Queensland Legislation
Work health and safety laws aim to protect the health, safety and welfare of all workers at work. The laws also protect the health and safety of all other people who might be affected by the work.
Queensland Electrical safety laws aim to prevent people being killed or injured and property being destroyed or damaged by electricity. These laws apply to every place of work in Queensland.
Queensland’s Electrical safety legal framework include the following:
The Electrical Safety Office is Queensland’s Electrical Safety Regulator, part of the Office of Industrial Relations.
Their PURPOSE is to improve electrical safety and reduce the risk of death and injury from electric shock, fire, and explosion.
They work with Queensland’s electrical industry to help keep all Queenslanders safe around electricity, at work, at home, and in the community.
They do this by:
- making sure electrical safety laws and standards are followed
- managing workers’ and contractors’ electrical licenses
- registering, accrediting, and certifying electrical equipment
- providing electrical safety information, education, and training including electrical product recalls and safety alerts.
WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY ACT
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) requires persons who have a duty to ensure health and safety to ‘manage risks’ by eliminating health and safety risks so far as is reasonably practicable, and if it is not reasonably practicable to do so, to minimise those risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
The WHS Act provides a framework to protect the health, safety and welfare of all workers at work. It also protects the health and safety of all other people who might be affected by the work. The WHS Act places the primary health and safety duty on a person conducting a business or undertaking, who must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers at the workplace. Duties are also placed on officers of a person conducting a business or undertaking, workers and other persons at a workplace.
In terms of electrical safety, where the ES Act and the WHS Act both apply, the ES Act takes precedence.
WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY REGULATION
The Acts are supported by a number of Regulations. These give more specific detail about how a duty under the Act must be performed. They also cover some administrative matters, like record keeping and the licences required for specific activities.
The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 provides detailed information on how to prevent or minimise risks in your place of work.
If you’re doing business in Queensland, you must take reasonable steps to eliminate or minimise risks and put in place an effective risk management process.
Provisions in the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (like the Act) are legally enforceable.
Learn more about managing risks.
ELECTRICAL SAFETY ACT
The Electrical Safety Act 2002 is a law that outlines what you must do to prevent people being killed or injured and property being destroyed or damaged by electricity.
Where the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) and the Electrical Safety Act both apply the Electrical Safety Act takes priority.
ELECTRICAL SAFETY REGULATION
The Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 provides detailed information on how you must meet the requirements of the Electrical Safety Act.
The Regulation sets out the requirements for:
- electrical work
- electrical licensing
- working near overhead and underground electric lines
- electrical installations
- in-scope electrical equipment
- works of an electricity entity
- electricity supply
- safety management systems
- cathodic protection systems
- notification and reporting of serious electrical incidents.
The Act and the Regulation are supported by codes of practice that give practical advice on how to meet your electrical safety responsibilities.
Codes of practice deal with particular issues and don’t cover all hazards or risks. You must consider all risks associated with the work you do – not just those covered by regulations and codes of practice.
Below are the Five Codes of Practice that relate specifically to electrical safety:
- Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Electrical equipment rural industry
- Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2013 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
- Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines
- Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Works
- Construction and operation of solar farms Code of Practice 2019
