AS/NZS 3760 vs AS/NZS 3012: Which Standard Covers Your Equipment?

The equipment tagging standard that applies to your workplace depends on where the equipment is used. AS/NZS 3760:2022 covers in-service testing in general workplaces such as offices, shops, and warehouses, while AS/NZS 3012:2019 applies to construction and demolition sites.

The difference determines how often your equipment must be tested, what colour tags your technician uses, and what an inspector expects to see when they walk onto your site.

Key takeaways

• Construction site equipment must be tested at least every three months, with mandatory colour-coded tags that rotate each quarter.
• Australia unified its test and tag colour codes in 2024, so NSW now follows the same RGBY system as the other states.
• Under both standards, testing must be carried out by a competent person, and you must keep records to prove it.

Two standards, two very different workplaces

AS/NZS 3760:2022 is the standard most Sydney businesses know, even if they have never read it. It sets out how plug-in electrical equipment should be inspected and tested while in service, and how often, depending on the environment in which it is used.

AS/NZS 3012:2019 exists because construction and demolition sites are a different world. Equipment gets dropped, dragged through dust and rain, and shared between trades all day. The standard covers the electrical installations that power a site as well as the in-service testing of every portable and transportable tool used on it.

The legal weight behind each standard matters too. NSW's Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 references AS/NZS 3012:2019 for construction work, making on-site compliance a direct regulatory requirement backed by serious penalties.If you run a building, demolition or civil project anywhere in Sydney, this is the standard your testing program must follow.

How testing intervals and tag colours work

For general workplaces under AS/NZS 3760, your testing interval depends on the environment. Hostile environments where leads are flexed, or equipment is knocked around, require testing every 6 to 12 months, while low-risk office equipment can stretch to 5 years.

Construction sites are far stricter. Under AS/NZS 3012, power tools, extension leads and portable RCDs must be tested at least every three months. Some principal contractors require monthly testing on higher-risk sites, so always check the site's own WHS requirements as well. Our guide to power tool safety checks covers what those tests involve.

This is where tag colours come in. Since Australia unified its colour code system in 2024, every state, including NSW, follows the same quarterly RGBY rotation on construction sites:

• Red: December to February
• Green: March to May
• Blue: June to August
• Yellow: September to November

The colour shows which quarter the item was tested in, so a site supervisor can spot an overdue tool at a glance. The retest date printed on the tag still counts as the detail, but the wrong colour on a construction site is an instant red flag during an audit.

In general, workplaces are flexible, and many businesses simply follow their technicians' systems.

Who can test, and what records you need

Both standards require testing by a competent person, and the definition is identical in each, because AS/NZS 3012 adopts it directly from AS/NZS 3760. According to SafeWork NSW, that means someone who has acquired the skills and knowledge to inspect and test electrical equipment through training, qualification or experience. They do not need to be a licensed electrician, though some principal contractors set a higher bar and only allow licensed electricians to test on their sites.

Records are the other half of compliance. Under both standards, you need a register of tested equipment, the test results, and the name of the person who carried out the testing. On construction sites, these records are routinely requested during SafeWork inspections, so they need to be current and accessible.