Plant Regulations

Plant Regulations apply to – plant that is powered and not hand-held, and includes plant that cuts, drills, punches, grinds, presses, forms, hammers, joins, moulds, combines, mixes, sorts, packages, assembles or knits material; plant that lifts or moves materials or people; pressure equipment, tractors, earthmoving machinery, lasers, scaffolds, temporary access equipment, explosive-powered tools, turbines and amusement structures.

Duties are imposed, not only on employers, but also on people who design, manufacture, import or supply plant. The main duties are described below:

A designer of plant has duties relating to the identification of hazards associated with use of the plant, the assessment of any risk and the control of the risk. There are further duties relating to the provision of safety information to the manufacturer, and the action that must be taken when advised of new hazards or risks by the manufacturer.

A manufacturer of plant has duties relating to the use of the safety information provided by the designer, advising the designer of new hazards or risks, the control of risk associated with use of the plant and the provision of safety information to any person to whom the manufacturer supplies the plant.

An importer or supplier of plant has duties relating to the control of risk associated with use of the plant and the provision of safety information to any person to whom the importer or supplier supplies the plant. There are additional duties for a supplier who hires out plant and for the supply of rollover protection for tractors; and a more limited duty for an auctioneer who is acting for a supplier.

An employer (and also a self-employed person) who has management or control of plant in a workplace has a number of duties:

In relation to the use of plant (including its installation and commissioning), the employer must identify hazards, assess risk associated with those hazards and control that risk.
There are more particular risk control duties relating to guarding, operator’s controls (including stops and warnings), installation & commissioning, maintenance & inspections.
There are also particular risk control duties relating to powered mobile plant (including rollover protection for tractors), electrical plant, plant that lifts or suspends loads, lift trucks, scaffolds and lifts.
In addition to risk control, there are duties relating to information, training and instruction given to employees and consultation with health & safety representatives.
Finally, the Regulations require certain kinds of plant to be registered, or to have their design notified to the Victorian WorkCover Authority, before being used at a workplace.