WA Guidelines on the Application of the Health (Public Buildings) Regulations 1992

Hello David A community group that is putting on a performance for the public has made that location a "public building" so have to abide by the act. A community theatre in a building are occupying someones building, usually a local council building, so they are bound to their regulations. Councils and schools, which are also public buildings, are bound by the Health and Safety Act which requires them to provide a safe working environment. The councils will develop a risk management plan on how to best provide a safe working environment in their buildings and usually follow the lead of other councils by making a ruling that all electrical equipment has to be safe, the fixed electrical equipment needs to be inspected regularly to AS/NXS3000 and portable electrical equipment needs to be tested and tagged to AS/NZS3760:2003 as it is the most applicable guideline. So if you look into your accomodation arrangements, you will probably find a requirement to maintain your portable electrical equipment in a safe condition. Some councils are very proactive and will give tenants an annual checklist to work through as part of their lease agreement. The big problem with testing and tagging is that people think that if they see a tag the item is safe and do not consciously inspect the item before they use it. What is realy beneficial for your community theatre is to place the onus on all users and handlers of portable electrical equipment to visually inspect it before any use so faulty items can be removed from service. The implementation of testing and tagging only means an item has been visually inspected at the time of tagging. If you have a 3 month or 6 month or even a 5 year testing interval, people seem to think the item is magically safe for the whole period. Have a look at the UWA Electrical Safety web pages to learn about practical testing and tagging. I wrote most of this for work. http://www.safety.uwa.edu.au/electrical_safety Maybe it is time to run an electrical safety workshop for amateur theatres in WA through the ITA. I will volunteer my services as it is a worthy cause. There will have to be a reasonable limit, maybe 4 workshops each in a different location ?