Electrical Safety Office

The Queensland Government's Electrical Safety Office (ESO) is part of the [http://www.dir.qld.gov.au Queensland State Government's Department of Employment and Industrial Relations] . It develops and implements legislative, compliance and enforcement frameworks to improve electrical safety in Queensland.

The ESO enforces standards for electrical safety and promotes strategies for improved electrical safety performance across the community.

Stakeholders include employers, workers, designers, suppliers and importers of electrical equipment and the community at large.

The Electrical Safety Act 2002

The "Electrical Safety Act 2002" established the Electrical Safety Board. The board gives advice and makes recommendations to the Minister about policies, strategies and legislative arrangements for electrical safety.

The new legislation had a major impact on serious electrical injuries and fatalities from people coming into contact. Queensland's five-year average of electrical fatalities per million of population has declined from 3.6 in 2001 to just 1.24 as at 30 June 2005 — well below Australia's national average.

In the period July 1996 to June 2002, 65 fatalities were reported. In the three years since, there have been only ten — a clear indication that the legislative changes have been an outstanding success.

As the Act comes under the umbrella of the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, rather than the Department of Mines and Energy, the rules governing electrical work have been framed from a point of view of restricting those who can perform electrical work rather than a point of view based on safety and competency. The Act is considered by many to be vague and difficult to interpret. The Electrical Safety Office, who is charged with interpreting the Act, often has difficulty in supplying a definite answer regarding sections of the Act.

External links

[http://www.dir.qld.gov.au/electricalsafety/ Queensland Government's Electrical Safety Office]