Test and Tag Victoria

By ensuring your workplace is tested and tagged, you demonstrating your duty of care in maintaining a safe workplace so employees and visitors avoid electrical injuries. By undertaking regular testing, maintenance, and inspection of electrical equipment you are making sure the appliances are safe for use. In some instances, this may result in lower insurance premiums, but certainly results in the reduction of costly urgent ad hoc maintenance that has the potential to disrupt your ongoing business operations. In your workplace, you are responsible for the safety of everyone who works in or visits your premises, so a comprehensive program is essential to satisfy your duty of care.

Unlike other states of Australia, there is no legislation that states testing and tagging is compulsory in Victoria. The applicable legislation, relevant for Melbourne and Victorian businesses is the Victorian OH&S regulations that state “An employer so far as reasonably practicable provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risk to health”.

Worksafe Vic actively promotes testing and tagging to ensure safety with electrical equipment in the work area. Should there be an incident in your workplace, Worksafe Vic will default to Australian Standard best practices – which specify the testing, inspection and retest frequencies of portable electrical appliances to ensure safety in all Victoria workplaces.

Any item that is to be plugged in to or connected to a wall socket or generator qualifies to be tested. This can include electric drills, monitors, PC’s and larger items like photocopiers and refrigerators. The environment of the equipment determines the test frequency that the individual items need to be tested and tagged.

Newly purchased equipment does not need testing and tagging upon entry to service. It should have a New to Service tag applied and the item tested and tagged at the next testing and tagging scheduled service.

A popular question we are asked is “How much does test and tag cost in Melbourne?”

The price for testing and tagging is determined by the type and volume of equipment required to be tested, along with any special reporting formats and the labour involved.

Some companies can charge an hourly rate, a unit rate or a combination of the two. Most will give you a unit rate quote and an indicative total cost before works commence and will keep you updated on the number of tests completed each day.

You will also have to determine how you want to see your test and tag results too. If you want to see an electronic register with fully traceable results, you may have to pay more upfront or it may be included in the unit test rate.

Always remember that value is far more important than cost when choosing a provider so the cheapest unit rate quote may cost you more in the long run.

When deciding on a company to undertake this service for you, make sure their technicians are deemed competent and can demonstrate both practical experience and the knowledge that comes from completing a formal test and tag course.

You should find out what equipment they will use to test and tag and how they will report testing results to you.

A professional test and tag company will also provide you with Safe Work Methods Statements for all services prior to the commencement of testing.

Your chosen provider should also maintain WorkCover, Vehicle Equipment Insurance, Public Liability Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Based in Melbourne, ATS has been providing Melbourne and regional Victoria with test and tag services since 2002. Our professional team comprise both regional and metro based technicians servicing all Victorian locations along with technicians located in all states of Australia.

Our extensive experience and comprehensive 2-week induction program ensures the competency of all our technicians helping you maintain 100% compliance with OH&S regulations. There are no hidden costs and we provide unbeatable value for your testing and tagging.

All ATS technicians are fully insured with Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance, follow ATS’s safe systems of work and wear a professional ATS uniform and ATS identification badge.

To ensure your testing remains up to date, ATS offers a convenient reminder service. One of our team members will contact you to schedule testing and tagging services so that your business remains compliant with current regulations. All ATS’s clients benefit from our state of the art reporting system. This interactive system is world class and ensures you have access to the test and tag history of all your appliances including the detailed test results – not just the results we want you to see!