AS/NZS 3760 retest intervals: how often to test and tag
Last reviewed 19 October 2026.
AS/NZS 3760 covers the in-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment. How often a piece of equipment is retested is not one number: it depends on the environment it is used in, how it is used, and what your state or territory regulator expects. This page sets out the intervals regulators publish, so you can see the pattern and plan your rounds.
Intervals regulators publish
Guidance published by SafeWork SA and SafeWork NSW (checked September 2026) gives these typical intervals for portable equipment:
| Environment | Typical interval |
|---|---|
| Construction and demolition sites | 3 months. Site electrical installations are governed by AS/NZS 3012, whose edition differs between sources. |
| Hire equipment | Inspect before each hire; test and tag every 3 months. |
| Factories, workshops, manufacturing, assembly, maintenance | 6 months. |
| Hostile operating environments, such as commercial kitchens | At least every 12 months. |
| Offices and other low-risk settings | 12 months where equipment is flexed, open to abuse or hostile. Regulators allow longer, up to 5 years, for low-risk equipment that is none of those. |
| RCDs | Regulator figures range from 3 or 12 months (construction), 12 months (factory, hostile) to 2 years (low risk). See RCD test records. |
What decides the interval for a given item
- Environment. A drill on a construction site and a desk lamp in an office are not on the same schedule.
- Equipment type and class. Hand-held and flexed equipment is treated more strictly than fixed or rarely moved equipment.
- Your state or territory. Each has its own WHS and electrical safety overlay, and Queensland requires an electrical contractor licence for commercial test and tag work.
- Your client's own rules. A site or insurer may require shorter intervals than the regulator minimum.
What a retest record should hold
- The item's tag number, description and location.
- The date, result, and who tested it.
- The reason for any fail, and what was done about it.
- The next due date, so the following round is booked before you leave site.
How TagVault handles retest dates
When you record a pass, TagVault works out the next due date from the item's environment and schedules the retest straight away, so nothing depends on remembering to book it later. Where sources disagree, it uses the shorter interval, so a due date is never later than guidance allows. Intervals are held as data rather than built into the app, so a correction does not need an app update.
Scanning and recording work offline, which matters in plant rooms and on construction sites.
TagVault keeps records to support your AS/NZS 3760 program. It does not confer competency or licensing, and it does not determine whether you or your client meet any legal obligation. Requirements vary by state and territory.