Electrical standards for classroom laboratories: Can you tell me the current standard for school laboratories with regard to electrical cut-off switches. Should there be an emergency electrical shut down push button, in each science laboratory classroom.
Submitted by sat on 23 January 2015
Answer reviewed 21 February 2023
Schools are required to provide safe facilities, that are fit for purpose, and take into consideration hazard identification and put in place risk management strategies. Government school sectors usually have detailed information for their building specifications. Non-government schools need to meet the criteria for the registration standards for their state/territory.
Science ASSIST has developed GUIDELINES for the design and planning of secondary school science facilities in Australian schools, which sets out the requirements for school science areas. In section 5.4 Gas or electrical emergencies, it notes best practice.
‘Each teaching laboratory and preparation laboratory must have a shut-off gas valve and mains electricity switch that is visible and accessible to staff members and students.’
In addition to general workplaces, schools have a duty of care to students as well as their staff. Whilst there may be a range of jurisdictional variations throughout Australia with regard to school buildings, Science ASSIST recommends the implementation of best practice for the science area and supports as a minimum, compliance with the following Australian Standards:
AS/NZS 2982:2010 Laboratory design and construction, contains information specifically for secondary school laboratories in Section 10 and states the following:
“10.3 ELECTRICAL SERVICES
All power to general purpose outlets for student use shall be supplied through an emergency/master control circuit operated by a suitably labelled push-button, with key operated manual reset, located near the teacher's bench adjacent to the main gas isolating valves.”
1 Science ASSIST. 2017. GUIDELINES for the design and planning of secondary school science facilities in Australian schools. Retrieved from the Science ASSIST website: https://assist.asta.edu.au/resource/4175/guidelines-design-and-planning-...
2 Standards Australia. 2010. AS/NZS 2982.2010 Laboratory design and construction. Sydney, Australia. This extract is reproduced by ASTA with the permission of Standards Australia Limited under licence CLF1222asta. Copyright in AS/NZS 2982.2010 vests in Standards Australia [and Standards New Zealand]. Users must not copy or reuse this work without the permission of Standards Australia or the copyright owner.