Electrical safety in the construction industry

Construction wiring must be installed and maintained according to the:

• AS/NZS 3000:2018 Electrical installations (known as the Wiring Rules)
• AS/NZS 3012:2019 Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites.

Planning construction wiring

• Decide how the site will receive power (for example, via overhead or underground powerlines, existing or temporary switchboards, or generators) and where you will locate the temporary supply relative to the work.
• Identify hazards that could cause risks to health and safety (for example, hidden electricity cables and overhead powerlines). Consult with the network provider (such as Energex or Ergon) to identify possible hazards. Refer to the Electrical safety code of practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (PDF, 0.47 MB).
• Identify environmental hazards and situations that could lead to equipment damage. Consider the likelihood of cables being subject to mechanical damage during construction activities.
• Work with other PCBUs and identify where your health and safety duties overlap to prevent gaps in managing risks.

Safety considerations

• Never tie, bundle or group construction wiring with permanent wiring.
• Never attach construction wiring to free-standing, temporary fence panels.
• Ensure that construction wiring is easy to identify and tell apart from permanent wiring. Use iridescent yellow tape marked with the words ‘construction wiring’ at intervals no more than five metres apart.
• Position overhead wiring to avoid crossing roadways or access ways used by plant and machinery. If you can’t avoid this, consult the person in control of the network for advice.
• Consider mechanical protection when running wiring in areas where it could be exposed to damage from construction activity.

Inspection and testing

• Before initial use, have construction wiring inspected and tested by a qualified person (see AS/NZS 3000).
• Have construction wiring visually inspected by a qualified person to verify its integrity every six months. If the installation is damaged or not compliant, have the relevant part isolated, repaired or replaced and tested as necessary.
• Keep records of tests and inspections and make them available for review .

The first step in the risk management process is to identify the hazards. Begin by finding things and situations that could potentially cause harm to people.

You can identify potential electrical hazards by:

• talking to workers and observing where and how they use electrical equipment
• regularly inspecting and testing electrical equipment and electrical installations
• reading product labels and manufacturers’ instruction manuals
• talking to manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and electrical safety specialists
• reviewing incident reports.

When looking for hazards, look for:

• the location of overhead and underground powerlines
• unsafe electrical equipment
• damaged equipment and cables
• inappropriate wiring, overloaded circuits and improper grounding
• equipment being used in wet or other hazardous conditions.

Find more information on identifying hazards in the How to manage work health and safety risks code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.65 MB). The Managing electrical risks in the workplace code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.25 MB) includes information on identifying electrical hazards.

A risk assessment involves considering what could happen if someone is exposed to a hazard and the likelihood of it happening. If you find a possible hazard, do a risk assessment to decide if there is a risk to you or others. Find out if there are already effective control measures, what actions to take to control the risk and how urgently you need to act.

Use this risk assessment template (DOCX, 0.02 MB) to guide and record your assessments.

After assessing the risk, put control measures in place. The hierarchy of control is a step-by-step approach to eliminating or reducing risks that ranks risk controls from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest and least reliable.

Always aim to remove the risk. If you can’t remove the risk, minimise it by:

• replacing a hazard or hazardous work practice with something with less risk (such as using extra-low voltage electrical equipment such as a battery-operated tool rather than a tool that plugs into mains electricity)
• isolating or separating the hazard or hazardous work practice from any person exposed to it (for example, if it’s necessary and legally permissible to do energised work, it may be possible to de-energise the surrounding parts)
• using engineering controls or physical controls to reduce the risk of receiving a fatal electric shock (for example, by installing insulation or guarding and using safety switches).

If risk remains, use administrative controls and safe work practices. Safe work practices include providing suitable and adequate training, establishing exclusion zones and using permits and warning signs.

Finally, use personal protective equipment (PPE) such as protective eyewear, insulated gloves, hard hats, aprons and breathing protection. Ensure the PPE is rated for the work to be done.

Check that your chosen control measure doesn’t introduce new hazards. The control measures you apply may change how you carry out the work. Consult your workers, develop safe work procedures and provide your workers with training.

Include the following control measures:

• Plan, install and maintain construction wiring according to AS/NZS 3000:2018 Electrical installations (the wiring rules) and AS/NZS 3012:2019 Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites.
• Plan work with overhead or underground powerlines. Use the Look Up and Live app and Before Your Dig Australia. Ensure equipment operators and workers are aware of overhead and underground powerline locations, specified exclusion zones and the height and reach of equipment. Follow the Electrical safety code of practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (PDF, 0.47 MB).
• Have procedures to ensure that tools, testing and PPE are regularly inspected, maintained and tested.
• Ensure that all electrical work, de-energised or energised, is only carried out by a licensed electrician.
• Use safety switches and test them every three months by pushing the unit’s ‘test’ or ‘T’ button.
• Have clearly defined first aid and emergency plans and ensure that all workers are familiar with them.
• Notify WorkSafe.qld.gov.au if a worker or other person is exposed to an electric shock, even if emergency services attend.

Risk management is an ongoing process. Reassess risk regularly throughout the project and check to ensure the control measures are working. If you find problems, go through the steps again, review the information, and decide whether you need new controls.

Under the work health and safety laws, you must review the controls:

• when you become aware that a control measure is not working effectively
• before a change that might create a new risk
• when you find a new hazard or risk
• when your workers tell you that a review is needed
• when a health and safety representative requests a review.

Review methods include workplace inspection, consultation, testing and analysing records and data. Find more information on reviewing risk controls in the How to manage work health and safety risks code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.65 MB).