support reporting of hazards and the implementation and communication of appropriate corrective actions	Electrical work must Be assessed for risks in accordance with our Hazard Management Procedure Have pre-authorisation from the Leader of College / Research Institute before work starts. Be completed by a qualified contractor. Work documented via RAPID GLOBAL upon completion. No electrical work under your control is to be conducted unless it: Meets one or more of the exceptions under WHS Regulation 157 Is authorised and completed by a competent person such as a registered electrical contractor. Completed in accordance with WHS Regulations 152 to 162.
Executive Director Estates and Facilities	Must: Ensure hazards associated with electrical work are identified and managed.	You are required to implement a system for the safe management and operation of electrical installations in accordance with related legislation and standards.
Person engaging a contractor (i.e. the person managing the contract)	Must: Ensure that contractors have safe system of work for electrical work.	If you are engaging a contractor to install, operate, maintain, clean, test or dispose of an electrical installation or conduct electrical work: You must Follow the processes in the Contractor Safety Procedure Ensure only certified personnel with a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) complete the work. Ensure the contractor has appropriate systems in place for isolation, locking out, access and tagging as part of the risk assessment. Notify the relevant staff (e.g. Supervisor/person in control of the area) if: the work requires a service isolation the work has identified faulty/unsafe equipment an installation has been tagged out with a “Danger Tag” and where it impacts on the operations of the area.
Staff/Students	Must: Ensure hazards associated with electrical work are identified and managed. Support reporting of hazards and the implementation and communication of appropriate corrective actions	Electrical work Must be assessed for risks in accordance with our Hazard Management Procedure Ensure your activity is approved before commencing.

5. Definitions used in our protocol

The following definitions are applicable to this protocol, for generic Adelaide University definitions refer to the Glossary of Terms.

Adelaide University Community refers to a broad range of stakeholders who engage with Adelaide University and includes (but is not limited to) all students, staff, and non-staff members of Adelaide University including alumni, honorary title holders, adjuncts, visiting academics, guest lecturers, volunteers, suppliers, contractors, and partners who are engaging with and contributing to the work of Adelaide University.

(The term Adelaide University Community is used instead of the term Worker as defined in the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA)).

A competent person, for electrical work on energised electrical equipment or energised electrical installations (other than testing referred to in WHS Regulations 150 “Inspection and testing of electrical equipment” and 165 “Testing of residual current devices”), a licensed or registered electrician or any other person permitted to carry out electrical work under relevant Commonwealth, state or territory legislation (for example, electrical engineer, electrical apprentice). For any other case, a person who has acquired through training, qualification or experience the knowledge and skills to carry out the task.

A competent person, for the purposes of carrying out inspection and testing of electrical equipment, described in WHS Regulation 150, is a competent person who has successfully completed a nationally accredited training course, run by a registered training organisation, on the use of a Portable Appliance, or a licensed electrical worker who is deemed to be competent for the purpose of electrical inspection and testing.

Electrical installation means a group of electrical equipment that –

are permanently electrically connected (see note below); and
can be supplied with electricity from the works of an electricity supply authority or from a generating source.

An item of electrical equipment may be part of more than 1 electrical installation.

Note:

An item of electrical equipment connected to electricity by a plug and socket outlet is not permanently electrically connected; and
Connection achieved through using works of an electricity supply authority is not a consideration in determining whether or not electrical equipment is electrically connected.

Electrical work is as defined by the WHS Regulation 146, and includes:

Connecting electricity supply wiring to electrical equipment or disconnecting electricity supply wiring from electrical equipment; or
Installing, removing, adding, testing, replacing, repairing, altering, or maintaining electrical equipment or an electrical installation.

Electrical work does not include the following:

work that involves connecting electrical equipment to an electricity supply by means of a flexible cord plug and socket outlet.
work on a non-electrical component of electrical equipment, if the person carrying out the work is not exposed to an electrical risk (e.g. painting electrical equipment covers and repairing hydraulic components of an electrical motor).
replacing electrical equipment or a component of electrical equipment if that task can be safely performed by a person who does not have expertise in carrying out electrical work (e.g. replacing a fuse or a light bulb).
assembling, making, modifying or repairing electrical equipment as part of a manufacturing process.
building or repairing ducts, conduits or troughs, where electrical wiring is or will be installed if –
- the ducts, conduits or troughs are not intended to be earthed, and
- the wiring is not energised; and
- the work is supervised by a registered electrical worker.
locating or mounting electrical equipment, or fixing electrical equipment in place, if this task is not performed in relation to the connection of electrical equipment to an electricity supply.
assisting a registered electrical worker to carry out electrical work if:
- the assistant is directly supervised by the registered electrical worker; and
- the assistance does not involve physical contact with any energised electrical equipment.
carrying out electrical work, other than work on energised electrical equipment, in order to meet eligibility requirements in relation to becoming a registered electrical worker.

Electrical worker means a person authorised by registration under Part 3 of the Plumbers, Gas Fitters and Electricians Act 1995 to act as an electrical worker.

Energised means an electrical equipment or circuit is connected to a source of electrical supply and is live, posing a hazard or risk of electric shock.

Testing & Inspection is a process where electrical equipment in a workplace is tested and inspected regularly to ensure it is safe to use in accordance with mandatory requirements.

Reasonably practicable is as defined in the Act meaning what could have reasonably been done at a particular time to ensure health and safety, weighing up the:

likelihood of the hazard or risk occurring and degree of harm involved
reasonable awareness or knowledge of the person concerned about the hazard, risk, and controls
level of control the organisation had over the matter
ratio of the costs to the safety benefits provided

Residual current devices are designed to monitor, detect, and quickly turn off the power supply where an electrical fault is identified.

Unisafe is the online system used by our staff and students to manage information related to wellbeing and safety issues. This includes reporting incidents, injuries, and hazards to ensure timely investigations, risk assessments, and control measures are applied to keep our community safe.

6. How our protocol is governed

6.1 Compliance

Electrical safety management at Adelaide University is conducted in compliance with the following established regulations and guidelines:

Legislation & Code of Practice

Australian Standards

AS/NZS 3760:2022, In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs.
AS/NZS 3000:2018, Electrical Installations
AS/NZS 4836:2023, Safe working on or near low-voltage and extra-low voltage electrical installations and equipment

University related documents and resources

6.2 Governance

This protocol is categorised, approved and owned in line with the governance structure of Adelaide University and the offices and officers listed below.

Parent procedure	Authority to create and maintain this protocol is granted under the Hazard Management Procedure
Policy category	Corporate
Approving authority	Executive Director People, Advisory and Wellbeing
Policy owner	Deputy Vice Chancellor People and Culture
Responsible manager	Deputy Vice Chancellor People and Culture or their delegate
Effective from	1 March 2026
Review date	1 March 2029
Enquiries	Wellbeing and Safety Team
Replaced documents	None

7. History of changes

Date approved	To section/clauses	Description of change
28 Jan 2026	N/A	New protocol

Note on structures, positions and position titles:
At the time of writing, the organisational structure, positions and position titles for Adelaide University have not all been confirmed. Accordingly, square brackets [ ] temporarily enclose position titles in this procedure until position titles for Adelaide University are known.