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Don’t work live
Electrical work must only be carried out by a licensed electrician and with the power turned off. Live work can expose people and property to serious electrical risk and should only be performed in very limited circumstances.
Section 12 of the Electrical Safety Regulation 2002 sets out the mandatory requirements governing the performance of live work.
Live work may be performed in the following circumstances:
- it is not practicable to perform the electrical work other than by live work because:
- it is necessary in the interests of safety, e.g.road safety – keeping traffic lights working while electrical work is done
- electricity supply is necessary to properly perform the electrical work, e.g. testing and commissioning electrical equipment, or
- there is no reasonable alternative to performing the electrical work by live work, e.g. electricity entity performing electrical work to avoid widespread outages
- the employer or self-employed person has prepared a documented risk assessment of the live work
- the electrical work is in accordance with a safe system of work (a safe system of work on low voltage electrical installations must comply with AS/NZS 4836 Safe working on low-voltage electrical installations)
- the employer or self-employed person authorises the performance of the live work only after consultation with the person in control of the electrical equipment
- the person who performs the live work has appropriate training for the performance of the live work
- the test equipment is appropriate, has been given to the person performing the electrical work, has been properly maintained and the person makes proper use of the test equipment
- the clothing and personal protective equipment are appropriate, have been given to the person performing the electrical work and the person makes proper use of them
- other than for electric line work, the electrical work’s isolation point has been clearly identified and can be reached quickly without the need to climb over or shift obstructions
- the electrical work area is clear of obstructions for easy access to and from the area
- a safety observer is observing the performance of the electrical work, unless the work involves testing electrical equipment, and a risk assessment does not show a high risk to electrical safety.
All the above must be followed if live work is to be performed.
Last updated 3 October 2008
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