Test and tag, answered.

Testing frequency in Australia follows AS/NZS 3760:2022 and depends on the equipment and operating environment. Construction and demolition sites require every 3 months. Factories, workshops and commercial kitchens: every 6 months. Healthcare environments: from 6 months. General office, retail and classroom areas: every 12 months. Low-risk static equipment: up to 5 years. Many workplaces contain more than one environment; PlanetSafe maps each area separately.

Mixed sites (an office with a commercial kitchen, a school with a workshop) need different intervals per area, PlanetSafe maps and tracks each area separately.

Not as one blanket rule for every workplace. Australian WHS and electrical-safety laws require businesses and other duty holders to manage electrical risks. Where electrical equipment is exposed to conditions likely to cause damage or shorten its life, regular inspection and testing by a competent person may be required. Construction and demolition sites can carry additional jurisdiction-specific requirements: in NSW, for example, current requirements call up AS/NZS 3012:2019, and many portable items must be inspected and tested at intervals not exceeding three months. What applies to you depends on the state or territory, the workplace and the equipment.

AS/NZS 3760:2022 is the Australian and New Zealand standard for in-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and residual current devices (RCDs). It covers plug-in appliances, cord sets and portable RCDs across all workplaces, sets risk-based testing intervals, and defines the inspection, testing, tagging and record-keeping required. Every PlanetSafe visit is carried out to AS/NZS 3760:2022.

Yes, biodegradable test tags are compliant with AS/NZS 3760:2022 when they meet the standard’s durability, legibility, non-reusability and non-metallic requirements for the full period until the next test. PlanetSafe uses biodegradable tags as standard at no extra cost. Tag colour, retest date and technician ID are recorded exactly as AS/NZS 3760:2022 requires for audit evidence.

PlanetSafe keeps supporting supplier and material documentation for the tags it uses, and the Sustainability page explains the current evidence and material approach.

Yes. Portable (plug-in) RCDs are tested under AS/NZS 3760:2022 as part of a standard test and tag visit, push-button, trip-time and trip-current tests using calibrated equipment, then tagged and logged. Fixed switchboard RCDs require a licensed electrician; PlanetSafe includes portable RCD testing in every visit and coordinates fixed-RCD testing where required.

Test and tag takes about one to three minutes per item on site: roughly one to two minutes for simple office equipment (computers, monitors, kettles) and two to three minutes for extension leads, power tools or RCDs. A typical 200-item office site completes in a single half-day visit. PlanetSafe schedules after-hours and weekend visits to avoid operational disruption.

Test and tag inspects portable appliances and cord sets to AS/NZS 3760:2022, checking each item is electrically safe. RCD testing verifies that safety switches trip fast enough to prevent electric shock when a fault occurs, using push-button and trip-time tests. The two are complementary: PlanetSafe covers both in one visit, in a single digital compliance report.

Proving AS/NZS 3760:2022 compliance to an auditor requires four things: a documented electrical safety procedure, an up-to-date test register with unique asset IDs matching physical tags on-site, evidence that failed items were controlled (removed, repaired or replaced), and proof of tester competency plus calibrated instruments. PlanetSafe’s digital report package delivers all four in one file per site.

The minimum requirement under AS/NZS 3760:2022 is to keep each test record until the item is next tested or removed from service. Best practice for multi-site businesses is to retain at least five years of history to support WHS audits, trend analysis and incident investigations.

Yes. Sustainable alternatives to plastic compliance tags fall into four categories: biodegradable polymer tags, recycled-content plastic tags, paper or card-based tags, and reusable digital or RFID systems. All must still meet AS/NZS 3760:2022 durability, legibility, non-reusability and non-metallic requirements. PlanetSafe uses biodegradable tags as standard at no extra cost.

Test and tag in Australia typically costs $2.10 to $9.50 per item plus a $100–$250 service fee per visit, ex GST, with volume discounts at higher counts. PlanetSafe publishes rates at the low end of the market: $3.50 (1–50 items), $3.20 (51–300), $2.70 (301–1,000), $2.10 (1,000+), plus a flat $120 service fee. Metro and regional, no travel fees.

Procurement should evaluate test and tag suppliers on eight areas: compliance (licences, insurance, standards knowledge), operational capability (coverage, capacity, related services), reporting and data (formats, portal, integration), service levels (SLAs, response times, failure handling), pricing and contracts (transparency, scalability, terms), risk and stability (references, financial health), and ESG capability (data support, sustainable tag options).

No. Small sites are covered by the Basic tier.

No. Metro and regional Australia, no travel fees.

Typically within days for metro sites; regional scheduling depends on the run.

Tell us your timing in the quote form, urgent audit-driven jobs are a thing we understand.

Yes, as standard, and at no premium for most engagements.

Offices, hospitality and logistics sites mostly prefer it.

It’s tagged FAIL, reported to your site contact immediately, removed from service, and listed in your report with the reason.

Repair or replacement is available as an optional service.