Electrical Safety Inspections for Commercial Offices & Workplaces
Every desk has a power board. Every fit-out changed the installation. Who verified it?
Floor boxes, workstation power, kitchens, comms rooms, tenancy switchboards and EV chargers in the basement, all shaped by years of fit-outs and churn. A test tag is not evidence of control. Independent verification is.
The duty is continuous
Under electrical safety legislation, installations must be electrically safe at all times, across every floor, fit-out and tenancy change.
It's judged in hindsight
Compliance is rarely assessed when a decision is made. It is examined after a shock, a fire or a worker complaint, on the evidence you can produce.
It covers other people's work
Fit-out builders, IT and AV installers, cleaners and furniture contractors. If their work leaves an unsafe electrical situation behind, the duty does not disappear.
Every outlet your people plug into is part of your duty.
Offices change constantly. Each fit-out, restack and new tenancy alters the installation, and the evidence of what was verified often leaves with the contractor.
Floor boxes & workstation power
Floor boxes cracked by chairs and trolleys, and power boards daisy-chained under desks to feed more devices than they were designed for.
Kitchens & breakout areas
Boiling water units, dishwashers and fridges on circuits near sinks, used by everyone.
Fit-outs & tenancy churn
Each fit-out alters circuits and switchboards. Records rarely follow the change.
Comms & server rooms
High-density loads, UPS systems and constant operation where failures are both safety and business risks.
Car parks & EV chargers
Basement lighting, boom gates and newly added EV chargers draw on the base building installation.
Landlord and tenant interfaces
Unclear lines of responsibility between base building and tenancy installations leave gaps nobody owns.
What the fit-out certificate says is not what gets investigated.
On paper
- Fit-out certificate of compliance issued
- Portable appliances tested and tagged
- Base building maintained by the landlord
- Contractor inductions completed
On the floor, often
- Floor boxes damaged and still in use
- Power boards daisy-chained under desks
- Tenancy boards altered after the fit-out without re-verification
- Nobody knows where landlord responsibility ends
Regulators do not assess what the certificate says. They assess what was actually implemented, and whether you can prove it. We close that gap before someone else finds it.
When something goes wrong in a workplace, your evidence decides what happens next.
A vehicle strikes a basement car park light fitting.
What happened
A delivery van struck a low light fitting in the building car park, leaving exposed live parts, and the driver did not report it. An employee later received a shock. The regulator attended.
What the evidence showed
Independent, auditable records of active monitoring, inspection, contractor induction, access controls and hazard management — all aligned with regulatory expectations.
An uninspected external switchboard starts a fire.
What happened
An external switchboard serving the building sat in a landscaped area with no inspection regime. It deteriorated for years until an internal fault overheated, ignited and spread fire into the surrounding garden bed and building facade.
What the evidence showed
Nothing. The switchboard was part of the operator's installation and had degraded without inspection, testing or condition assessment.
Illustrative scenarios based on regulatory case patterns. Details have been generalised.
From assumed compliance to demonstrable control.
Consolidated electrical asset register
Every tenancy board, floor box, kitchen circuit, comms room and charger across your buildings.
Independent inspection & testing
Objective verification by licensed inspectors, not fit-out certificates or test tags alone.
Risk-based maintenance program
Intervals set by asset criticality, occupancy and change activity, not habit.
Documented risk matrices
Linking each regulatory obligation to the hazard and the critical control that manages it.
Contractor competency & oversight
Clear governance between landlord, tenants and contractors, so accountability is never assumed.
Auditable decision trails
Evidence behind every repair, deferral and replacement, ready for the regulator, insurer or board.
We know what investigators ask for. We used to ask for it.
Our founder spent more than a decade inside the Electrical Regulator, with direct responsibility for enforcement and prosecution decisions, incident investigation, standards development and guidance.
That means we interpret your obligations the way regulators apply them in practice, not just as they’re written. Enforcement-tested experience, not theoretical compliance knowledge.
Could your workplace answer these today, with evidence?
- When were your floor boxes and workstation power last independently inspected, and by whom?
- After the last fit-out or restack, who verified the installation was still safe?
- Is the line between landlord and tenant electrical responsibility documented?
- Are comms rooms, kitchens and EV chargers on your electrical asset register?
- If an employee received a shock tomorrow, what would you hand the regulator?
- Can your executives demonstrate due diligence personally, not just point to the fit-out contractor?
Start with one floor. Then your whole portfolio.
Workplace risk review
We walk a representative floor or building and test your arrangements against how a regulator would assess them.
Independent inspection
Licensed inspectors verify switchboards, floor boxes, kitchens, comms rooms, car parks and chargers.
Risk & governance framework
Asset register, responsibility map, risk matrices and contractor oversight across your portfolio.
Ongoing assurance
Auditable records and reporting your executives and landlord can rely on.
Workplace electrical safety: what facility managers ask us
Who is responsible for electrical safety in a leased office, landlord or tenant?
Usually both, for different parts of the installation. The base building and the tenancy installation are often owned and controlled by different parties, and the lease rarely maps this asset by asset. We document where each responsibility sits so nothing falls between the gaps.
Is test and tag enough for an office?
No. Test and tag covers portable appliances. Floor boxes, switchboards, kitchen circuits, comms rooms and EV chargers are part of the fixed installation and need inspection and testing proportionate to their risk.
Does a fit-out certificate mean the office is compliant?
It records the work at the time it was done. Later changes, damage and churn are not covered, and regulators assess whether risks were actively managed as circumstances changed.
What legislation applies to electrical safety in Victoria?
In Victoria the Electricity Safety Act 1998 and its regulations set the core obligations for electrical installations, alongside occupational health and safety laws that place due diligence duties on officers. We interpret these the way the regulator applies them in practice.
What do we receive at the end of a review?
A consolidated electrical asset register, independent inspection and test results, documented risk matrices, a prioritised remediation plan and an auditable decision trail you can hand to a regulator, insurer or board.
Do not wait for an incident to find the gap.
Tell us about your buildings and tenancies and what is prompting the question. We will come back within one business day to scope a review.
Assurance first. Done once. Done right.