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Electrical Safety Policy

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Section 1 - Purpose

(1) The Electrical Safety Policy provides overarching principles at QUT for minimising the risk of harm and damage from electricity. QUT uses a risk-based approach to conduct activities involving electrical work and electrical equipment safely. This approach is in accordance with relevant QUT policies, legislation, codes of practice and Australian Standards in relation to the health and safety of the QUT community.

(2) This Policy must be read in conjunction with the QUT Electrical Safety Standard (QUT staff and student access only) and supporting local area documents that detail, guide and address the practical elements of electrical safety at QUT.

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Section 2 - Application

(3) This Policy applies to members of the QUT community who use, purchase, import, design, manufacture, modify, maintain and/or work with or near electricity or electrical equipment at the University, including:

  1. places managed or controlled by the University, such as QUT campuses and distributed sites; and
  2. off-campus locations (such as field work research sites) where the University conducts its operations;

(4) This Policy does not apply to extra-low voltage electrical equipment, unless defined under Queensland Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 as ‘prescribed equipment’. QUT Electrical Safety Standard (QUT staff and student access only) nprovides guidance on these applications. Extra-low voltage equipment 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.

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Section 3 - Roles and Responsibilities

General

(5) All members of the QUT community have a responsibility to work with and around electricity safely by being aware of the potential risks and implementing the appropriate controls.

Position
Responsibility
Director, Health Safety and Environment
Develops and approves all Health, Safety and Environment electrical safety-related documents.
Monitors and implements strategies to assist QUT to meet its electrical safety compliance obligations.
Determines if an electrical incident is notifiable and reports to the regulator within mandatory timeframes.
Provides direction and advice on electrical safety matters, to University officers, to enable them to meet their due diligence responsibilities.
Approves and issues electrical safety alerts to the QUT community.
Director, Facilities Management
Ensures all infrastructure and electrical equipment built, purchased, hired, or used for Facilities Management operations and activities meets Australian electrical safety legislation and standards.
Ensures any contractors or staff engaged to perform electrical work for Facilities Management operations are Australian-licensed or Australian-registered/certified and competent to perform the work.
Is responsible for the electrical infrastructure in QUT owned properties (and to various limited extents, property and facilities under lease arrangements) for the safe management and compliance of electrical systems, including installation, maintenance, testing and repair.
Maintains records of electrical infrastructure testing and maintenance.
Managers and Supervisors (within areas of responsibility)
Ensure within their area of responsibility, prior to using electrical equipment, working with electrical equipment and/or performing electrical work, that the person is suitably qualified and competent.
Ensure test and tag of electrical equipment is carried out as required by the Electrical Safety Act 2002 and all equipment is kept in an electrically safe condition.
Records related to electrical equipment and electrical work (e.g. test and tag, purchase, maintenance, commissioning, manufacture, and disposal) are retained for the requisite timeframes within QUT-approved records management systems.
Ensure local procedures are developed (where required) to manage electrical equipment and electrical work.
Electrical work for maintenance, research, or teaching purposes, is only carried out by qualified and competent persons who have been duly authorised to do so.
Incidents and near misses involving electrical equipment or electricity are reported immediately to Department of Health, Safety and Environment and logged in QUT incident management system - the HSE Hub (QUT staff and student access only).
Electrical equipment brought into the University by staff or students is electrically safe, fit for purpose and, where required, has undergone test and tag before use.
All staff involved in the use, purchase, design, importation, manufacture, modification and disposal of electrical equipment
Are required to ensure all electrical equipment:
  1. is electrically safe and purchased or acquired according to QUT policies and procedures;
  2. designs requiring registration are identified and registered;
  3. is correctly maintained during its lifecycle and requisite records are managed and retained; and
  4. is disposed of correctly and with consideration for the environment.
  5. that is directly imported must be assessed, and if required modified, by a competent person, as meeting the relevant Australian Standards and is safe to use. Where possible, all compliance certifications should be obtained;
  6. design, manufacture and modifications comply with relevant legislation and standards;
  7. is visually inspected, including electrical cords and external surfaces of the equipment, for any physical damage or defects before use and any identified items are reported to a Supervisor or Manager;
  8. if found to be damaged, is placed out of service immediately, locked out (as appropriate) and an ‘Out of Service’ tag is attached, until it is repaired, replaced or removed;
  9. involved in an incident or near-miss involving electrical equipment or electricity must be reported to immediate supervisor and log it in the HSE Hub (QUT staff and student access only).
All other relevant members of the QUT community
Must comply with all relevant QUT policies, legislation, codes of practice, Australian Standards and supporting documents as relevant to electrical safety or as instructed by competent persons.
Should visually inspect electrical cords and equipment for any physical damage and defects before use and report any suspect items to a Supervisor.
Involved in an incident or near-miss involving electrical equipment or electricity are reported immediately to their supervisor, QUT contact, and/or the Department of Health, Safety and Environment. Where able, log it in the HSE Hub (QUT staff and student access only).
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Section 4 - Relationship to TEQSA Threshold Standards

(6) This Policy assists the University to satisfy the provision of standards within 2.3 Wellbeing and Safety, specifically Standard 2.3.4 of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021, “a safe environment is promoted and fostered, including by advising students and staff on actions they can take to enhance safety and security on campus and online”.

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Section 5 - Electrical Work Requirements at QUT

(7) The University expects that all electrical work will be performed in compliance with relevant QUT policies, legislation, codes of practice and Australian Standards (where applicable).

(8) A person must not perform or supervise electrical work unless:

  1. the person is a holder of an electrical work licence in accordance with the Qld Electrical Safety Act 2002 and
  2. the licence authorises the person to perform the work.
  3. exemptions may apply for very specific tasks as outlined under Section 55 of the Electrical Safety Act 2002.

(9) Electrical equipment imported, purchased, designed, manufactured, hired, modified or loaned out, by any member of the QUT community, must be done in accordance with QUT procedures and be assessed or tested as electrically safe before use. 

(10) No work on energised electrical equipment (i.e. live work) is to be carried out by any member of the QUT community. (Exceptions to this Policy are detailed in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) s15 and s18).

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Section 6 - Inspection, Test and Tag of Electrical Equipment

(11) Regular inspections and test and tag of electrical equipment is a legislative requirement and helps minimise electrical risk and improve electrical safety. Visual inspections, prior to using electrical equipment should be performed.

(12) A competent person, either a University staff member who has completed training 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.

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Section 7 - Purchase and Importation of Electrical Equipment

(13) Wherever possible, electrical equipment should be purchased from an Australian supplier or imported by an Australian supplier. This ensures the electrical equipment and parts of the electrical equipment should meet Australian legislative requirements and safety standards.

(14) When purchasing and importing electrical equipment from overseas for QUT activities, staff and students must follow the QUT finance and procurement requirements and procedures. The Electrical Safety - Imported Electrical Equipment Checklist and other supporting documents are available to facilitate this.

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Section 8 - Reporting of Incidents Involving Electricity or Electrical Equipment

(15) Any incident or near miss involving electricity or electrical equipment must be reported immediately to your Supervisor and logged in the HSE Hub (QUT staff and student access only), following QUT's incident reporting processes.

(16) 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, it must be reported immediately to Health, Safety and Environment (QUT staff access only) as it may be a notifiable incident.

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Section 9 - Records Management

(17) 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.

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Section 10 - Failure to Comply

(18) Failure to follow safe systems of work, misuse of electrical equipment, damaging or bypassing electrical risk control measures, and/or 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 and other relevant legislation. These matters will also be dealt with under the QUT Code of Conduct - Staff, Enterprise Agreements and Employment Conditions, the QUT Code of Conduct - Student and/or the Resolution of Student Related Complaints Policy policies.

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Section 11 - Delegations

(19) There are no delegations made under this Policy.

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Section 12 - Definitions

Term Definition
Authorised Visitors As defined in the Code of Conduct - Staff.
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’.
QUT Community As defined in the Health, Safety and Environment Policy.