Switchboard Installation & Upgrade SWMS

Switchboard installation and upgrade work involves the assembly, mounting, wiring, testing and commissioning of main switchboards, distribution boards and sub-boards in commercial, industrial and residential settings. The work commonly requires connection to live supply, isolation and lockout of adjacent circuits, cutting into existing enclosures, and terminating heavy conductors under torque. The dominant hazard is electric shock and arc flash from inadvertent contact with energised parts or from parallel supplies (UPS, generators, PV inverters, capacitor banks) that remain live after the main isolator is opened. Secondary hazards include manual handling of heavy switchgear, working at height on wall-mounted boards, and exposure to silica or asbestos when core-drilling or disturbing legacy enclosures.

Under section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), work on or near energised electrical installations or services is High Risk Construction Work. Section 299 therefore requires a Safe Work Method Statement to be prepared before the work commences, kept accessible, and complied with. Controls are applied through the hierarchy — de-energise and prove dead wherever practicable, engineer out arc flash exposure, and rely on PPE only as the last line of defence.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Eliminate the risk by de-energising the installation at the point of supply, verifying dead with a two-pole tester proved on a known live source before and after testing, and applying personal locks and danger tags in accordance with AS/NZS 4836 and AS/NZS 3000 Section 2.
2. 2Where live work is unavoidable, obtain written authorisation, complete a live-work risk assessment, and comply with the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice: Managing Electrical Risks in the Workplace before commencement.
3. 3Identify and isolate all secondary and parallel sources of supply (PV arrays via DC isolators, UPS via maintenance bypass, generators via ATS lockout, capacitor banks with mandatory discharge time) and prove dead at every conductor.
4. 4Engineer arc flash exposure down by using insulated tools rated to AS/NZS IEC 60900, insulated matting to AS/NZS 2978 at the working position, and physical barriers or insulating shrouding over adjacent live parts.
5. 5Assess the prospective fault current and arc flash incident energy at the board; where live work is authorised, select arc-rated PPE with an ATPV rating exceeding the calculated incident energy in accordance with AS/NZS 4836.
6. 6Test and tag all portable electrical equipment used during the works to AS/NZS 3760, and confirm final installation compliance and connection to supply through testing to AS/NZS 3000 (Section 8) before energisation.
7. 7Control silica dust from core-drilling with on-tool water suppression or H-class extraction, keeping exposure below the workplace exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m³ (8-hour TWA) as required by section 49 of the WHS Regulation.
8. 8Where legacy switchboards may contain asbestos backing panels, review the asbestos register (section 425), engage a licensed asbestos removalist for disturbance, and treat all unknown panels as presumed-ACM until sampled.
9. 9Use mechanical lifting aids for switchgear over 25 kg, install boards at ergonomic working heights, and apply calibrated torque wrenches to manufacturer specification on all power terminations.
10. 10For mounting work above 2 m, use a rated platform ladder or EWP rather than a leaning ladder, and manage the fall risk in accordance with the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice: Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces.
11. 11Wear AS/NZS 1337.1 eye protection, AS/NZS 2210.3 safety footwear with electrical hazard rating, AS/NZS 2225 insulating gloves (tested in-date) with leather overgloves, and arc-rated coveralls when working within the arc flash boundary.
12. 12All workers hold a White Card (CPCCWHS1001) and a current NSW Electrical Licence; the SWMS is developed in consultation with workers under section 47 of the WHS Act and reviewed under section 302 of the WHS Regulation whenever controls change, an incident occurs, or the scope alters.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A Sydney-based electrical contractor is engaged to replace a 400 A main switchboard at a strata-titled commercial building in Chatswood. The existing board dates from the 1970s and contains a suspected Zelemite backing panel; the building also has a rooftop 30 kW PV system feeding the same board. Before work, the contractor lodges a supply abolishment request with Ausgrid, arranges a licensed asbestos removalist for the backing panel, and isolates the PV array at both AC and DC. On the day, the mains are pulled at the pillar, the incoming cables are proved dead with a two-pole tester, and personal locks are applied to the PV DC isolator, the AC isolator and the network isolation point. The old board is dismantled under asbestos controls, the new Form 3b assembly is installed and terminated to torque, and the installation is tested to AS/NZS 3000 Section 8 before reconnection. The SWMS is signed on by three electricians and the site supervisor, and reviewed under section 302 when the removalist identifies additional ACM in the wall cavity requiring a scope change.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
• Electricity Supply Act 1995 (NSW)
• Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 (NSW)
• Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Regulation 2018 (NSW)
• Home Building Act 1989 (NSW)

Frequently asked questions