The complete guide to test and tag compliance in New Zealand
Electricity is present in nearly every New Zealand workplace, and the way a business manages the equipment that uses it is one of the clearest signals of how seriously it takes safety. This guide is the hub for everything on this site about test and tag: what it is, why the New Zealand duty is about safe equipment rather than a mandate, how testing frequency is decided, how records and asset registers fit, how RCDs relate to testing, who may test and who may repair, and how a programme can work across a multi-site business.
One point up front, because it corrects a great deal of what is written online. Testing and tagging is not mandatory in New Zealand. The legal duty is that equipment is electrically safe and maintained in a safe condition. Testing and tagging is one useful way to check equipment, and it is up to the person conducting a business or undertaking to decide whether and how to do it.
What test and tag actually is
Test and tag is the process of inspecting and electrically testing an item of equipment, then attaching a tag recording the result and the date. The testing looks at things a visual check cannot see: insulation resistance, earth continuity and polarity, the condition of the lead and plug, and a functional check.
The critical idea is that testing gives a snapshot. WorkSafe puts it plainly: testing and tagging does not guarantee future electrical safety; what it does is provide a snapshot of how safe the appliance is at the time of testing. That is why testing sits alongside visual inspection rather than replacing it. A fault can be invisible and a damaged cord may look perfectly fine, so the two controls need each other.
Why the New Zealand duty is about safe equipment, not a mandate
The framework behind electrical safety in the workplace has a few distinct layers, and keeping them separate is the key to understanding your position.
| Instrument | What it is |
|---|---|
| Electricity Act 1992 | The Act. |
| Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 | Regulations applying to appliances, leads and hand-held tools connected to electricity. |
| Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 | The general duty to ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable. |
| AS/NZS 3760 | In-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment. A Standard, not law, and one option to demonstrate compliance. |
| AS/NZS 3012 | Guidance for safe use of electricity on construction and demolition sites. |
| WorkSafe NZ | The regulator. It publishes guidance; guidance is not legislation. |
Lay that out and the practical position becomes clear. The law sets the duty: safe equipment, maintained safely. The Standard, AS/NZS 3760, offers a way to demonstrate you are meeting it. WorkSafe's guidance explains and recommends. None of that adds up to a rule that says “you must test and tag”. It adds up to a duty you meet by reasonable means, with testing and tagging among the available means.
It also means frequency is not fixed by law. How often you test depends on the nature of the equipment and the workplace. WorkSafe's own example is that equipment used on a construction site, outside and in damp conditions, would need more frequent testing than a computer in an office. That is a risk judgement, not a legal timetable.
How frequency decisions get made
A workable schedule groups equipment by the environment it lives in, because environment drives exposure. The table below is a way of thinking about it, not a set of legal intervals. For more on this, see how often electrical equipment should be tested.
| Environment | Typical exposure | General approach |
|---|---|---|
| Construction and demolition | Outdoors, dust, impact, wet, high turnover | Frequent inspection and testing, daily RCD checks |
| Workshops and manufacturing | Vibration, heat, moving plant, shared tools | Regular cycle based on use and condition |
| Hospitality and food service | Heat, steam, damp, frequent handling | Regular cycle with strong visual checking |
| Outdoor and trades work | Weather, water, rough handling | Shorter cycle and RCD protection |
| Office and retail | Low exposure, fixed equipment | Longer cycle, still worth a register |
AS/NZS 3760 is the Standard a business can follow when setting those intervals, and it is the usual starting point for a provider drafting a schedule. It is a guideline option, not law. The decision belongs to you.
Records and asset registers
A testing programme without records is hard to trust and hard to defend. WorkSafe recommends documenting results when equipment is tested or inspected and keeping the test results on site, whether on paper, a computer or a phone. It also recommends having a schedule in place that alerts you when equipment is due to be tested, checked or re-certified.
An asset register is the backbone of that. It lists each item, where it lives, and when it is next due. With a register in place, the schedule becomes automatic rather than something someone has to remember, and the test results slot straight in beside the asset. Our guide to asset register management covers how to build and maintain one without it becoming a burden.
RCDs: a separate control
An RCD, or residual current device, monitors the current on a circuit and disconnects the supply when it detects a fault, in many situations where a person would otherwise receive a fatal electric shock. RCD protection is a separate control from testing and tagging, and this is a point worth stating clearly: equipment still needs RCD protection in certain circumstances, such as outside in the damp, whether or not it has been tested and tagged.
There are three common types. A switchboard RCD protects the whole circuit and must be installed by a licensed electrician or electrical inspector. A socket-outlet RCD is built into a power point and is also installed by a licensed electrician. A portable RCD needs no electrician and can be bought from hardware and electrical suppliers. Whichever type is in use, RCDs should be tested every day using the test button. Our RCD testing guide explains the check and what a failure to trip means.
Who may test, and who may repair
This is where a lot of incorrect advice circulates. WorkSafe does not make a licence the gate for testing. Testing and tagging does not require a registered electrical worker. What is required is that whoever does the work has the knowledge and skills to do the task correctly and to understand the Standards involved.
Repair is different. Only a registered electrical worker may repair the faults that testing reveals. So a PCBU has a genuine choice: buy the testing equipment and train a worker, or engage a third party to carry out the testing. Many businesses do a mix, with staff handling visual checks, the register and simple testing, and a provider handling the periodic round and the repair path. Our article on whether you can test and tag your own equipment goes through the trade-offs.
Hiring, second-hand and new equipment
Hire companies must not hire out electrically unsafe equipment, and they are responsible for testing and tagging hire equipment before it is hired out. When you hire, check the tag and inspect the item before use — the tag is a snapshot, and the inspection is your own layer of control.
Second-hand equipment deserves the same scrutiny as hire gear. It arrives with an unknown history, so inspect it carefully and put it into your register before it goes into service. New equipment does not automatically need testing and tagging when it comes out of the box, because it is new and supplied as compliant; but as soon as it is in service, it joins the same inspection and testing cycle as everything else. The relevant article is do new appliances need test and tag.
Building a programme across a multi-site business
Running a programme across several locations adds a layer of difficulty: the same equipment exists in many places, records are scattered, and no one person sees the whole picture. A few principles make it manageable.
- Standardise the asset register across sites, so an item has the same identity wherever it is.
- Set the schedule centrally, then let each site execute it.
- Keep results in one place, so a review does not mean chasing paperwork from each branch.
- Put a clear fault process in place: remove from use, report, repair through a registered electrical worker, retag.
- Use the same tag and record conventions everywhere, so a result means the same thing at every site.
A programme also needs an owner. Naming one person or team as responsible for the schedule, records and faults removes the most common failure mode, which is everyone assuming someone else is looking after it. A short monthly review of items coming due, items removed from use and items awaiting repair keeps the programme visible without turning it into a heavy reporting exercise. When the structure is consistent, expanding from one site to ten is a matter of repeating it, not reinventing it.
For the step-by-step build, see how to set up a test and tag programme. Our provider-facing service pages, including test and tag services, describe how a national roll-out can be handled site by site.
Practical checklist
- Register every item of electrical equipment in service.
- Group equipment by environment, not by department.
- Set a risk-based schedule for inspection and testing.
- Check cords, plugs and tools before use, and remove damaged items immediately.
- Make sure equipment has RCD protection wherever it is needed.
- Test RCDs every day with the test button.
- Have all repairs done by a registered electrical worker and retag the item.
- Record results and keep them where they can be found.
- Review the schedule when equipment, layout or work changes.
Common mistakes
- Believing testing and tagging is compulsory, and treating a tag as a guarantee of safety rather than a snapshot.
- Assuming one fixed interval fits every item, regardless of environment.
- Skipping the daily visual check because the item was tested recently.
- Leaving RCD protection out of the picture and relying on testing alone.
- Letting a damaged item “live in the toolbox” instead of removing it from use.
- Keeping no records, so the effort cannot be shown when it is asked about.
- Assuming only an electrician may test, when the real requirement is knowledge and skill.
When to bring in a provider
You can run parts of a programme in-house. Staff can do visual checks, maintain the register and log results. The periodic testing is often better handled by a provider with the instruments and the knowledge and skills to understand the Standards, and because only a registered electrical worker may repair faults, a provider also gives you a clear route from a failed test to a fixed and retagged item.
Wherever you are in New Zealand, the goal is the same: equipment that is electrically safe and maintained in a safe condition, with a documented routine that shows what was checked and when. If you would like help, contact us to discuss a testing programme for your business, or start with our compliance guide.
