A small plastic tag on a kettle cord doesn’t look like much, but behind it is a set of checks laid out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 3760:2022, In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs. This page explains what those checks are, which equipment they cover, and when a South Australian business is required to have them done. If you already know all this and just want a booking, see our page on test and tag in Adelaide.
The checks behind every tag
These checks come from AS/NZS 3760:2022. Which ones apply depends on how the item is built.
Looking before testing
Every item starts with a close look at the plug, cord and casing for cuts, scorch marks, cracked housings, exposed or twisted inner cores, and the giveaway sign of a dodgy repair: insulation tape wrapped around a damaged cord. An item that fails this step doesn’t move on to the meter.
Earth continuity
Equipment with an earth pin relies on that earth path to carry fault current safely away. A portable appliance tester measures it from the plug through to the metal parts of the item. Power boards and extension leads get this check as well.
Insulation
Insulation keeps live parts away from anything you can touch. It’s checked either by measuring insulation resistance or by measuring leakage current, depending on the item and the tester being used.
Polarity on rewireable leads
Where an extension lead or cord set has a plug or socket that can be rewired, the technician confirms the active and neutral conductors are connected the right way round.
Safety switches (RCDs)
A safety switch should cut power within a fraction of a second when it senses current leaking to earth. Pressing the test button tells you the mechanism moves, but it doesn’t tell you how quickly it trips. That takes an operating-time test with an RCD tester. We cover this in more detail on our RCD testing page.
Class I or Class II: why the label on the back matters
Most portable equipment falls into one of two groups:
- Class I items have exposed metal parts that are connected to earth. Think of a toaster, a bench grinder or a desktop computer. These need the earth continuity test.
- Class II items are double insulated. They carry a symbol of one square inside another and don’t depend on an earth connection for protection. Think of most power drills, hair dryers and phone chargers. They still get a visual inspection and an insulation check.
The class tells the technician which tests apply.
What gets tested
If it plugs into a power point, it’s usually in scope. That includes:
- kitchen and lunchroom appliances: kettles, toasters, microwaves, fridges
- office gear: computers, monitors, printers, chargers
- power tools and workshop equipment
- extension leads, cord sets and power boards
- cleaning equipment such as vacuums and floor polishers
- portable safety switches
Our appliance test and tagging page covers how we go through a site item by item.
Does your SA workplace need it?
SafeWork SA’s rule turns on the working conditions. Where equipment that plugs into a socket outlet is exposed, through ordinary use, to conditions likely to damage it or cut its life short, a competent person has to inspect and test it at regular intervals. The conditions SafeWork SA names are moisture, heat, vibration, mechanical damage, corrosive chemicals and dust.
Commercial kitchens, building sites, factories, workshops and cleaning crews are typical examples. A quiet office may not meet that test, but the business still has to keep its equipment safe, and regular testing is a simple way to show it. Separately, whoever manages or controls a workplace must take reasonable steps to have its safety switches checked by a competent person at regular intervals.
Testing intervals at a glance
How often depends on the environment. These are the equipment intervals from the AS/NZS 3760:2022 table that SafeWork SA publishes:
| Environment | Equipment test interval |
|---|---|
| Construction and demolition sites (AS/NZS 3012) | 3 months |
| Factories, workshops, manufacturing, maintenance | 6 months |
| Commercial cleaning equipment | 6 months |
| Cords flexed in normal use, or a hostile environment | 12 months |
| Residential-type areas (hotels, motels, hostels) | 2 years |
| Not flexed, not open to abuse, not hostile | 5 years |
Hire equipment is inspected before each hire and tested every 3 months. For a closer look at each environment, read our test and tag frequency guide for Adelaide workplaces.
Pass, fail and the paperwork
When an item passes
It gets a durable, non-reusable, non-metallic tag, the kind that can’t be peeled off and stuck on something else.
When an item fails
AS/NZS 3760:2022 says equipment that may be unsafe should be taken out of use straight away and labelled so nobody plugs it back in. After that, the business decides whether to have it repaired by a competent person or to throw it out. If it’s repaired, it has to be tested again before it goes back into service.
What the record has to show
Under SafeWork SA rules, the record must show who did the testing, the date, the result, and when the next test is due. You hold on to it until the item is tested again, or until it leaves the workplace for good. The tag itself can serve as that record. A logbook, register or database works too.
Booking a test with us
We’ve been doing this work for more than 15 years, across every Adelaide metro suburb and out into country and regional South Australia. Each item costs from $2.20 ex GST, with the tag, the report and the certificate all part of that price. Every technician on our team is qualified, police cleared, Working With Children checked and White Card holding. Our public liability cover is $20,000,000. Once you’re on our books, we’ll let you know when your next test is due.
If you also have extinguishers, fire blankets or exit lights to look after, we can check those too. See fire equipment testing.
Quick questions about electrical testing
Does brand-new equipment need testing?
Not straight away. SafeWork SA treats new equipment as having been tested by the manufacturer, but it should still be checked for obvious damage before use. One exception: new equipment used for construction work must carry a tag showing when its next test is due.
Is pressing the test button on a safety switch enough?
The push-button test is a quick user check that the switch still works mechanically, and it’s worth doing regularly. It doesn’t measure how fast the switch trips, though. That needs an operating-time test by a competent person with an RCD tester.
Do repaired or second-hand items need to be tested?
Yes. Under AS/NZS 3760:2022, equipment should be inspected and tested after any repair or service that could affect its electrical safety, and before second-hand equipment is put into use.
Do power boards and extension leads count?
Yes. They take as much wear as anything on site, and often more, so they’re inspected and tested just like appliances, including an earth continuity check.
