New Queensland electrical safety plan

The Electrical Safety Board is currently developing a new five year plan to improve electrical safety in Queensland.

Board members and key stakeholders attended a planning workshop in April to discuss priority areas and strategies for the new plan, due to commence in January 2009.

The new plan will build on the success of the Electrical Safety Plan for Queensland 2003–08 which helped deliver the changes introduced by the 2002 electrical safety legislation which fundamentally changed Queensland’s approach to electrical safety.

The Electrical Safety Office is currently on track to achieve the plan’s stated goal of performing better than the national average in terms of electrical fatalities and achieving a sustained reduction in hospitalisations as a result of electrical incidents.

Since the plan’s introduction, the number of electrical fatalities and hospitalisations as a result of electrical incidents in Queensland has been declining. However, preventable electrical incidents and fatalities are still occurring, especially in the electrical and rural industries. This will be addressed in the new plan.

ESOutlook will cover the new plan on its release later this year.