Test and tag and RCD testing across south-east Melbourne
Portable equipment and safety switches tested on the interval your environment actually requires, not a blanket twelve months applied to everything because it is easier to schedule.
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- Registered Electrical Contractor REC 20101
- 25 years trading
Someone has asked you to prove your equipment is safe
Usually an insurer, a head contractor or an auditor. The register is what satisfies them, and it is the part most sites do not have.
- No testing records, or records nobody can find.
- Tags that expired at some point and were never followed up.
- An insurer, auditor or head contractor has asked for evidence.
- A site induction requires tagged equipment and yours is not.
- Everything is on a twelve month cycle regardless of where it is used.
- Safety switches that have never been tested, only looked at.
- New equipment brought on site and never entered into a register.
- A workplace incident has put the spotlight on electrical safety compliance.
What testing and tagging actually covers
Intervals are set by environment under AS/NZS 3760, not by a flat twelve months. An office and a kitchen are on different cycles.
- An equipment register built or brought up to date, so you know what exists.
- Visual inspection and electrical testing of portable appliances to AS/NZS 3760.
- Testing intervals set by environment rather than applied as a blanket rule.
- Residual current devices tested for trip time and trip current, both push-button and instrument.
- Tagging that records the test date, the next due date and the tester.
- Failed items removed from service and reported, not left tagged and in use.
- A written report and register issued after each visit.
- A recurring schedule so the next cycle is booked rather than remembered.
About Test and tag, RCD testing
Intervals depend on the environment
The most common mistake in testing and tagging is applying twelve months to everything because it is easier to schedule. AS/NZS 3760 sets intervals by environment, and the difference is substantial.
An office computer sits in a benign environment and is tested infrequently. A commercial kitchen appliance exposed to heat, moisture and constant handling is on a much shorter cycle. A tool on a construction site is shorter again. Blanket twelve months means over testing some items and dangerously under testing others.
The register matters as much as the tags
A tag on an item tells you when it was last tested. A register tells you what you own, what has been tested, what is overdue and what has been removed from service. Without one you cannot demonstrate compliance and you cannot tell what has gone missing.
The first visit to a site without records is longer because the register is being built. Every visit after that is quicker, because it is being maintained rather than recreated.
Safety switches need an instrument, not a button
Pressing the test button on a residual current device proves the mechanism moves. It does not prove the device trips within the time required to protect somebody, which is the only thing that actually matters.
Proper RCD testing measures trip time and trip current with an instrument. A device that trips, but slowly, passes a button test and fails a real one.
Failed items come out of service
An item that fails is removed from service and reported on the day, not tagged and left plugged in. Leaving a failed item in use defeats the entire exercise and leaves you worse off than not testing, because now there is a record showing you knew.
What you receive
A written report and an updated register after each visit, tags recording the test date and the next due date, and a recurring schedule so the next cycle is booked rather than remembered. For retail and hospitality we work outside trading hours, which is usually less disruptive and no more expensive once lost trade is counted.
We quote the job in front of us
No rate card, because the honest number depends on things nobody can see from a website. Estimates are free.
03 9889 3341Not urgent? Send the details and we will come back to you within one business day.
Standards this work is held to
Testing follows AS/NZS 3760. The interval depends on the environment, and that is the part most often got wrong: an office computer, a commercial kitchen appliance and a tool on a construction site are on genuinely different cycles. Applying twelve months to everything means over-testing some items and under-testing the ones that matter.
Residual current devices need both the push-button test and an instrument test of trip time and trip current. The push button proves the mechanism moves; it does not prove the device trips fast enough to protect anybody. The intervals for those differ again by environment.
How long it takes
- First visit
- Longer, because the register is being built. Usually a day for a mid-sized site.
- Recurring visits
- Faster, and scheduled in advance around your operating hours.
- Reporting
- Register and report issued within two business days.
- Failed items
- Removed from service on the day and reported immediately.
Rated 5.0 across 216 Google reviews
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Symon did a brilliant job replacing my bathroom fan. He quoted me $700 when another company quoted me over $2k for the same job! Symon was easy to communicate with, performed the job quickly and tidied up after himself. Would…
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We recommend Simon unreservedly. Tired of overpriced superficial service and competency? Don’t look any further than Simon @ STL Electrical. And to boot, he’s a good guy. Simon will now be our go-to sparky.
Nigel Bird, Google review -
Highly recommend Simon and STL Electrical. One of our mains tripped during a freak thunderstorm resulting in no power to part of our kitchen (incl fridge) and internet. Simon was a lifesaver and kind enough to respond to an after…
Nat Chen, Google review
Test and tag, RCD testing questions we get asked
How often does our equipment need testing?
It depends on the environment. Offices are a long interval, commercial kitchens and construction much shorter. Tell us what the space is used for and we will tell you the interval rather than defaulting everything to a year.
Is test and tag legally required?
The obligation is to provide safe equipment. AS/NZS 3760 is the accepted way of demonstrating you have met it, and in practice insurers, head contractors and auditors ask for it.
Do you test safety switches too?
Yes, and properly. The push button alone does not prove the device trips within its required time. That needs an instrument.
What happens to equipment that fails?
It comes out of service immediately and is reported to you. Leaving a failed item tagged and in use defeats the entire exercise.
Can you do it out of hours?
Yes, and for retail and hospitality that is usually less disruptive.
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Talk to an electrician now
Fastest way to get an answer is the phone. It is answered 24 hours a day, seven days.
03 9889 3341Not urgent? Send the details and we will come back to you within one business day.