The short answer
No single annual rule applies to every appliance in every Queensland workplace. The required arrangements depend on the equipment, the work being performed and any applicable safety-switch option. Identify those conditions before choosing an interval; a generic annual sticker programme is not the rule for every site.
Sources: WorkSafe Queensland — testing and tagging guidance · Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 — sections 2, 123 and 138–139
Does the rule apply to every item with a plug?
Not in the same way. The regulation defines 'specified electrical equipment' by work category. For office and service work, extension leads and powerboards are included separately from relevant appliances that are moved during normal use. Do not automatically classify every stationary computer as a prescribed five-year testing item.
Describe what the equipment does, where it is used and whether it moves between jobs. A shared workshop, office and construction area can involve different requirements even under one business name.
Sources: Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 — sections 2, 123 and 138–139
What are the office and service-work examples?
Section 138 provides an inspection-and-testing route for relevant specified equipment: at least every five years when used solely for office work, or at least annually for other service work. It also permits connection to a qualifying safety switch as an alternative under that provision.
Those are conditional examples, not permission to leave any appliance unchecked for five years. Construction, manufacturing, hired equipment and other work need their own requirements checked. WorkSafe publishes a category-based interval guide.
Sources: WorkSafe Queensland — testing and tagging guidance · Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 — sections 2, 123 and 138–139
Does having a safety switch remove all testing duties?
No. The safety-switch option has conditions, and the protection itself needs testing. An appliance inspection, a safety-switch button check and an instrument test of that switch are different activities. Ask the provider to explain which checks are included and why they suit the work.
Do not cancel an established programme or extend due dates solely because a switchboard has a TEST button. First confirm the equipment classification, the circuits protected and the applicable requirements.
Sources: Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 — sections 2, 123 and 138–139
What if equipment fails or looks damaged?
Equipment that fails testing must be withdrawn from use and marked so people do not use it. A tag with a future date is not a reason to keep using a newly damaged item.
Testing must be performed by a competent person. That does not authorise electrical repairs: repair work needs the appropriate electrical-work licence. Businesses providing test-and-tag services also need the appropriate contractor-licence scope.
Sources: WorkSafe Queensland — testing and tagging guidance · WorkSafe Queensland — test-and-tag licensing clarification
What should you ask before booking?
Ask which equipment is included, how the work category was selected, which tests will be recorded and what happens to failed items. Share the existing register and any site rules before the visit so you can compare service proposals on the same basis.
This guide uses the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026, which commenced on 1 September 2026. Older online FAQs may still name the replaced regulation. Use the current official links below when checking a proposed programme.
Sources: Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 — sections 2, 123 and 138–139
Sources & further reading
Information checked on 5 September 2026. General Queensland guidance does not replace an assessment of your property, its approvals or equipment.