Inspectors seeing too many incidents relating to electrical safety

WorkSafe act inspectors seeing too many incidents relating to electrical safety 

11 September 2024

WorkSafe ACT inspectors recently observed a painter standing on an aluminium ladder near energized electrical lines. This incident is part of a concerning trend, with WorkSafe inspectors recently responding five notifiable incidents relating electrical hazard in just one week.

Electric shocks are one of the leading causes of fatalities in Australian workplaces and any one of these incidences could have had tragic outcomes. PCBUs cannot be cutting corners on electrical safety.

What is an Electrical Risk?

An electrical risk is a risk to a person of death, shock or other injury caused directly or indirectly by electricity. The main hazards include:

  • Contact with exposed live parts, leading to shocks and burns.
  • Faults that could cause fires.
  • Electrical sources of ignition in flammable or explosive environments.
Safe Systems of Work 

PCBUs must provide and maintain safe systems of work. These systems should include details on things like:

  • The provision, use, inspection, testing, and maintenance of electrical equipment.
  • Management and control of electrical installations under the employer’s responsibility.
  • Processes to ensure employees receive proper information, instruction, training, or supervision for safely working with electrical equipment in the workplace.
  • Procedures for reporting and tagging out damaged or faulty equipment.
Risk Control Measures:

Common measures to control electrical risks at a workplace include:

  • Ensure only licensed electricians perform electrical work.
  • Regularly inspect and maintain electrical equipment.
  • Avoid using damaged equipment and disconnect unsafe equipment until it's repaired or replaced.
  • Ensure power circuits are protected by the appropriately rated fuse or circuit breaker to prevent overloading.
  • Only use leads and tools in damp or wet conditions if they are specifically designed for those environments.
  • Ensuring that there are no energised lines that could be contacted during other work.
  • Ensuring electrical equipment or circuits are effectively isolated from all relevant sources of electricity supply by using opening switches, removing fuses or links, opening circuit breakers or removing circuit connections.
Shared duties

Workplaces often involve multiple PCBUs who may share responsibility for the same health and safety matters, such as electrical lines. In such cases, duty holders should exchange information and collaborate to ensure risks are eliminated or minimized as far as reasonably practicable.

Further Information 

For further guidance on managing electrical risk see the Managing Electrical Risks at the Workplace Code of Practice or the Safe Work Australia: Electrical risks at the workplace fact sheet.

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