Electrician SWMS in Northern Territory

The SWMS law in Northern Territory

Electrician work in Northern Territory is regulated by NT WorkSafe under the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT) and the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations 2011 (NT). The duty to prepare a SWMS before high risk construction work is set by WHS (NUL) Regulations 2011 (NT) reg 299, and the high risk construction work itself is defined in WHS (NUL) Regulations 2011 (NT) reg 291. These follow the harmonised model WHS laws, so a SWMS prepared for another harmonised state transfers with a site-specific review.

The NT was the first jurisdiction to adopt the model WHS laws, enacting them as the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011, enforced by NT WorkSafe, so its regulation numbering matches the national model.

The Northern Territory's industrial manslaughter offence can carry up to life imprisonment for an individual, among the toughest maximum penalties in the country. A site-specific SWMS is part of how a electrician business shows it identified and controlled the high risk work these duties attach to, rather than relying on a generic template.

High risk work for electrician crews

The high risk construction work categories a electrician SWMS usually has to cover:

• ✓ Work on or near energised electrical installations or services
• ✓ Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres

Typical electrician activities that each need their own SWMS:

• · Working on or near energised electrical installations
• · Switchboard installation and upgrades
• · Cable installation and cable tray work at height
• · Roof cavity and ceiling space wiring
• · Temporary power and builders supply installation
• · Underground cable trenching and conduit installation

Hazards a electrician SWMS has to control

The hazards that recur on electrician jobs and that a site-specific SWMS is expected to address:

• ⚠ Electric shock and arc flash
• ⚠ Working near energised services
• ⚠ Falls from ladders and EWPs
• ⚠ Roof cavity work (heat, low light)
• ⚠ Underground service strikes

The rules a electrician SWMS is written against

Beyond the general duty in WHS (NUL) Regulations 2011 (NT) reg 299, a electrician SWMS in Northern Territory is written against the specific model WHS duties and standards that apply to the trade's activities:

• § reg 154: electrical work must not be carried out on electrical equipment while it is energised, unless reg 157 permits it
• § reg 155: before electrical work, a competent person tests the equipment to find out whether it is energised, and every exposed part is treated as energised until it is isolated and found not to be energised
• § reg 157: electrical work on energised equipment is permitted only where it is necessary in the interests of health and safety, necessary for the work to be carried out properly, necessary for testing, or there is no reasonable alternative. It is not a duty to isolate circuits before entering a roof space
• § reg 147: manage electrical risks at the workplace under Part 3.1. Isolating circuits before workers enter a roof or ceiling space is a control chosen under this duty and reg 36; no model regulation requires it by name
• § reg 163: a business that carries out construction work must comply with AS/NZS 3012 (electrical installations on construction and demolition sites)
• § reg 158: preliminary steps before any energised electrical work (risk assessment by a competent person, work area clear, isolation point accessible, authorisation)
• § reg 78 and reg 79: manage the risk of ANY fall liable to cause injury (ladders, EWPs, roof cavities); a fall of more than 2 m is additionally high risk construction work under reg 291
• § AS/NZS 3012: electrical installations on construction and demolition sites (temporary power, RCDs, testing)
• § AS/NZS 3000: electrical installations (wiring rules)
• § AS/NZS 3760: in-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment (test and tag of portable tools and leads)
• § AS/NZS 4836: safe working on or near low-voltage electrical installations and equipment (isolation, lock-out and test before touch)
• § reg 44 to reg 47: PPE duties (insulated gloves, arc-rated clothing where required)
• § Asbestos and electrical work: the asbestos demolition and refurbishment lines that follow apply to electrical work only where the job is refurbishment that disturbs the structure itself (for example cutting or drilling into walls, ceilings, eaves or floors to run cables, or removing or replacing an old switchboard or meter board and its backing panel) in an older building, structure or plant that the application line covers (built or installed before the date it gives). Minor or routine maintenance work, and other minor work, is excluded. On a job that does not disturb the structure in such a building, do not state these duties as applying
• § reg 447: the asbestos duties for demolition and refurbishment (reg 448 to reg 457) apply to the demolition or refurbishment of a structure or plant constructed or installed before 31 December 2003. Demolition or refurbishment does not include minor or routine maintenance work, or other minor work. Where these duties apply they are law, never good practice
• § reg 448 to reg 450: before demolition or refurbishment starts, the person with management or control of the workplace must ensure the asbestos register is reviewed (and revised if it is inadequate for the proposed work) and that the business carrying out the work is given a copy, and the business carrying out the demolition or refurbishment must obtain a copy of the asbestos register from the person with management or control of the workplace before it starts the work
• § reg 451: where there is no asbestos register for the structure or plant, the business that is to carry out the demolition or refurbishment must not carry it out until the structure or plant has been inspected to determine whether asbestos or ACM is fixed to or installed in it, and must ensure that the determination is undertaken by a competent person. It must assume that asbestos or ACM is fixed to or installed in the structure or plant if the competent person is, on reasonable grounds, uncertain, or if part of the structure or plant is inaccessible and likely to be disturbed. If asbestos or ACM is determined or assumed to be present, it must inform the occupier and the owner of the premises (residential premises) or, in any other case, the person with management or control of the workplace
• § reg 456 and reg 457: all asbestos that is likely to be disturbed by the refurbishment must be identified and, so far as is reasonably practicable, removed before the refurbishment is commenced. For residential premises this is the duty of the business carrying out the refurbishment (reg 457); for any other workplace it is the duty of the person with management or control of the workplace, or of the structure or plant (reg 456)

What Northern Territory builders check before you start

A principal contractor in Northern Territory collects your SWMS before your crew goes on site and checks four things: that it is site-specific to this job (not a reused template), that every high risk category for electrician work is covered and controlled, that controls follow the hierarchy rather than jumping to PPE, and that it cites Northern Territory legislation. SWMS Pack writes to all four: your site details throughout, WHS (NUL) Regulations 2011 (NT) reg 299 cited, and an adversarial review pass before delivery.

Common questions

Electrician SWMS in other states

New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandWestern AustraliaSouth AustraliaTasmaniaAustralian Capital Territory

Other trades in Northern Territory

PlumberCarpenterRooferScaffolderConcreterBricklayerPainterTilerDemolitionExcavation / EarthmovingSolar Installer