- New Zealand’s Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 (ESR) set requirements for electrical safety. General obligations in regulations 13, 14 and 15 are supported by more specific regulations that set out how safety may be achieved and demonstrated in particular circumstances. The ESR identify the use of standards as means to achieve and demonstrate electrical safety for a range of situations which include, specifically, both electrical installations on construction sites and electrical equipment and appliances used on construction sites.
- Regulation 25 deems a range of electrical installations, fittings and appliances to be safe when they comply with a relevant standard specified in that regulation. It deems construction sites to be electrically safe when they comply with and are used in accordance with AS/NZS 3012: 2010: Electrical installations—Construction and demolition sites. This sets a recognised benchmark for electrical installations at construction sites; however it is not mandatory and alternatives will be appropriate depending on the circumstances.
- Regulation 26 sets out how electrical safety can be demonstrated ‘in use’ in a number of specific circumstances to meet the safety obligations of regulations 13 to 15. Regulation 26 recognises the ‘test and tag’ methodology of AS/NZS 3760 as a means of demonstrating safety in certain circumstances.
- AS/NZS 3760:2010: In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment sets out a ‘test and tag’ appliance testing and labelling regime which provides a deemed to be safe methodology for verifying the safety of electrical appliances in service.
- Because the ESR recognise AS/NZS 3760 as a deemed to comply standard it does not preclude the use of other means to achieve those safety outcomes.
- Alternative practices, such as the use of RCDs (which have been mandated for new homes for several years) are in most cases capable of delivering an acceptable safety level. A similar level of safety, including actual minimisation of electric shock, would be provided if:
• electrical equipment is connected to an RCD-protected supply, and
• equipment users look for signs of damage and check the functioning of equipment guards and interlocks at least daily when the equipment is in use.
- Regulation 75 mandates AS/NZS 3012 for the periodic assessment of the permanent wiring and switchboards installed on a building under construction. It doesn’t apply to the tools connected by plug and socket. Periodic assessment of permanent wiring is the only circumstance in which AS/NZS 3012 is mandatory for New Zealand.
- It important to note that when AS/NZS 3012 and AS/NZS 3760 are applied to electrical equipment at construction sites in New Zealand:
• AS/NZS 3760 specifies the competence required for persons involved in testing
• AS/NZS 3760 specifies the tests to be undertaken
• AS/NZS 3012 specifies the test intervals for portable equipment (ie appliances, flexible cords, cord extension sets, portable socket outlet assemblies (PSOA) suitable for construction sites, generators, inverters) used in construction at three months
• AS/NZS 3760 specifies the test intervals for other equipment – ranging from six months to five years – depending on where and how the equipment is used.
- There are variations between New Zealand and Australia. For example, New Zealand provisions in AS/NZS 3012 allow the use of assemblies for construction sites (ACS) which are not recognised in Australia.
- Our recently-published
Electrical Safety on Small Construction Sites sets out practical expectations for the safe use of electricity on construction sites in New Zealand, consistent with New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act and electrical safety regime.
- This guidance reflects New Zealand’s risk-based electrical safety regime which is in general less prescriptive than Australian legislation. While there are similarities, there are important differences which in New Zealand provide flexibility, especially the availability of alternative approaches to demonstrating the safety of electrical equipment.
- It is expected that, as our guidance becomes more widely known, businesses in the construction sector will adopt consistent practices and follow the practical advice it offers for the management of electrical safety across the whole of the construction site, including the equipment that doesn’t form part of the installation.