In Australia, residual current devices (RCDs) or electrical safety switches can be required by electrical safety legislation.
In this post, we'll take a look at the legal requirements for RCDs in Queensland, particularly in residential and workplace settings.
The Legislation
Each state and territory has its own legislation regarding electrical safety, so the specifics depend on what state or territory you are operating in.
In Queensland, the applicable legislation is the Queensland Electrical Safety Act 2002 and the Queensland Electrical Safety Regulations 2013.
The Act describes what individuals are obliged to do, and the Regulations describe how to carry out these obligations.
Your Duty of Care
The main focus of the Electrical Safety Act is that persons conducting a business or undertaking have a duty of care to ensure that their business or undertaking is performed in a way that is electrically safe. This includes ensuring that the workplace is electrically safe for workers ([1] ES Act, S30).
As part of this, persons conducting a business or undertaking must ensure any work completed on the electrical installation complies with the wiring rules AS/NZS 3000, or AS/NZS 3012 for construction work applications ([2] ES Regs S71). It is important to note that this might trigger a requirement to install RCDs when modifying older installations.
Applying the Regulations Regarding RCDs
In Queensland, the Electrical Safety Regulations describe when RCD safety switches are required under Part 6, Division 6 [5].
When Are RCDs Required?
Typically legislation dictates the use of RCDs where portable, plug-in electrical equipment is used, as the risk of electric shock is greater compared to fixed/hardwired items of equipment.
For instance, RCD protection does not appear to be mandatory for hardwired/directly-connected equipment such as air-conditioners and electric roller doors.
There are different requirements for RCDs depending on the specific setting or workplace environment, whether it be a manufacturing workplace, office or service workplace or domestic/residential setting.
In manufacturing workplaces, persons conducting a business or undertaking must ensure electrical equipment used at the workplace is not used to perform work unless it is connected to a safety switch and is tested by a competent person at regular intervals.
Typically this involves providing safety switches to all circuits supplying socket outlets under 20A (although some exemptions can apply) ([2] ES Regs, S107 - S109).
Uunder current legislation, you are required to retrofit RCDs to such circuits in order to meet the requirements of the Electrical Safety Regulations S108 and S109.
Service Work or Office Workplaces
For service work or office workplaces, persons conducting a business or undertaking must ensure that electrical equipment used at the workplace is not used to perform work unless it is connected to a safety switch OR it is inspected and tested by a competent person on a regular basis ([2] ES Regs, S112).
This includes equipment such as electrical power boards, vacuum cleaners, computers and the like.
The Regulations indicate that persons conducting a business or undertaking must ensure electrical safety by testing and tagging equipment if safety switches are not installed ([2] ES Regs, S112).
You do not need to retrofit safety switches if appropriate inspection/test procedures are in place. However, it can be wise to retrofit safety switches on power circuits supplying general purpose outlets to avoid the risk of non-compliance in the event that new portable electric equipment happens to be introduced without being first tested.
Residential / Domestic Installations
For residential properties, safety switches have been compulsory since 1992, with stricter requirements regarding their installation to both lighting and power circuits also put in place from 2000 [4].
Some older properties may not have safety switches installed, however this needs to be disclosed by law if selling the property ([2] ES Regs, S82).
In most instances RCDs are required to be retrofitted to protect general purpose outlets if not already existing ([2] ES Regs, S84), as well as if you are renting out the property ([2] ES Regs, S85).
The legislation also states that electricians are not to perform electrical works on a domestic electrical installation that does not have a safety switch installed to general purpose socket outlet circuits (unless the work involves installing a new safety switch or otherwise under special circumstances) ([2] ES Regs, Division 4, S86).
New Installations
The current Regulations state that any electrical work performed on an electrical installation must comply with the current wiring rules AS/NZS 3000:2007 ([2] ES Regs, S71).
While exceptions apply, typically the current AS/NZS 3000 wiring rules state that additional protection by RCDs must be provided for:
([3] AS/NZS 3000, Clause 2.6.3.2)
What About Existing Installations?
RCDs were not previously required by standards or electrical safety legislation, so older installations may not have RCDs installed.
While it is best practice to retrofit them on final subcircuits as per the current requirements of AS/NZS 3000, for older and existing installations which may not have RCDs already in place, it can sometimes be a costly exercise to fit RCDs to all circuits.
The Legal Requirements
Existing installations need only have complied with the standards at the time of installation, as the legislation at the time of installation would have referenced the standards of the day and may not have required RCDs to be installed.
Unless specifically required by current legislation, retrofitting RCDs to existing older installations is not mandatory, though it is recommended.
You are legally required to retrofit safety switches into older installations when it is dictated by current legislation.
The two main triggers for this are:
1. Carrying out any electrical work on the older installation
"Electrical work" includes manufacturing, constructing, installing, removing, adding, testing, replacing, repairing, altering or maintaining ([1] ES Act, S18). According to the Regulations, persons conducting an undertaking or business must ensure any affected parts of the electrical installation comply with the latest AS/NZS 3000 rules, including the provision of RCDs where specified ([2] ES Regs, S71 ; [3] AS/NZS 3000, Clause 1.9.3).
2. If it is required under the Electrical Safety Regulations Part 6, Division 6 [5]
This was covered above and depends on the specific environment or workplace setting (manufacturing, residential, office, etc.).
Best Practice
While not always mandatory, it is best practice to retrofit RCDs to protect all individual circuits supplying socket outlets, lighting points and directly connected hand-held equipment as per the current requirements of AS/NZS 3000 ([3], Clause 2.6.3.1).
Don't Forget About Testing!
It's one thing to install safety switches, but don't forget that they require regular testing to ensure they will operate when they need to.
Under the Regulations, persons conducting a business or undertaking must ensure that safety switches installed are:
([2] ES Regs, S110, S113)
Summary
Legislation around RCD safety switches varies between the different states and territories in Australia.
In Queensland, for persons conducting a business or undertaking (landlords, building owners and business owners), it is important to remember that you have a duty of care to provide electrically safe workplaces which can include the use of RCDs.
The latest wiring rules AS/NZS 3000 requires RCDs to be typically installed on general purpose socket outlet and lighting circuits, and any circuits supplying directly-connected hand held equipment.
The requirement to comply with the latest Standard can also be triggered if electrical work (including alterations, maintenance or repairs) is carried out on older buildings, in which case RCDs must be retrofitted where they are missing.
Typically, persons conducting an undertaking or business are legally required to retrofit RCD safety switches to socket outlets under 20A in manufacturing workplaces, and they must also be retrofitted to any circuits specified in the latest wiring rules whenever electrical works take place to affected parts of the electrical installation.
In office environments, electrical safety obligations can be discharged by either installing RCDs or completing regular inspection and testing of electrical equipment. While not strictly mandatory, retrofitting RCDs to all socket outlets under 20A is recommended as it can replace the requirement for ongoing inspection and testing of electrical equipment.
Once fitted, RCDs should be tested regularly to ensure ongoing compliance and electrical safety.
[1] Queensland Electrical Safety Act 2002
[2] Queensland Electrical Safety Regulations 2013
[3] AS/NZS 3000:2007
[4] Work Cover QLD - Safety Switches FAQ
[5] Electrical safety code of practice 2013, Managing Electrical Risks in the Workplace