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There is a widespread misconception within the New Zealand electrical industry that AS/NZS 3000
applies to the construction or modification of machinery. This article clarifies the applicable legislative
framework and explains how New Zealand electrical legislation defines the scope and applicability of
standards, particularly the critical distinction between electrical installations and appliances.
The key point: a machine is not part of the building or site electrical installation. It is an appliance
connected to that installation.
Why the industry keeps defaulting to AS/NZS 3000
In the early 2000s, uncertainty existed within the electrical industry regarding the appropriate electrical standard for machinery. Industry practice commonly defaulted to AS/NZS 3000, with limited consideration of whether this standard was applicable to machinery rather than building installations.
A practical example arose at a processing facility where an electrical contractor declined to energise a machine, citing non-compliance with AS/NZS 3000 due to the use of yellow insulation on 200 VAC PLC output wiring. While AS/NZS 3000 prohibits the use of yellow insulation for live conductors, this raised a fundamental question: Was AS/NZS 3000 the correct standard against which the machine should be assessed?
Consultation with industry stakeholders, including Energy Safety, highlighted the importance of legislative definitions of “installation” and “appliance”. Based on these definitions, the machinery was identified as an appliance rather than part of the electrical installation. Consequently, AS/NZS 3000 was determined to be an inappropriate reference standard for machinery internal wiring and control systems.
At that time, the only comprehensive machinery electrical standard available was BS EN 60204-1, derived from IEC 60204-1. Although technically suitable, this standard was not explicitly recognised in the Electricity (Safety) Regulations, creating uncertainty about its acceptability as a compliance reference in New Zealand’s highly regulated electrical environment.
In the absence of an alternative recognised machinery standard, BS EN 60204-1 was adopted as the technical basis for machinery electrical safety. This decision aligned with the principle of applying the most current state of knowledge to ensure safety and long-term suitability, particularly where international standards underpin many New Zealand requirements.
The framework that emerged
To support this approach, internal company documentation was developed, including:
- an electrical site standard defining the boundary between AS/NZS 3000 (installation) and BS EN 60204-1 (machine),
- an electrical Certified Design document, and
- a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) document.
Under this framework:
- AS/NZS 3000 was applied to the machine power supply cabling and protection up to the point of connection.
- The machinery electrical design followed the internal site standard based on BS EN 60204-1.
- Contractors completed compliance testing and certification against the approved Certified Design recording the results in the CoC document.
Additional requirements were defined to address gaps in BS EN 60204-1, including enhanced wire colour coding to clearly distinguish AC, DC, and voltage levels. Power conductor colours were specified as Red, White, and Blue for phases, Black for neutral, and Green/Yellow for earth. This differed from BS EN 60204-1, which specifies black conductors for three-phase systems, but better aligned with New Zealand practice and commonly available cabling.
Where we are now
In more recent reviews of machinery electrical documentation, it has been observed that contractors continue to reference AS/NZS 3000 as the applicable standard for machine wiring. However, IEC 60204-1 Ed. 6.1 (2021) is now explicitly recognised and mandated in the Electricity (Safety) Regulations, making it a valid compliance standard for machinery electrical safety. The continued use of AS/NZS 3000 for machinery indicates that this regulatory update is not yet widely understood within the industry.
The Electricity (Safety) Regulations require that any work on installations or appliances results in equipment that is electrically safe. Compliance with recognised standards is one accepted method of meeting these obligations.
Below is information of the New Zealand electrical sector legislation and interpretations from the applicable legislation on installations and appliances to support this presentation.
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full technical document including all legislative citations and the complete schedule references.
What legislation governs electrical safety in New Zealand?
Let’s start with a look at the electricity sector in New Zealand.
The New Zealand electricity sector is governed by a framework of legislation, government policy, and independent regulators, rather than by a single organisation.
The primary legislation is the Electricity Act 2010. The Act focuses on electrical safety including the health and safety of the public and preventing property damage, licensing and regulation of electrical workers, and standards for electrical installations and appliances. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is the lead policy agency for electricity where it develops electricity and energy policy, advises government ministers, and oversees the regulatory system as a whole.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) forms part of the framework and applies to all electrical work in workplaces, including construction, industry, and utilities. It imposes a primary duty of care on PCBUs, and requires elimination or minimisation of electrical risks “so far as is reasonably practicable”.
The Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 is the secondary legislation and the core operational safety
regulation for electricity in New Zealand. It:
- Defines what is electrically safe and unsafe
- Controls prescribed electrical work (PEW)
- Requires Certificates of Compliance (CoC) and Records of Inspection (RoI)
- Mandates use of recognised technical standards (e.g. AS/NZS 3000 and IEC 60204-1)
- Regulates electrical installations, fittings, appliances, and supply systems
These regulations are administered by MBIE and enforced by WorkSafe Energy Safety.
Mandatory technical standards
These standards are not laws by themselves, but become legally enforceable because they are cited in the Electricity (Safety) Regulations. Some of the more common standards in general use are:
- AS/NZS 3000: Electrical Installations (Wiring Rules)
- AS/NZS 3019: Electrical installations: Periodic assessment
- AS/NZS 3760: In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs
- AS/NZS 4836: Safe working on or near low-voltage and extra-low voltage electrical
installations and equipment - IEC 60204-1: Safety of machinery: Electrical equipment of machines, Part 1: General
requirements
NZ legislation hierarchy
From highest authority to lowest:
- Electricity Act 1992
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
- Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010
- Cited Standards (AS/NZS 3000, IEC 60204-1, etc.)
- NZ Electrical Codes of Practice (NZECPs)
- WorkSafe guidance and industry best practice
Installation vs appliance: what the Electricity Act actually says
To determine where the electrical “installation” system finishes and the “appliance” (machine) starts, we first need to understand the definitions and interpretations from the applicable legislation.
Electricity Act 1992 definitions
- Electrical appliance means
- any appliance that uses, or is designed or intended to use, electricity, whether or not it also uses, or is designed or intended to use, any other form of energy
- Electrical installation means
- in relation to a property with a point of supply, all fittings beyond the point of supply that form part of a system that is used to convey electricity to a point of consumption, or used to generate or store electricity; and
- An installation does not include any of the following:
- an electrical appliance:
- any fittings that are owned or operated by an electricity generator and that are used, designed, or intended for use in or in association with the generation of electricity, or used to convey electricity from a source of generation to distribution or transmission lines:
- any fittings that are used, designed, or intended for use in or in association with the conversion, transformation, or conveyance of electricity by distribution or transmission lines
Other applicable interpretations to be aware of:
PEW (prescribed electrical work) means electrical work prescribed in regulations made under section
169, being work that falls into any of the following categories:
The design, construction, or maintenance of electrical installations
- The design or construction or maintenance of electrical installations:
- The maintenance of electrical appliances:
- The connection or disconnection of works, electrical installations, and electrical appliances to or from a power supply, other than by means of:
- a plug; or
- an appliance inlet; or
- a pin that is inserted into a socket outlet:
- The design, construction, or maintenance of works
- The testing or certification or inspection or supervision of the work described of the above
Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 (version as of 13 November 2025)
- Appliance means an electrical appliance as defined in section 2(1) of the Act.
- Installation means an electrical installation as defined in section 2(1) of the Act. Part installation
means any part of an installation.
Other key terms:
- supplier declaration of conformity means a declaration, relating to a low voltage or extra-low voltage fitting or appliance, that complies with regulation 83(3)
- certificate of compliance means a certificate, issued under regulation 65, regarding the lawfulness and safety of prescribed electrical work done on an installation or part installation
- certified design means a design for an installation that has been certified in accordance with regulation 58
- electrical safety certificate means a certificate, issued under regulation 74A, regarding the electrical safety of an installation or part installation that is connected to a power supply
Meanings of electrically safe and electrically unsafe
- electrically safe means, in relation to works, installations, fittings, appliances, and associated equipment, that there is no significant risk that a person or property will be injured or damaged by dangers arising, directly or indirectly, from the use of, or passage of electricity through, the works, installations, fittings, appliances, or associated equipment
- electrically unsafe means, in relation to works, installations, fittings, appliances, and associated equipment, that there is a significant risk that a person may suffer serious harm, or that property may suffer significant damage, as a result of dangers arising, directly or indirectly, from the use of, or passage of electricity through, the works, installations, fittings, appliances, or associated equipment.
Doing work on works, installations, fittings, and appliances
A person who does work on any works or installation, or on any part of any works or installation, must ensure
- that the resulting works or installation, or part of the works or installation, is electrically safe; and
- if the work is on only part of any works or installation, that the work has not adversely affected the electrical safety of the rest of the works or installation.
A person who does work on any fittings or appliances must ensure that
- the resulting fittings or appliances are electrically safe.
A person commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a level 2 penalty if he or she
- does work on any works or installation and fails to comply with subclause (1); or
- does work on any fittings or appliances and fails to comply with subclause (2); or
- while doing work on any works, installations, fittings, or appliances, fails to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that people and property are protected from dangers arising from the work, where the person doing the work knows, or can reasonably be expected to know, of the dangers that may arise from the work.
Designing works, installations, fittings, and appliances
- A person who designs, or supervises the design of, works, installations, fittings, or appliances must ensure that, if the finished design were constructed, installed, or manufactured as designed, the finished works, installations, fittings, or appliances would be electrically safe.
- A person who designs, or supervises the design of, works, installations, fittings, or appliances commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a level 2 penalty if he or she fails to comply with subclause
Which electrical standards are mandated in NZ?
One of the main operations of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations is to recognise and mandate the use of
technical standards (e.g. AS/NZS 3000, IEC 60204-1) in the New Zealand electrical industry.
A good example of how this works: AS/NZS 3000:2018 was released by Standards NZ as the current
standard, which changed the status of AS/NZS 3000:2007 to superseded. But this created a problem,
the Electricity (Safety) Regulations were still mandating the 2007 version, making the 2018 version
technically unusable. This has now been corrected, with the Electricity (Safety) Regulations recognising
and mandating the 2018 versions with amendments, but only in 2025.
Making up part of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations are a series of Schedules used to present specific
detail on topics. Schedule 2 and Schedule 4 are the two relevant here:
- Schedule 2 lists recognised and mandated electrical codes of practice and official standards.
- Schedule 4 lists recognised and mandated standards applicable to fittings and appliances. Clause
3 of Schedule 4 lists standards applicable to low voltage electrical apparatus — this is where
you’ll find the entry for IEC 60204-1.
Schedule 2 — Electrical codes of practice and official standards
The standard cited in regulations is AS/NZS 3000, with its full title: AS/NZS 3000:2018: Electrical
installations (known as the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules), including Amendments 1, 2, and 3.
Schedule 4 — Standards applicable to fittings and appliances
Under Clause 3 (Low voltage electrical apparatus), the applicable standard for the electrical equipment
of machines is IEC 60204-1 Ed 6.1 (2021). Safety of machinery: Electrical equipment of machines, Part
1: General requirements.
Machine safety standards in New Zealand
Within New Zealand and Australia, the AS/NZS 4024 series of standards should be referred to as the
primary standards against which to guide machine safety. While these standards are not specifically
mandated within NZ in the same way electrical standards are in the Electricity (Safety) Regulations (e.g.
AS/NZS 3000, IEC 60204-1), the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) mandates that machinery
must be safe, and risks must be eliminated or minimised. WorkSafe NZ recognises the AS/NZS 4024
series as the benchmark for “taking all reasonably practicable steps” to achieve safety.
Designers can use other standards (such as international ISO or European EN standards), but they must
demonstrate they reach the same or better level of safety as AS/NZS 4024. If machinery is not
compliant with AS/NZS 4024, it is highly likely that it does not meet the legal requirements of the Health
and Safety at Work Act 2015.
Common AS/NZS 4024 standards and their international equivalents
The AS/NZS 4024 series covers the full range of machine safety topics, with each part aligned to an
equivalent international ISO or IEC standard:
- AS/NZS 4024.1201:2014 (ISO 12100:2010) — General principles for design: risk assessment and
risk reduction - AS/NZS 4024.1204:2019 (IEC 60204-1:2016) — Electrical equipment of machines, Part 1:
General requirements - AS/NZS 4024.1503:2014 (ISO 13849-1:2006) — Safety-related parts of control systems, Part 1:
General principles for design - AS/NZS 4024.1601:2024 (ISO 14120:2015) — General requirements for the design and
construction of fixed and movable guards - AS/NZS 4024.1602:2014 (ISO 14119:2013) — Interlocking devices associated with guards:
principles for design and selection - AS/NZS 4024.1603:2019 (ISO 14118:2017) — Prevention of unexpected start-up
- AS/NZS 4024.1604:2019 (ISO 13850:2015) — Emergency stop: principles for design
- AS/NZS 4024.1801:2025 (ISO 13857:2019) — Safety distances to prevent danger zones being
reached by upper and lower limbs - AS/NZS 4024.1803:2019 (ISO 13854:2017) — Minimum gaps to prevent crushing of parts of the
human body
A closer look at AS/NZS 4024.1204:2019
The standard AS/NZS 4024.1204:2019 has been adopted by stakeholders in both countries. Standards
Australia and Standards New Zealand as an Australian/New Zealand Standard.
This Standard is an adoption with national modifications, reproduced from IEC 60204-1:2016, Safety of
machinery, Electrical equipment of machine, Part 1: General requirements.
The national modifications are additional requirements and are set out in Appendix ZZ, added at the
end of the standard. The modifications listed in Appendix ZZ generally replace international standard
references with AS or AS/NZS references.
The objective of the standard is to provide requirements and recommendations relating to the safety of
electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic equipment and systems for machines not portable
by hand while working, including a group of machines working together in a coordinated manner. The
equipment covered by this standard commences at the point of connection of the supply to the
electrical equipment of the machine.
Download the full reference
Want this as a PDF for your team’s reference library, project files, or contractor briefings? Download the
full technical document including all legislative citations and the complete schedule references.
When to use AS/NZS 3000, AS/NZS 4024.1204, or IEC 60204-1
AS/NZS 3000 shall be used for the design, installation, or modification of electrical installations or parts
of installations. Its applicability ends at the point where the machine power supply cable terminates,
whether at a switchboard or within the controller of a standalone machine.
AS/NZS 4024.1204 or IEC 60204-1 shall be used for the design, installation, or modification of
appliances, including machinery. These standards apply from the point at which the power supply cable
from the site distribution system terminates at the machine.
While AS/NZS 4024.1204 is not explicitly cited in the Electricity (Safety) Regulations, IEC 60204-1 is
recognised and mandated. Given that AS/NZS 4024.1204 is an adoption of IEC 60204-1, and that
WorkSafe New Zealand recognises the AS/NZS 4024 series as the benchmark for taking all reasonably
practicable steps to achieve safety, the use of AS/NZS 4024.1204 as a reference standard for machinery
electrical design is appropriate and compliant.
However, updates included in IEC 60204-1 Ed 6.1 (2021) post-adoption into AS/NZS 4024.1204:2019
need to be considered, IEC 60204-1 is the overriding standard referenced by the Electricity Act and as
such is legally binding.
This conclusion is based on the interpretations from the Electricity Act 1992, which states that the
installation is all fittings beyond the point of supply that form part of a system used to convey electricity
to a point of consumption, and an appliance is any appliance that uses, or is designed or intended to
use, electricity, whether or not it also uses, or is designed or intended to use, any other form of
energy.
Need help determining which standard applies to your machinery?
Getting the standard wrong creates compliance gaps, contractor disputes, and certification headaches.
Our team helps NZ businesses confirm the right standard for their machinery, prepare Certified Designs
and CoC documentation, and bring legacy equipment into compliance.
Frequently asked questions
Does AS/NZS 3000 apply to machinery wiring?
In most cases, no. AS/NZS 3000 applies to the electrical installation (the site wiring system) up to the point where the machine supply cable terminates. The electrical equipment within the machine is typically treated as an appliance, and is addressed under machinery electrical safety standards such as IEC 60204-1.
What is the boundary between an electrical installation and a machine (appliance)?
The boundary is generally at the point where the site supply cable terminates at the machine—for example, at the machine supply terminals or the main switch of the machine switchboard. Upstream of that point is the installation (AS/NZS 3000); downstream is the machine electrical equipment (IEC 60204-1 / AS/NZS 4024.1204).
Is IEC 60204-1 mandatory in New Zealand?
IEC 60204-1 is recognised and mandated under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 (Schedule 4) for electrical equipment of machines. Because it is cited in regulation, it becomes a legally enforceable compliance reference for machinery electrical safety.
Can AS/NZS 4024.1204 be used instead of IEC 60204-1?
AS/NZS 4024.1204 is an adoption of IEC 60204-1 with national modifications, and it may be an appropriate reference for machinery electrical design. However, because IEC 60204-1 is the standard mandated in regulation, updates to IEC 60204-1 after the AS/NZS adoption need to be considered when demonstrating compliance.
When a machine is relocated or modified, what standard should it be assessed against?
Relocation or modification work often involves both the installation and the machine. AS/NZS 3000 applies to any work on the site installation up to the machine supply termination point, while IEC 60204-1 applies to the machine electrical equipment from the machine terminals onward. The key is applying the right standard at the correct boundary and ensuring the resulting installation/appliance is electrically safe.
References
- NZ Electricity Act 1992
- NZ Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA)
- NZ Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 (version as on 13 November 2025)
- AS/NZS 3000 — Electrical Installations (Wiring Rules)
- AS/NZS 4024.1204
- BS EN 60204-1 / IEC 60204-1
- WorkSafe NZ — Safe use of machinery