WorkSafe Victoria's safety switch test intervals
| Risk area | Push-button test by your staff | Trip-time measurement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High risk | Portable: daily, on each day it's used. Fixed: 6 monthly | 12 monthly | |
| Medium risk | Portable: 3 monthly. Fixed: 6 monthly | 12 monthly | |
| Low risk | Portable: 3 monthly. Fixed: 6 monthly | 2 yearly |
Reading that table
The push-button test is the one your own staff can do: press the test button and make sure the switch cuts the power. Measuring how fast it trips takes a meter and someone competent to use it. Which row you're in depends on your environment and how gear gets used, so a busy workshop and a quiet consulting room won't share a schedule.
For the equipment itself (leads, power boards, tools, appliances), WorkSafe Victoria doesn't give one interval. It says it depends on the equipment, the setting and the use, and it points to AS/NZS 3760:2022. Ask the tester which interval they'd set for each part of your site, and why.
Why Bendigo workplaces get a second look
Hail and flash floods
In January 2023, hail came through roofs and skylights across Greater Bendigo, and the city has had flash flooding in 2010, 2022 and January 2024. If water has dripped or pooled near leads, power boards or chargers, take them out of use until they're checked, even if the tag is still in date.
Storm days and temporary power
The May 2003 tornado through Eaglehawk and California Gully left up to 18,000 homes without power. After a storm, extension leads tend to come out in a hurry, and that's when cables get crushed, kinked or left lying in water.
Old buildings, few power points
Bendigo's gold boom left a large stock of Victorian-era buildings, many of them heritage listed, and plenty now house shops and offices. Older buildings often have fewer power points than a modern business needs, which is how power boards end up plugged into power boards.
Pull it out of use today
- A lead that's been sitting in water, even if it has dried out since.
- A power board plugged into another power board.
- A plug that's hot to touch or discoloured.
- A safety switch that doesn't trip when you press its test button.
- A tool with a cracked case or a cord held together with tape.
Who does the testing
WorkSafe Victoria notes that some testers can only pass or fail an item, while a licensed electrician can also repair the defects that turn up. In an older Bendigo building, the fix is often a couple of extra power points rather than a new power board.
We'd match your business with one licence-checked local electrician who does test and tag regularly and handles that kind of repair, if we have one near you. Tell us what you've got and where it lives.
Our take for Bendigo businesses
Put the push-button safety switch test on the calendar for your own staff, at the interval WorkSafe gives for your risk area, and write down each result. Book the electrician for equipment testing and trip-time measurement. After hail or a flood, check before anything goes back on, not at the next due date.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.