Temporary Power & Lighting Install SWMS

Temporary power and lighting installation is the licensed electrical work that stands up and energises the construction supply on a fit-out site: distribution boards, leads, and task and site lighting, with isolation, testing and tagging. The dominant hazards are electrocution at connection, arc flash and blast on or near an energised board, shock from a damaged or unprotected lead with no functioning residual current device, fire from overloaded circuits, falls installing high-set lighting, and contact with existing live services concealed in the structure. This SWMS covers the temporary construction supply, boards, leads and lighting; it does not cover the permanent building installation, the supply authority's connection, or fixed building wiring beyond the temporary supply, which are documented separately.

Under the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations adopted in each state and territory, this is high risk construction work because it is carried out on or near energised electrical services, and because high-set lighting is installed where a person can fall more than two metres; Victoria operates the equivalent provisions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. Energised electrical work is prohibited except where de-energising is not reasonably practicable and the prescribed conditions are met. The construction supply follows AS/NZS 3012, the wiring rules follow AS/NZS 3000, safe working on or near low-voltage equipment follows AS/NZS 4836, every final subcircuit is protected by a residual current device rated at 30 mA or less, and the work is carried out by a licensed electrical worker.

Failure to meet the primary duty of care is prosecuted under the Category 1 to 3 offences in the Work Health and Safety Act (and the equivalent provisions in Victoria's Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004), with maximum penalties indexed in most jurisdictions, imprisonment available for individuals, and a separate industrial manslaughter offence; current figures follow the prevailing penalty schedule of the responsible state regulator. This document is structured to satisfy the safe work method statement content requirements of the harmonised regulations and documents a controlled, de-energised method.

Hazards identified

11 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination: Isolate and prove de-energised before connection, with lock-out and tag-out at the source and a test-for-dead before touch.
2. 2Elimination: Work de-energised rather than live, with correctly rated and enclosed switchgear, an arc-flash risk assessment and restricted access where energised work is unavoidable.
3. 3Engineering: Protect all final subcircuits with residual current devices rated at 30 mA or less, with portable RCDs where fixed protection is absent, and a daily push-button test.
4. 4Engineering: Size boards and circuits to maximum demand with correct protection, manage load, run thermographic or visual checks, and prohibit daisy-chaining.
5. 5Engineering: Use site equipment rated to a minimum of IP44, elevated and weather-protected to AS/NZS 3012, kept clear of pooling water.
6. 6Elimination: Pre-assemble at ground level where possible, and use a scissor lift or boom elevating work platform rather than a ladder, with a licensed operator and pre-start checks.
7. 7Elimination: Isolate circuits in the work area, locate cables before any penetration, and treat concealed cabling as live until proven dead by a competent person.
8. 8Elimination: Route cables clear of trafficable areas; otherwise elevate them to 2.4 m or use protected ducting or ramps, with cable protection and signage.
9. 9Engineering: Provide earthing and equipotential bonding to AS/NZS 3000 and AS/NZS 3012, with earth-continuity and polarity testing before energising.
10. 10Engineering: Use mechanical handling for generators and drums, with two-person handling, a 25 kg single-person limit and the Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice.
11. 11Engineering: Elevate leads or run them in floor ramps, with housekeeping and defined cable routes.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A site electrician is establishing and energising the temporary supply for a tenancy fit-out: a main board, sub-boards, leads and high-bay task lighting, all installed and tested before the trades draw power. Because the work is carried out on or near energised electrical services, and because the high-bay lighting is installed above two metres, it is high risk construction work, so the electrician builds the safe work method statement around de-energised connection, residual current device protection and work at height. Every connection is made dead: the supply is isolated, locked and tagged at the source and proven de-energised with a test-for-dead before touch, and where energised work cannot be avoided it is done to an arc-flash risk assessment with rated, enclosed switchgear and restricted access. All final subcircuits are protected by residual current devices rated at 30 mA or less, with portable RCDs where fixed protection is absent and a daily push-button test, and boards are sized to maximum demand with no daisy-chaining. Site equipment is rated to at least IP44, elevated and kept clear of pooling water, and earthing and equipotential bonding are installed and proven by earth-continuity and polarity testing before anything is energised. The high-bay luminaires are installed from a boom elevating work platform rather than a ladder, with pre-start checks and no overreaching, and before any penetration the circuits in the area are isolated and concealed cabling is treated as live until proven dead. Supply cables are elevated to 2.4 metres or run in protected ramps clear of plant and traffic. Workers sign on to the statement before starting, the test-and-tag and RCD test records are kept, and the signed statement is held on site for the responsible state regulator.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (harmonised; enacted in all states and territories except Victoria, which applies the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004), s.19 — Primary duty of care to workers and to other persons at or near the workplace
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, section 291 — Defines high risk construction work (Victoria: Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, Part 5.1)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, section 299 — Content and review requirements for a safe work method statement for high risk construction work (Victoria: regulation 327; Tasmania: regulation 312)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, Part 4.7 — Electrical safety: the prohibition on energised electrical work except where de-energising is not reasonably practicable and the prescribed conditions are met, with duties for RCD protection and testing (Victoria applies the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 and state electrical-safety legislation)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, Part 4.4 — Managing the risk of falls (work above two metres; Victoria applies the equivalent provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017)

Frequently asked questions