Hiring electrical equipment

Find out about your responsibilities when hiring electrical equipment or buying electrical equipment to hire out.

Regulations and requirements

Hiring electrical equipment is regulated by the Electrical Safety Act 2002 and the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 through:

• the electrical safety obligations on the hire company
• the requirements equipment must meet before being sold to the hire company or used as hire equipment.

Equipment requirements when purchased for use as hire equipment

Electrical safety requirements for electrical equipment bought for use as hire equipment are the same as for requirements for selling electrical equipment.

If the equipment is level 3 electrical equipment, it should have a current certificate of conformity, and be registered on the national database, if bought for use as hire equipment.

Hire equipment can continue being hired after the certificate and registration expires.

In-scope electrical equipment must meet the requirements at the time the equipment was sold for use as hire equipment. The purchaser should make sure the equipment meets the electrical equipment standards, and be supplied by a responsible supplier prior to purchase.

Unsafe electrical equipment can be prohibited for use as hire equipment by notices issued by the Electrical Safety Office.

Visit www.eess.gov.au for full requirements for in-scope electrical equipment.

Ongoing requirements

The hire company must ensure electrical equipment is inspected and tested by a competent person before each hiring unless it is fitted with a safety switch that cannot be disconnected, deactivated or removed. This inspection and testing does not require disassembly of the article.

The hire company must ensure the electrical equipment for hire is also inspected, tested and tagged every six months by a competent person.

If the equipment to be hired has a permanently connected safety switch the hire company (the hirer) must ensure the safety switch is inspected, tested and tagged every six months, and the test results comply with the requirements as per AS/NZS 3760:2010 In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment.

• For equipment hired for domestic use, the test and inspection requirement before each hiring, for equipment that does not have a safety switch permanently connected, applies to the hire company but the six monthly test requirement does not apply.
• For equipment hired for domestic use, that has a safety switch permanently connected, all the test and inspection requirements on the equipment do not apply, but the hire company must ensure the safety switch is inspected, tested and tagged by a competent person every six months .
• For equipment hired for commercial, industrial or other business use, the inspection and test requirements, or use of permanently connected safety switch which is inspected and tested, listed above apply to the hire company. The person in control of the business who has hired the equipment will have additional requirements for inspection and test on the equipment depending on the type of business activity the equipment is used for.

  Note: For some of these situations where the business operating the equipment is required to inspect and test the equipment at the same, or shorter, interval as the hire company would be required, the hire company may be able to organise for the inspection and tests they are required to have conducted to be conducted by the business who has hired the equipment, as part of that businesses requirements to meet electrical safety requirements. Where the inspection and test requirements on the business are longer intervals than that required above the hire company will need to organise for the appropriate inspection and tests to be conducted.

Find out more about required tests for businesses that have electrical equipment and tools.

Hire equipment passing inspection and testing must be identified with a durable tag that also shows the next scheduled test date.

Any hire equipment failing inspection and testing must be immediately withdrawn from hire and labelled as unsafe to use with a durable tag.

Penalties are set in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 for not meeting the requirements for hiring, testing and inspecting electrical equipment for hire.