How often does equipment need test and tag?
The honest answer: it depends on where the equipment works, not what it is. AS/NZS 3760:2022 sets retest intervals by environment — the same laptop charger might be due every 12 months in a workshop and every 5 years in a quiet office. Here are the intervals that actually apply.
Published 31 August 2026· ADVARO Test & Tag
Typical retest intervals by environment
These are the commonly applied intervals under AS/NZS 3760:2022 (with construction work guided by AS/NZS 3012). Your site assessment sets the final schedule — some equipment classes within one site will sit on different cycles.
| Environment | Typical interval | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Construction & demolition sites | Every 3 months | Tools and leads take constant mechanical abuse, weather and dust — the hardest life equipment can have. |
| Factories, workshops & places of manufacture | Every 6 months | Vibration, dust and heavy handling damage leads and casings faster than an office ever will. |
| Commercial kitchens & cleaning environments | 6–12 months | Heat, steam, moisture and constant plugging/unplugging count as a hostile operating environment. |
| Equipment whose cord flexes in normal use (moved, coiled, carried) | Every 12 months | Flexing hides internal conductor damage that only electrical testing catches. |
| Residential-style areas of hotels & boarding accommodation | Every 2 years | Moderate use, low abuse — but guest-facing equipment still needs documented testing. |
| Low-risk offices where cords are not flexed or abused | Up to 5 years | A desktop that never moves does not need yearly testing — paying for more is waste. |
Portable RCDs are on their own clock
Portable safety switches and RCD-protected leads have two different tests: the push-button check (typically every 3–6 months, and daily on construction sites before use) and a calibrated trip-time test (typically every 12 months). Both are part of our portable RCD testing service.
Three rules that decide your real schedule
- The environment sets the interval, not the appliance. The same power board is a 3-month item on a building site and a 5-year item under a reception desk.
- One site usually has several intervals. An office with a kitchen and a storeroom of cleaning gear will have 12-month and 5-year classes side by side — a good register keeps them straight so you never over- or under-test.
- New equipment enters the register on day one. No electrical test needed before first use, but a visual check and a new-to-service tag start the clock correctly.
What this means for your budget
Because intervals drive your annual cost, setting them correctly matters more than the per-item rate. We set each asset class to the standard — never shorter than needed — and our pricing page shows exactly how the per-item cost works. Every test lands in the digital records and asset register supplied after testing (see a sample report), with the next test date on every tag.
The interval questions Canberra workplaces ask us most.
Plug-in tools, leads and boards on construction and demolition sites are generally tested every 3 months — the shortest interval in common use, reflecting how hard site conditions are on equipment.
Want this handled for your site?
Send us your approximate item count and suburb and we'll come back with a fixed quote — testing in accordance with AS/NZS 3760:2022, clear tags and digital records included.