Change in Legislation - How does this affect your business?

From the 1st of April 2010 the new Electrical (Safety) Regulations 2010 have officially replaced the 1997 version. This marks a significant change to the focus on electrical safety within businesses and organisations in New Zealand. Up until now a business could use any method they liked to assess their electrical safety. This often resulted in a business relying on an electrician picking anything up when called into carry out repairs. The new regulations give businesses clear direction on how they should approach their electrical safety.

Basically there are now 3 options to ensure the fittings and appliances used within a business are electrically safe: (which can be viewed in full on the legislation website)

1. Have a current tag issued in accordance with AS/NZS 3760; or
2. Be plugged into a portable Residual Current Device (RCD) that -
   (a)   provides protection from electric shock; and
   (b)   has a current tag issued in accordance with AS/NZS 3760; or
3. Is supplied with electricity through a circuit protected by an electrically safe RCD that provides protection from electric shock.