Electrical safety in your hospitality business
If you operate a hospitality business, you need to be aware of your responsibilities for maintaining electrical equipment.
Your duties under the Act
The purpose of The Electrical Safety Act 2002 (The Act) is directed at eliminating the human cost to individuals, families and the community of death, injury and destruction that can be caused by electricity.
As a person conducting a business or undertaking, you are required to ensure that all business activities are conducted in a way that is electrically safe, particularly when it comes to using and maintaining electrical equipment.
Failing to maintain your electrical equipment could result in serious harm or death, potentially breaching your duties under the Act. This could also have insurance implications for your business.
Assessing and maintaining electrical equipment
To ensure continued safety, you should conduct a risk assessment considering the environment you are operating the electrical equipment in. From there you can develop an inspection and maintenance schedule based on the outcome of the risk assessment. Additional controls and more frequent inspections may be needed in high-risk areas, such as wet areas behind bars and where intoxicated people or the general public can access. Regular checks help identify and address any potential damage or defects before an incident occurs. This includes both hard wired and plug-in electrical equipment.
Key steps include:
- Disconnecting or isolating unsafe electrical equipment and ensuring it is only reconnected after being repaired or tested by a competent person.
- Implementing a safe system of work for handling potentially unsafe equipment, including:
- Assigning competent workers to inspect the equipment’s condition before each use.
- Taking equipment out of service if there are any doubts about its safety.
- Establishing reporting arrangements for supervisors and line managers when equipment is taken out of service for safety reasons.
- Conducting regular visual inspections to identify obvious damage or wear.
Please note that any electrical work, such as disconnecting hard wired electrical equipment, must only be performed by a person who holds an appropriate electrical work licence.
Labelling and documentation
Unsafe equipment should be clearly labelled as unsafe and must not be used until it has been tested, repaired, or replaced. Keeping detailed records of maintenance and inspections is essential to demonstrating compliance with the Act.
Safety switches and further information
Safety switches are crucial for ensuring electrical safety in your business. These must be installed, maintained, and tested according to the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 requirements. Further information on testing and tagging of electrical equipment can be found on the Testing and tagging of electrical equipment page on our website.
For more information on managing electrical risks in the workplace, refer to the Managing Electrical Risks in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (PDF, 1.26 MB) or visit electricalsafety.qld.gov.au. The Electrical Safety Office has also developed a one-page guidance document to assist businesses in the hospitality industry understand their electrical safety duties.