Electrical Contractor WHS Manual

This is the electrical contractor edition of the WHS Manual. It has the same chapters as the general WHS Manual, written for electrical contractors and their crews, so you only need one of the two. It covers the Electrical Safety Act and the WHS Act together, including isolation and proving dead, the rules for work on or near energised equipment, roof spaces, switchboards, overhead lines, solar, batteries and test and tag, and it points to the electrical SWMS, permits and checklists in our range that match. The cover page is ready for your business name and logo. Part A is the management system, in 23 numbered chapters. Part B holds the full text of 70 policies and procedures (41 that apply to every business and 29 for electrical contractor work), each on its own pages in the same editable file, so you can edit, issue and sign off each one without buying it separately.

What Is Included In Our Electrical Contractor WHS Manual?

• WHS policy statement with an approval sign-off
• How the Electrical Safety Act and the WHS Act apply to an electrical business, with the duties of contractors, supervisors and workers
• Licences for electrical work, EWPs, scaffolds and dogging, and the competency a crew needs
• Isolation, lock out, tag out and proving dead, with the rules for work on or near energised equipment and arc flash
• Roof space and ceiling rules, switchboards, safety switches and certificates of testing and safety
• Overhead and underground lines, with the Schedule 2 exclusion distances
• Solar, batteries and EV charging, including battery hazards and DC that stays live
• Asbestos in switchboards and ceilings, silica from chasing and drilling, and chemical hazards
• Trenching, working at heights, ladders and EWPs, heat, vermin and working alone
• Notifying serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events, emergency plans and shock rescue
• A table of 45 electrical SWMS, permits, checklists and registers, and when to use each
• Definitions and the electrical Acts, Regulations and codes of practice that apply
• Part B: the full text of 70 policies and procedures, from risk, hazard and incident management to manual handling, hazardous substances, emergencies and return to work, plus 29 for electrical contractor work

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): the primary electrical safety duty (s 30), serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events (ss 11 and 12), the meaning of electrical work (s 18), codes of practice (ss 44 and 45), electrical work licences (s 55), electrical contractor licences (s 56) and the meanings of extra low, low and high voltage (schedule 2)
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): the meaning of reasonably practicable (s 18), our primary duty of care (s 19), duties of persons who manage or control a workplace (s 20), codes of practice (ss 26A, 274 and 275), duties of officers (s 27), duties of workers and others (ss 28 and 29), notifiable incidents (ss 35 to 39), consultation (ss 46 to 49), the right to cease unsafe work (ss 84 to 86), no levy on workers (s 273), and the extent to which it applies where the Electrical Safety Act applies (schedule 1 part 2 division 2 item 4)
• Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld)
• Building Act 1975 (Qld): the building classes used in the roof space rules (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 s 31)
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld): gas work is a separate licensed trade and is not electrical work
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld): claims and the employer’s injury report (ss 131 and 133), and rehabilitation and return to work (ss 226 to 232)
• Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld) and Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 (Qld): environmental harm and waste, including asbestos waste
• Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld): the value of a penalty unit (s 5(1)(d))
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead and underground electric lines (ss 10 to 15 and Schedule 2), roof space work (ss 31 to 36), ceiling insulation (s 38), domestic safety switches (s 30), unsafe electrical equipment, cords and flexible cables (ss 17 and 18), testing and tagging and safety switches (ss 138 to 142), electrical work licence classes (s 144), compliance with the wiring rules and AS/NZS 3012 (ss 191 and 192), energised electrical work (ss 193 to 204), testing and certificates of testing and safety (ss 207 and 208), rescue and resuscitation (s 211), connection to supply (ss 217 to 219), supervision of apprentices and trainees (s 307), and notifying and preserving the site of serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events (ss 292 and 296)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): managing risks (ss 32 to 38), information, training and instruction (s 39), facilities, first aid, emergency plans and personal protective equipment (ss 40 to 47), remote or isolated work (s 48), falling objects (ss 54 and 55), noise (ss 56 to 59), manual tasks (s 60), confined spaces (ss 62 to 77), falls (ss 78 to 80), high risk work licences (ss 81 to 85 and Schedule 3), plant (chapter 5), construction work and the Queensland rules for falls, ladders and excavation (chapter 6, including ss 289 to 306 and 306A to 306Q), hazardous chemicals (chapter 7), asbestos (chapter 8), crystalline silica (chapter 8A), and the dictionary (Schedule 19)
• Work Health and Safety (Codes of Practice) Notice 2022 (Qld): the list of approved codes of practice
• Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld): evacuation routes (ss 5 and 7)
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025 (Qld): the criteria for appointing a return to work coordinator (s 149)
• Environmental Protection Regulation 2019 (Qld)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Construction and Operation of Solar Farms Code of Practice 2024
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• 3 Queensland approved codes of practice, named in full in the manual

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word manual (about 480 pages), A4 portrait, with a cover page ready for your business name and logo, a contents list, Part A (23 numbered chapters) and Part B (70 policies and procedures)
• Business details and document control typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• A WHS policy statement with an approval sign-off
• Roles, procedures, a risk matrix, record-keeping periods, definitions and references
• Part B: the full text of 70 policies and procedures, each starting on a new page
• Links by name to the matching SWMS, forms and registers in our range

Review it and adjust it to suit your business, your sites and the way your team works, and talk it through with your workers. If you have any trouble downloading this template, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading.