Tool
When is my next test and tag due?
Under AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4 the retest interval depends on the environment: 3 months on construction sites, 6 months in factories and workshops, 12 months where cords are flexed or abused, and up to 5 years where they are not. Queensland's Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 sets its own minimums for some work types.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
How to use it
- Pick the environment the item actually works in, not where it is stored. If it moves between sites, use the harshest one.
- Pick the equipment type: appliance or lead, portable RCD, or fixed RCD.
- If you are in Queensland, also check the QLD row for the type of work. Where the QLD row and the AS/NZS 3760 row differ, use the shorter interval.
- Enter the date tested. The calculator adds the interval and gives the next due date to write on the tag and the register.
- A result of before each use or before each hire means a user or hire check, not a full test and tag.
- Shorten the interval if your risk assessment, the site's rules or the client's contract require it.
The intervals
| Environment | Equipment | Test every | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building, construction and demolition sites | Class I and Class II equipment, cord extension sets, portable outlet devices | 3 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 and AS/NZS 3012. Quarterly tag colours: red Dec to Feb, green Mar to May, blue Jun to Aug, yellow Sep to Nov. RCD intervals on site follow AS/NZS 3012. |
| Factories, workshops, places of manufacture, assembly, maintenance or fabrication | Class I and Class II equipment, cord extension sets, portable outlet devices | 6 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Factories, workshops, places of manufacture, assembly, maintenance or fabrication | Portable RCD, push button test by user | Before each use | Daily or before each use. 0 means test before use. |
| Factories, workshops, places of manufacture, assembly, maintenance or fabrication | Fixed RCD, push button test | 6 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Factories, workshops, places of manufacture, assembly, maintenance or fabrication | RCD operating time (trip time) test, portable and fixed | 12 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Equipment or cord flexed in normal use, open to abuse, or in a hostile environment | Class I and Class II equipment, cord extension sets, portable outlet devices | 12 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Equipment or cord flexed in normal use, open to abuse, or in a hostile environment | Portable RCD, push button test | 3 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Equipment or cord flexed in normal use, open to abuse, or in a hostile environment | Fixed RCD, push button test | 6 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Equipment or cord flexed in normal use, open to abuse, or in a hostile environment | RCD operating time (trip time) test, portable and fixed | 12 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Not flexed in normal use, not open to abuse, not hostile (for example office) | Class I and Class II equipment, cord extension sets, portable outlet devices | 60 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. In QLD, service work (not office work) is capped at 12 months unless on a safety switch. |
| Not flexed in normal use, not open to abuse, not hostile (for example office) | Portable RCD, push button test | 3 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Not flexed in normal use, not open to abuse, not hostile (for example office) | Fixed RCD, push button test | 6 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Not flexed in normal use, not open to abuse, not hostile (for example office) | RCD operating time (trip time) test, portable and fixed | 24 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Residential type areas of hotels, motels, hostels, boarding houses and halls | Class I and Class II equipment, cord extension sets, portable outlet devices | 24 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Residential type areas of hotels, motels, hostels, boarding houses and halls | RCD push button test, portable and fixed | 6 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Residential type areas of hotels, motels, hostels, boarding houses and halls | RCD operating time (trip time) test, portable and fixed | 24 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Commercial cleaning | Class I and Class II equipment and cords | 6 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Commercial cleaning | Portable RCD, push button test | Before each use | Daily or before each use. 0 means test before use. |
| Commercial cleaning | Portable RCD operating time (trip time) test | 6 months | AS/NZS 3760:2022 Table 2.4. |
| Hire equipment | Visual inspection | Before each use | Before each hire. |
| Hire equipment | Test and tag | 3 months | AS/NZS 3760 general recommendation per published summaries. Check Table 2.4 for Class II hire items before relying on it. |
| QLD service work (for example hotel vacuum, salon blow dryer) | Specified electrical equipment not on a safety switch | 12 months | Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) s 112. Not required if connected to a type 1 or type 2 safety switch. |
| QLD office work | Specified electrical equipment not on a safety switch | 60 months | Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) s 112. |
| QLD manufacturing work | Equipment that is not double insulated | 6 months | Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) s 107. Must also be connected to a safety switch. |
| QLD manufacturing work | Double insulated equipment | 12 months | Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) s 107. AS/NZS 3760 factory row says 6 months: use the shorter. |
| QLD amusement work | Plug in amusement devices and rides, and equipment that is not double insulated | 6 months | Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) ss 116 and 117. Devices and rides are also tested each time they are assembled on site. |
| QLD amusement work | Double insulated equipment | 12 months | Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) s 116. Must also be connected to a safety switch. |
| QLD rural industry work with a stated electrical risk factor | Specified electrical equipment not on a safety switch | 12 months | Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld) s 120. |
How the interval is set
AS/NZS 3760:2022 does not give one interval for every item. It sets indicative intervals in Table 2.4 (Table 4 in the 2010 edition) according to the environment the equipment works in, from as often as daily for some RCD push button checks through to 5 years for equipment that is not flexed and not open to abuse. The environment matters more than the item: the same kettle is on a 5 year cycle in a protected office kitchen and on a 12 month cycle in a busy staff room where its cord is flexed and knocked about every day.
You can shorten an interval on a documented risk assessment, and a principal contractor, insurer or client can require a shorter one on their site. Treat the table as the longest you should go, not a target.
Where Queensland is stricter or different
In Queensland the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 adds minimums by type of work, and they sit on top of AS/NZS 3760. The biggest one to watch is service work, for example a vacuum cleaner in a hotel or a blow dryer in a salon: plug in equipment must be tested at least once a year unless it is plugged into a type 1 or type 2 safety switch. The standard's 5 year row would allow longer, so in Queensland the regulation wins.
Office work can go 5 years, or be protected by a safety switch instead. Manufacturing work needs testing every 6 months for equipment that is not double insulated and every year for double insulated equipment, and the item must also be on a safety switch. Construction work must meet AS/NZS 3012, which is where the 3 month cycle and the quarterly tag colours come from, and the Queensland tag must carry the retest date plus the tester's name or a licence number. Amusement equipment is tested each time it is assembled on site and at least every 6 months.
Other states have their own work health and safety rules. Check your state regulator before applying this table outside Queensland.
What goes on the tag
In Queensland the tag shows the prescribed details: the test date or the retest date, plus at least one of the tester's name or a relevant licence number (or the company name if the tester works for a company). Writing the due date rather than only the test date saves the client from doing this sum, and it is what the calculator gives you.
Record it once, remind yourself automatically
Working out the date is the easy part. The job that gets missed is coming back. If you run ServiceM8, record each item with the free test and tag form, store the next due date against the asset, and set a recurring job at the site's shortest interval so the retest books itself.
Sources
- AS/NZS 3760:2022 sets indicative test intervals in Table 2.4 (Table 4 in the 2010 edition), ranging from daily to 5 yearly. Test & Tag Training, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- AS/NZS 3760:2022 intervals: factories and workshops 6 months; flexed, abused or hostile environments 12 months; not flexed and protected 5 years; residential areas of hotels, motels and halls 2 years; commercial cleaning equipment 6 months, with the RCD push button and operating time intervals listed for each. The Local Guys Test & Tag, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Construction, building and demolition sites are tested every 3 months; factories, production and warehouses every 6 months. Appliance Testing Supplies, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- AS/NZS 3760 generally recommends inspecting hire equipment before each hire and electrically testing it every three months. Test & Tag Training, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- In Queensland, specified electrical equipment used for service work must be inspected and tested at least once every year (office work: at least once every 5 years), or be connected to a type 1 or type 2 safety switch. Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld), s 112 (current as at 27 March 2026), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- In Queensland, specified electrical equipment used for manufacturing work must be inspected and tested at least once a year if double insulated and at least once every 6 months if not, and be connected to a safety switch. Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld), s 107, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- In Queensland, electrical equipment for construction work must comply with AS/NZS 3012, and a tag showing a retest date must also show the retest due day and the tester's name or a licence number. Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld), s 104, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- RCD test limits under AS/NZS 3760:2022: Type I maximum tripping time 40 ms, Type II maximum 300 ms; fixed RCD push button every 6 months, portable every 3 months, operating time test every 12 months (in the general environments). ETA Training, checked 25 Sep 2026.