STATUS AND APPLICATION OF AS/NZS 1891.4 AND AS/NZS 5532

Compliance with a standard is mandatory if stated as such in the work health and safety legislation. Neither AS/NZS 1891.4 nor AS/NZS 5532 are mandatory standards in the legislation.

However, the falls code does include references to the AS/NZS 1891 series and ‘relevant Australian/New Zealand Standards’.

The anchorage points section states:

Each anchorage point should comply with the requirements of AS/NZS 1891:4 Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices selection, use and maintenance.

While compliance with a standard that is referenced in a code of practice is not mandatory, a court may have regard to it in determining what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances.  The code should be followed unless following another method provides an equivalent or higher standard of work health and safety.

Although not referenced, as it was not published when the Falls Code was being drafted, AS/NZS 5532 forms part of the industry knowledge that should be known and considered when making decisions about workplace health and safety.

However, since its publication, we also know that:

  • Some sectors of industry raised issues concerning AS/NZS 5532
  • In response to this, Standards Australia held a fall arrest anchor forum in February 2015 to clarify the industry concerns with the Standard.  No clear outcome was derived.
  • In the August 2015 call for nominations, Standards Australia received further project proposals calling for review of AS/NZS 5532.
  • A project was not started, as it was determined the committee should complete the extensive body of work currently in progress before initiating any new projects (i.e. reviewing AS/NZS 1891 parts 1 and 3, and drafting a new AS/NZS 1891.5).
  • There have been no known instances of a correctly installed and inspected anchor that complies with the strength requirements from AS/NZS 1891.4 failing during a fall arrest incident.

Given the above, SafeWork NSW advice is:

  • Product would be expected to comply with either the strength requirements of AS/NZS 1891.4 or AS/NZS 5532.
  • The fall arrest systems being used with the anchors should provide energy absorbers, or other means, that limit the peak load on the harness connection and thus anchor during a fall to 6kN, as per the AS/NZS 1891 suite of standards
  • Once the issues are resolved with AS/NZS 5532, manufacturers would be expected to be supplying complying product within 2 years
  • AS/NZS 5532 is not expected to apply retrospectively to existing installed anchors; AS/NZS 1891.4 would be the relevant standard to apply
  • Inspection programs based on AS/NZS 1891.4, including annual load testing of chemical and friction anchors, should continue for all installed anchors
  • Where anchors are found to be damaged or not to have been installed in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions - eg roof mounted anchors with insufficient fasteners or installed in roof sheeting that is thinner than specified - the anchors be made compliant with the manufacturer’s instructions, or replaced