A practical guide to your duty of care under harmonised Work Health & Safety law, and the Codes of Practice that govern energy isolation in Australian workplaces.
What does it mean for me?
The core obligation: Any person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has an obligation to eliminate or minimise risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
If your business operates, maintains or services plant and equipment, you are responsible for ensuring hazardous energy is isolated effectively. Lockout/tagout is the recognised method for meeting this duty during maintenance and repair.
What does "reasonably practicable" mean?
Determining what is reasonably practicable involves weighing five considerations:
The likelihood of the risk occurring
The degree of harm that might result
What is known about the risk and the ways to control it
The availability and suitability of measures to eliminate or minimise the risk
The cost, including whether it is grossly disproportionate to the risk
Where the laws apply
Harmonised WHS laws apply across most of Australia:
NSWQLDSATASWANTACTVIC — not harmonised
Victoria has not implemented the model WHS laws and operates under its own OHS framework. Always confirm the requirements for your jurisdiction.
What is a Code of Practice?
Codes of Practice are practical guides to achieving the standards of health, safety and welfare required under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act.
The following codes are directly relevant to energy isolation and lockout/tagout.
Managing Electrical Risks at the Workplace
De-energised equipment must not be inadvertently re-energised while work is being carried out.
Only devices with an in-built lock, or that have one or more padlocks fitted, are suitable lockout devices.
Confined Spaces
All potentially hazardous services must be isolated before any person enters.
When a lock is used, the key should be kept in the possession of the person placing the lock.
Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace
Isolation devices include switches with built-in locks, and lock-out circuit breakers, fuses and valves.
Use a lock that allows one or more padlocks to be fitted.
For multiple workers: one padlock on the isolation point, with the keys locked in a box separately locked by each worker (a group lock box).
There should be no duplicate key for any lock.
Critical: A tag should not be used on its own as an isolation device — only a lock is effective.
