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What law applies

In order to understand the safety requirements for working around electricity and your obligations for electrical safety you must consider and understand relevant legislation and codes of practice.

General electrical safety rights and obligations
What you must do
Specific regulations for working around electricity
Specific codes of practice for working around electricity

General electrical safety obligations

To understand your obligations and electrical safety requirements you must be familiar with the:

Electrical Safety Act 2002 (PDF, 788 KB) which imposes obligations on people at workplaces to ensure workplace health and safety.

The Electrical Safety Act 2002 also helps you to meet your electrical safety obligations through the:

Electrical Safety Regulation 2002 (PDF, 801 KB) which describes what must be done to prevent or control certain hazards which cause injury or death
Codes of practice which are designed to give practical advice about ways to manage exposure to risks common to industry.

You also have obligations and safety obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).

Where the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 and the Electrical Safety Act 2002 both apply to a situation, the Electrical Safety Act 2002 takes precedence.

Every Queensland employer must have workers’ compensation insurance. Most employers insure with WorkCover Queensland, while a small number of large organisations have their own insurance. This insurance coverage ensures that employees injured at work receive financial support.

What you must do

If the regulation describes an electrical risk at your workplace, you must do what the regulation says, and

If there is a Code of Practice about an electrical risk at your workplace you must either:

do what the code says, or
adopt another way that identifies and manages exposure to the risk that is equally effective to, or more effective than, what the code says, and
ensure you take reasonable precautions and exercise proper diligence.

If there is no regulation or code of practice about a risk at your workplace you must choose an appropriate way to manage exposure to the risk and take reasonable precautions and exercise proper diligence about the risk. See the Risk Management Code of Practice 2007 for further information.

Specific Regulations for working around electricity

Electrical Safety Regulation 2002 (PDF, 801 KB)

Specific Codes of Practice for working around electricity

There is one code of practice that describes the main electrical safety problems linked to working around electricity and gives practical advice on how to address them:

Code of Practice - Working Near Exposed Live Parts

Where electrical safety risks exist at your workplace you must either:

do what the code says; or
adopt another way that identifies and manages exposure to the risk that is equally effective to, or more effective than, what the code says; and
ensure you take reasonable precautions and exercise proper diligence.

Last updated 22 July 2009

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What law applies

General electrical safety obligations

What you must do

Specific Regulations for working around electricity

Specific Codes of Practice for working around electricity

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