Working On or Near Energised Electrical Equipment SWMS

For licensed electrical workers and electrical contractors who must test, fault find or work near exposed energised low voltage equipment. It follows the work from deciding whether energised work is allowed, through the recorded risk assessment and authorisation, set-up, isolation and lock-out, testing for dead, and energised testing and work with a safety observer, to restoring supply, handover and emergency response. It does not cover high voltage work or live line work.

The Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (ss 199 and 200) requires a safe work method statement before electrical work on or near energised electrical equipment starts; this document follows the headings in s 200, but it must be completed for the actual job alongside the competent person’s recorded risk assessment.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Working On or Near Energised Electrical Equipment SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Working live when the job could be done dead
• Missed sources of supply
• Wrong or incomplete isolation
• Supply switched back on during work
• Equipment assumed dead without a test
• Contact with exposed live parts through probes, tools or the body
• Arc flash and arc blast burns
• Shock paths through damp floors, metal ladders and jewellery
• Dropped tools shorting live parts
• Unauthorised people entering the work area
• Exposed conductors left unfinished
• Electric shock, burns and fire emergencies

High Risk Construction Work

These high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are already ticked because they are part of this work. Tick any others that apply to your job:

• Is carried out on or near energised electrical installations or services

Licences, Training and Competency

• Electrical work licence that authorises the work (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55); the employer holds an electrical contractor licence (s 56)
• Competent person for the risk assessment and for testing whether equipment is energised: training, qualifications or experience for the task
• Safety observer who is competent to implement control measures in an emergency and to rescue and resuscitate, and who has been assessed as competent in rescue and resuscitation within the previous 12 months
• Competence in rescue and resuscitation for every worker who does, or helps with, electrical work (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 s 211)
• Training in the isolation and lock-out procedure in use, and in the test instruments and PPE for the job
• Unlicensed assistants work only under direct supervision and never touch energised equipment (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 18(2)(g))
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the work is construction work
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): part 8, division 3 (electrical work on or near energised electrical equipment), ss 193 to 204
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 207 and 208 (testing and certificate of testing and safety) and s 211 (rescue and resuscitation training)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 292 and 296 (serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• AS/NZS 3000 (Electrical installations, known as the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules), as named in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026
• AS 1319 (Safety signs for the occupational environment), as named in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 s 198
• AS/NZS 4836 (Safe working on or near low-voltage and extra-low voltage electrical installations and equipment), as named in the Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.