Hazardous Area (EEHA) Installation SWMS
Installation of Ex-rated electrical equipment and cabling in classified Zone 0/1/2 and Zone 20/21/22 atmospheres to AS/NZS 60079.14.
SWMS variants reference your state's WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Hazardous area electrical installation covers the installation of Ex-rated equipment and cabling in classified atmospheres where flammable gases, vapours, mists, or combustible dusts may be present. The work is performed by Electrical Equipment for Hazardous Atmospheres certified electricians (EEHA-certified, with current AS/NZS 4761 competencies) in industries including oil and gas, petrochemical refining, gas distribution, mining, grain handling, fuel terminals, paint and coatings manufacturing, and bulk chemical processing. Hazardous area work is High-Risk Construction Work under WHS Regulation s. 291 because the work environment contains flammable atmospheres where any ignition source — including incorrect electrical equipment selection or installation — can initiate fire or explosion. Atmospheres are classified into zones per AS/NZS 60079.10.1 (gas) and AS/NZS 60079.10.2 (dust): Zone 0 / Zone 20 (atmosphere present continuously or for long periods), Zone 1 / Zone 21 (atmosphere likely to be present in normal operation), Zone 2 / Zone 22 (atmosphere unlikely in normal operation, only for short periods). Equipment selection must match the zone classification, the gas group (IIA, IIB, IIC) or dust group (IIIA, IIIB, IIIC), and the temperature class (T1–T6). The applicable installation standard is AS/NZS 60079.14 (Electrical installations — Design, selection and erection). Inspection and maintenance follow AS/NZS 60079.17 and AS/NZS 60079.19 (governed by the separate EEHA Inspection & Maintenance SWMS).
Hazards identified
10 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fire or explosion. Catastrophic outcome — multi-fatality incidents documented in Australian and international hazardous-area history.
Equipment becomes a potential ignition source under fault conditions. Failure may not be apparent until a fault occurs.
Direct ignition of atmosphere by hot work spark or open flame. Hot work permits with gas testing are mandatory in classified zones.
Fatal in itself; secondary risk of arc-induced ignition of the surrounding atmosphere.
Many hazardous-area locations (vessels, tanks, pump pits) are also confined spaces with O₂-deficient or toxic atmospheres.
Static spark sufficient to ignite Group IIC gases (hydrogen, acetylene). Anti-static PPE and grounded tools required in higher-zone classifications.
Loss of Ex d (flameproof) protection; loss of IP rating; cable failure at the gland. The most common Ex installation defect found in audit.
Fatal or major injury. Hazardous area installations are commonly elevated on process plant; combined falls and atmosphere exposure.
Toxic exposure depending on the process — H₂S, benzene, methanol, isocyanates. Acute and chronic health effects.
Equipment damage, loss of Ex protection, ignition source if object strikes a live conductor. Tool tethering required at height.
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1EEHA-certified electrician — installer holds current AS/NZS 4761 competencies for the installation methods used (Ex d, Ex e, Ex i, Ex p as applicable to the equipment). Verify certification before commencement.
- 2Hazardous Area Classification Drawing (HAC drawing) reviewed before installation — confirm zone classification, gas group, dust group, temperature class, and required Ex protection technique for each equipment item.
- 3Ex equipment compliance verification — every Ex-rated item carries an IECEx, ATEX, or AS/NZS Ex certificate matched to the HAC drawing requirement. Substitutions require formal review and asset register update.
- 4Hot work permit issued by the asset owner before any cutting, drilling, or welding in the classified zone. Permit includes gas testing for LEL before and during work; work halts if LEL exceeds the permit limit.
- 5Isolation of upstream electrical supply before installation. Test-before-touch on all conductors with a calibrated voltage detector. Lock-out/tag-out applied per the asset owner's procedure.
- 6Confined space entry permit for installations within vessels, tanks, pump pits, or other confined spaces — atmospheric testing for O₂, LEL, CO, H₂S before entry; continuous monitoring during work; rescue plan with topside attendant.
- 7Anti-static PPE and tool selection in Group IIC (hydrogen, acetylene) areas — anti-static footwear, anti-static coveralls, grounded tools where reasonable. Ground wristbands for sensitive work on Ex i (intrinsically safe) circuits.
- 8Cable gland installation per the gland manufacturer's procedure — entry compound applied where required for Ex d glands, torque settings verified, IP rating confirmed by visual inspection. Cable gland fitment is a hold point in the inspection sequence.
- 9Fall protection above 2 metres on process structures — twin-tail lanyard, rated anchor on process steelwork (verify rating), harness inspected within 6 months. EWPs preferred where reach allows.
- 10Tool tethering for any tools used at height to prevent dropped object incidents below.
- 11Respiratory protection where process atmosphere requires — chemical cartridge respirator selected to the contaminant, atmospheric monitoring to determine when PPE can be removed.
- 12Pre-installation inspection per AS/NZS 60079.14 — visual inspection of equipment condition, certificate verification, gland and seal inspection, earthing continuity check.
- 13Post-installation inspection per AS/NZS 60079.17 — initial detailed inspection of the completed installation, recording inspection results in the Ex installation register for the facility.
- 14Documentation handover to the asset owner — Ex certificates, HAC drawing markup, gland torque records, inspection reports, and any deviations from the design specification with engineering approval.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Becomes legally binding under Section 26A of the WHS Act from 1 July 2026. Sets the regulatory baseline for safe systems of work for electrical installation. The Code references the AS/NZS 60079 series for hazardous area work.
Australian/New Zealand adoption of the IEC 60079.14 international standard. Defines the equipment selection rules, installation methods, cable gland requirements, and inspection regime for new hazardous area installations. The primary practice standard for EEHA installation work.
Two-part standard (60079.10.1 for gas, 60079.10.2 for combustible dust) defining the zone classification methodology that produces the Hazardous Area Classification (HAC) drawing the installer works from. Required to interpret the design intent.
Australian/New Zealand Standard defining the competency framework for EEHA work. Certification under AS/NZS 4761 is the industry baseline for installer competence; renewed periodically through approved training providers.
Becomes legally binding under Section 26A of the WHS Act from 1 July 2026. Many hazardous-area installation locations (vessels, tanks, pump pits) are also confined spaces — the Code's atmospheric testing, entry permit, and rescue provisions apply.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Hazardous area installations are by definition in classified zones where flammable gases, vapours, mists, or combustible dusts may be present. The work environment satisfies the WHS Regulation s. 291 trigger throughout — the trigger does not require continuous atmosphere presence, only the reasonable possibility of ignition risk during the work.
Failure to prepare a SWMS before High-Risk Construction Work commences is a contravention of WHS Regulation s. 291. Category 2 offences under WHS Act s. 32 — where a duty breach exposes a person to a risk of death or serious injury without proof of recklessness — attract substantial monetary penalties for body corporates and individual duty holders; refer to the current SafeWork NSW penalty schedule for the NSW-indexed 2025–26 figures. Category 1 reckless-conduct offences under WHS Act s. 31 attract up to approximately $10.42 million for a body corporate, $2.17 million for an individual PCBU or officer, and $1.04 million for an individual worker, with up to 10 years' imprisonment (NSW-indexed at 1 July 2025). VIC maximum penalties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 differ in structure and amount and are set at VIC variant-generation time.
Who this is for
- →EEHA-certified electricians working in oil and gas upstream production, gas processing, and offshore facilities.
- →Petrochemical refinery and petrochemical manufacturing electrical contractors.
- →Gas distribution network installation contractors — town gas reticulation, compressor stations, regulator stations.
- →Mining electrical contractors — particularly underground coal mining (Group I) and surface coal handling (Group II) facilities.
- →Grain handling, sugar refining, paint and coatings, and chemical manufacturing electrical contractors working in dust-classified zones.
- →Principal contractors and project engineers coordinating EEHA installation work on greenfield and brownfield process projects.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word .docx — open in Word or Google Docs, drop in your company logo and ABN.
- ✓State-specific variant matched to the jurisdiction selected at checkout (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT, or ACT).
- ✓10 hazards documented with worst-case consequence, inherent risk rating, residual risk rating, and HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW priority — including incorrect equipment selection, loss of Ex protection, hot work ignition, and static discharge.
- ✓14 control measures covering EEHA certification verification, HAC drawing review, Ex equipment compliance, hot work permits, confined space entry, anti-static PPE, and post-installation inspection.
- ✓References to AS/NZS 60079.14, AS/NZS 60079.10 series, AS/NZS 4761, the Managing Electrical Risks Code, and the Confined Spaces Code.
- ✓Cross-reference to the related EEHA Inspection & Maintenance SWMS for the ongoing inspection regime.
- ✓Cable gland torque record and Ex inspection sign-off integration points for your existing safety management system.
- ✓Section for principal contractor sign-off and worker acknowledgement signatures.
Worked example
An EEHA-certified electrical contractor in Karratha is engaged to install field instrumentation cabling on a new gas processing module being commissioned at an LNG facility. The scope includes 32 Ex-rated junction boxes, 480 metres of armoured instrumentation cable, and 96 cable glands, all in Zone 1 IIB T3 classified atmosphere. Job value is $74,000 over six days. Before work commences, the lead electrician verifies the HAC drawing with the asset owner's engineer — Zone 1, gas group IIB (covers ethylene, town gas), temperature class T3 (200 °C maximum surface temperature). Each junction box and cable gland is verified against IECEx certificate; the gland selection is Ex d for the Zone 1 application with entry compound required at flameproof glands. Hot work permits are issued daily for the trunking installation; LEL gas testing returns zero before each cutting operation. The 8-hour confined space entry permit covers work inside the compressor enclosure. Anti-static footwear and coveralls are worn throughout. Cable gland installation follows the manufacturer's torque procedure with each gland record signed off as the installation hold point. Post-installation initial detailed inspection per AS/NZS 60079.17 is performed by the asset owner's inspection engineer; the installation passes with no deviations. The Ex installation register entry is handed over with the gland torque records and IECEx certificates.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — Sections 19, 31, 32, 46–49, 242B
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (NSW) — Sections 291 (HRCW definition), 299 (SWMS), 66 (confined spaces), 309 (WHS management plan)
- Electrical Safety Act 2017 (NSW) and Electrical Safety Regulation 2018 (NSW)
- AS/NZS 60079.14 — Explosive atmospheres — Electrical installations design, selection and erection
- AS/NZS 4761 — Competencies for working with electrical equipment for hazardous areas (EEHA)
Frequently asked questions
Do I need EEHA certification to perform this work?
Yes. Hazardous area electrical work in Australia is governed by AS/NZS 4761 — the EEHA competency framework. The installer must hold current EEHA certification covering the protection techniques used in the installation (Ex d for flameproof, Ex e for increased safety, Ex i for intrinsically safe, Ex p for pressurised). Holding a state electrical licence is necessary but not sufficient — EEHA certification is the additional credential required. Certification is renewed periodically through approved training providers.
What's the difference between IECEx, ATEX, and AS/NZS Ex certification?
IECEx is the international scheme administered by the IEC; ATEX is the European Union scheme; AS/NZS Ex is the Australian/New Zealand scheme. Equipment certified under any of the three is generally acceptable in Australian installations, provided the certificate covers the installation environment (zone, gas group, temperature class). The HAC drawing and the asset owner's engineering specification determine which schemes are acceptable for a specific facility.
How does this SWMS relate to the EEHA Inspection & Maintenance SWMS?
This SWMS covers new installation work — design, selection, erection, and the initial detailed inspection per AS/NZS 60079.17. The separate EEHA Inspection & Maintenance SWMS (when published) covers the ongoing inspection regime — periodic visual, close, and detailed inspections per the asset owner's risk-based inspection plan, and repair classification per AS/NZS 60079.19. The two SWMS apply at different lifecycle stages of the same equipment.
What about hot work in classified zones?
Hot work — any operation that produces heat, sparks, or open flame — in a classified zone requires a hot work permit issued by the asset owner. The permit specifies the work location, duration, gas testing requirements, fire watch arrangements, and the conditions under which work would be halted. LEL gas testing is performed before work starts and at intervals during the work; if LEL exceeds the permit limit (typically 10% LEL), work halts until the source is identified and resolved. Hot work in Zone 0 areas is typically prohibited.
Why are cable glands flagged as a high-risk hazard?
Cable gland installation defects are the most commonly found EEHA non-compliance in audit and inspection. Defects include omitting the entry compound on Ex d (flameproof) glands, incorrect torque, missing IP seal, mismatched gland to cable type, and damage during installation. Each defect can compromise the Ex protection rating of the equipment — meaning the installation appears compliant on the surface but loses its certified explosion-protection capability under fault conditions. The SWMS treats gland fitment as a hold point requiring documented verification.
Does Victoria use the same framework?
Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017, not the WHS Act and WHS Regulation. The substance of the EEHA installation controls is identical — AS/NZS 60079.14 applies in all Australian jurisdictions — but the legal framing differs. The High-Risk Construction Work concept is replaced by Construction Work Compliance Code obligations, and the regulator is WorkSafe Victoria. Energy Safe Victoria additionally regulates electrical work under the Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic). The VIC variant of this SWMS substitutes the legislative references at variant-generation time.
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