Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00407:body:0:p30
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00407
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 78627–81443

undertaking requiring electrical work to be carried out may provide operational reasons appearing to justify energised electrical work. Requiring electrical work to be carried out while the equipment is energised when it could be avoided places an onerous responsibility on the business or undertaking commissioning the work to minimise the risks. Should an incident occur as a result of carrying out energised electrical work, the business or undertaking commissioning the work is at risk of being found not to have provided a safe workplace. This could contravene the primary duty of care under the WHS Act.
Energised electrical work is generally prohibited unless one or more of the exceptions under the WHS Regulations applies and the work is carried out in accordance with the WHS Regulations.

7.2              Planning and preparation

Regulation 158 If electrical work is to be carried out on energised electrical equipment a person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure before the work commences that:
    * a risk assessment is conducted by a competent person in relation to the proposed work
      and recorded
    * the area where the electrical work is to be carried out is clear of obstructions so as to allow
      for easy access and exit
    * the point at which the electrical equipment can be disconnected or isolated from its electricity supply is:
   -  clearly marked or labelled, and
   -  cleared of obstructions so as to allow for easy access and exit by the worker who is to carry               out the electrical work or any other competent person, and
   -  capable of being operated quickly
    * the person authorises the electrical work after consulting with the person with management
      or control of the workplace.
Requirements relating to the point of supply under the third dot point above do not apply if the
work is to be carried out on the supply side of the main switch on the main switchboard for the equipment and the point at which the equipment can be disconnected from its electricity supply
is not reasonably accessible from the work location.

Risk assessments

See Section 4.3 for information on assessing the risks.
In addition to the listed considerations, the assessment should be designed to check compliance with the legislative requirements described above.
For energised electrical work, any significant findings should be recorded, reviewed from time to time and revised if necessary. See Section 2.4 of this Code for a description of triggers for review.

Consultation between duty holders

All persons conducting a business or undertaking at a workplace have a duty to manage electrical risks at the workplace while electrical work is being carried out, not just those carrying out the electrical work.
Electrical work will often be carried out