A/9.10 Electrical safety
Policy Owner | Director, Health, Safety and Environment |
Approval Date | 23/10/2020 |
Approval Authority | Vice-President (Administration) and University Registrar |
Date of Next Review | 31/10/2023 |
9.10.1 Purpose
9.10.2 Application
9.10.3 Roles and responsibilities
9.10.4 Electrical work requirements at QUT
9.10.5 Inspection, test and tag of electrical equipment
9.10.6 Purchase and importation of electrical equipment
9.10.7 Reporting of incidents involving electricity or electrical equipment
9.10.8 Records management
9.10.9 Failure to comply
9.10.10 Definitions
Related Documents
Modification History
9.10.1 Purpose
The electrical safety policy provides overarching principles for protecting the QUT community from being harmed and preventing property from being damaged by electricity. QUT uses a risk-based approach to conduct activities involving electrical work and electrical equipment in a way that is electrically safe. This approach is in accordance with relevant legislation, Australian Standards and codes of practice, with due regard for the health and safety of the QUT community and the environments in which it operates.
This policy must be read in conjunction with the Electrical Safety Standard and supporting documents that detail, guide and address the practical elements of electrical safety at QUT.
9.10.2 Application
This policy applies to members of the QUT community who use, purchase, import, design, manufacture, modify and/or work with electricity or electrical equipment at the University, including:
- places managed or controlled by the University, such as QUT campuses and distributed sites
- off-campus locations (such as field work research sites) where the University conducts its operations.
This policy does not apply to extra-low voltage electrical equipment. QUT’s Electrical Safety Standard provides information on voltage.
9.10.3 Roles and responsibilities
General
All members of the QUT community have a responsibility to promote electrical safety at QUT by being aware of the potential risks and implementing safety procedures when working with and around electricity.
Position |
Responsibility |
---|---|
Director, Health, Safety and Environment |
|
Director, Facilities Management |
|
Managers and supervisors (within areas of responsibility) |
|
All staff involved in the use, purchase, design, importation, manufacture, modification and disposal of electrical equipment | Are required to ensure all electrical equipment:
|
All other relevant members of the QUT community |
|
9.10.4 Electrical work requirements at QUT
The University expects that all electrical work will be performed in compliance with relevant legislation, codes of practice, QUT policy, supporting documents and Australian Standards (where applicable).
Electrical work must be:
- performed by a qualified, Australian-licensed electrician; or
- performed under the direct supervision of a qualified, Australian-licensed electrician; or
- performed by a person not required to hold an electrical work licence for specific purposes (in compliance with the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) s55).
Electrical equipment imported, purchased, designed, manufactured, hired, modified or loaned out, by any member of the QUT community, must follow QUT procedures and be assessed or tested as electrically safe before use.
No work on energised electrical equipment (i.e. live work) is to be carried out by any members of the QUT community. (Exceptions to this policy are detailed in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) s15 and s18).
9.10.5 Inspection, test and tag of electrical equipment
Regular inspections and test and tag of electrical equipment is both a legislative requirement and one of the methods QUT uses to minimise electrical risk and enhance electrical safety. It is expected that visual inspections, prior to using electrical equipment will be performed.
A competent person, either a University staff member who has completed the approved training program or an approved contractor, must carry out electrical testing and tagging of specified electrical equipment at QUT. Further information can be found in the Electrical Safety - Inspection, Test and Tag Guideline.
9.10.6 Purchase and importation of electrical equipment
Wherever possible, electrical equipment should be purchased from an Australian supplier or imported by an Australian company. This ensures that all electrical equipment and parts of the electrical equipment meet Australian legislative requirements and safety standards.
QUT has established procedures for the importation and purchase of electrical equipment which must be followed by all staff and students. Purchasing and importing overseas electrical equipment for activities at QUT must be done in accordance with QUT finance requirements. The Electrical Safety - Imported Electrical Equipment Checklist and other supporting documents have been developed to facilitate this.9.10.7 Reporting of incidents involving electricity or electrical equipment
Any incident involving electricity or electrical equipment must be reported to an immediate supervisor, local Health, Safety and Environment personnel and to Health, Safety and Environment. This should be done via the HSE Hub (QUT staff access only), following QUT's incident reporting processes. This includes, but is not limited to, health, safety and environmental harm, incidents, and injuries (including near misses) and hazards involving electricity or electrical equipment.
If the electrical incident resulted in, or had the potential to result in, a death, serious injury to a person, a person receiving medical attention, or was a dangerous incident, QUT’s First Aid and Medical Emergency Procedures (QUT staff access only) must be followed and it must be reported immediately to Health, Safety and Environment (QUT staff access only) as it may be a notifiable incident.
9.10.8 Records management
Electrical safety legislation requires specific records to be retained throughout the lifecycle of any electrical equipment this includes records pertaining to design, manufacture, importation, maintenance, testing and disposal.
To assist members of the QUT community to meet their legislative obligations, Health, Safety and Environment has developed a retention and disposal schedule for all health, safety and environment-related records.
9.10.9 Failure to comply
Failure to follow safe systems of work, misuse of electrical equipment, damaging or bypassing electrical risk control measures, performing unlicensed electrical work can lead to severe fines or prosecution under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) and other relevant legislation, and will also be dealt with under the QUT Staff Code of Conduct (B/8.1), Enterprise Agreements, the QUT Student Code of Conduct (E/2.1) and/or the Grievance resolution procedures for student related grievances (E/9.2) policies.
9.10.10 Definitions
Authorised visitors as defined in the Health, safety and environment policy (A/9.1).
Electrical equipment within this policy means any machinery, equipment and instrumentation that is operated by electricity at a voltage greater than extra-low voltage. The Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) s14 contains a full definition of electrical equipment.
Electrical risk, electrically safe and electrical safety are defined in the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) s10.
Electrical work refer to Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) s18.
Energised (live) electrical work means electrical work above 50VAC or 120V DC carried out in circumstances where the part of electrical equipment being worked on is connected to electricity or ‘energised’.
Extra-low voltage means voltage that does not exceed 50 volts alternating current (50 V AC) or 120 volts ripple-free direct current (120 V ripple free DC) e.g. mobile phone, laptop/tablet, e-reading device, any device that draws power through a USB cable, battery-operated tools etc.
Managers and supervisors as defined in the Health, safety and environment policy (A/9.1)
Staff as defined in the QUT Code of Conduct (B/8.1)
QUT community as defined in the Health, safety and environment policy (A/9.1)
Related Documents
MOPP A/9.1 Health, safety and environment
MOPP F/6.1 Records governance
HSE Hub (HSE Incident Management System) (QUT staff access only)
Plant and electrical equipment (QUT staff access only)
Electrical safety Code of Practice 2013 - Managing electrical risks in the workplace (Qld)
Managing risks of plant in the workplace – Code of Practice 2013 (Qld)
Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld)
Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
Modification History
Date | Sections | Source | Details |
23.10.20 | All | Vice-President (Administration) and University Registrar | Revised policy |
09.12.16 | All | Registrar | Revised policy |
12.03.14 | A/9.10.2, A/9.10.4, A/9.10.6 |
Council | Revised policy to reflect approved new department titled Health, Safety and Environment and new appointment of Director, Health, Safety and Environment |
03.07.13 | All | Registrar | New policy |