Changing an existing practice
Alterations and repairs in a body-protected area
Moving a chair, adding outlets, new equipment, a room with no sign, an expired label. What each one triggers under Section 6 of AS/NZS 3003:2018 (including Amendment 1:2019), and what doesn’t.
The common jobs
Moving the dental chair
If the chair’s supply moves or changes, that is electrical work in a patient area: a licensed electrician, the dedicated circuit re-run to the supplier’s spec, the isolator still within reach, then the room tested and signed off the way your state requires before the chair is used again. If the chair stays on the same supply and nothing electrical changes, it is a job for the equipment supplier.
Section 6.2 (alterations); Section 2.10 (isolation switches)
Adding power points to a treatment room
New outlets in a body-protected area go on the room’s 10 mA RCD (or a new one if the twelve points are used up), are identified and labelled like the others, and the room is tested before they are used. Adding one outlet does not force the whole tenancy to be upgraded, but it does mean the area being altered has to meet the standard, and if that area was never signed as a patient area, see below.
Section 6.2; Clause 2.8.3(a) for the 12 points
A room that has no green sign
A patient area that was never identified as one, no sign, no test label, has to be brought up to the standard before or during any alteration in it. In practice this is the moment an old consult room that quietly became a treatment room gets properly wired, tested and signed.
Clause 6.2.2
New fixed equipment of 2.0 kW or more
Installing fixed electrical equipment rated at 2.0 kW or above in a patient area (a large steriliser plumbed into the room, some imaging equipment, a laser hard-wired in) means the whole patient area has to conform to the current standard, not just the new circuit. Budget for the room, not the outlet.
Clause 6.2.5.2; Clause 6.2.5 covers alterations and additions generally
The test label is out of date
Alterations should not start until the area has a current routine test. An expired label does not stop the room being used, but it stops it being changed: book the 12-month test first, then the work, or have both done on the same visit.
Section 8.2 (routine testing); Clause 6.3.2 for repairs
Repairing a fault
Repairs in a patient area are done to the current standard, and a current test sticker is needed before the repair goes ahead. Like-for-like replacement of a failed RCD or outlet is still work in a patient area: a licensed electrician, tested afterwards, with the labels kept true.
Section 6.3 (repairs); Clause 6.3.2; Section 6.4 (identification)
Changing what a room is used for
A consult room that will now be used for ECGs, a storeroom becoming a surgery, a procedure room downgraded to an office: each is a change of classification. Record the decision, update the classification record, and have the room wired, tested and signed to its new classification before it is used that way. Reclassifying a cardiac-protected area as body-protected has its own clause.
Clause 2.2.1 (documentation); Section 6.2; Clause 6.2.5.3 (reclassification)
Taking over premises that were already a practice
Ask the previous occupier or landlord for the classification record, certificates and the last test results. If there are none, treat every room as unclassified: classify them yourself, have them tested, and expect some to need work before you see patients in them. A green sign on the wall is a clue, not a certificate.
Clause 2.2.1; Section 8.2
Usually not an alteration
- –Painting, flooring or new cabinetry that leaves the outlets, RCDs and sign where they are (though check the 2-metre reach and the 15-metre walk to the cleaners’ outlet afterwards).
- –Replacing a plug-in appliance with a like-for-like one.
- –Data cabling and other extra-low-voltage communications work (in Victoria this is excluded from prescribed patient-area work; it still should not be run by someone who disturbs the electrical installation).
- –Moving furniture, as long as the RCDs stay readily accessible and the sign stays visible.
When in doubt, ask the electrician who tests your rooms before the builder starts. A look at the room costs far less than a failed inspection.
Before any work starts
- Your classification record, updated for the change, given to the electrician in writing.
- The last test results and certificates for the room.
- Spec sheets for any new equipment, with its rating in kW.
- The sign-off booked the way your state requires: an inspector in Victoria and New Zealand, the certificate elsewhere.
Common questions
Do I need to retest a body-protected area after moving the chair?
Yes, if the chair’s electrical supply was moved or changed. That is an alteration in a patient area: it is tested and signed off the way your state requires before the chair is used again.
Does adding one power point mean the whole practice has to be upgraded?
No. The area being altered has to meet the standard, and an area that was never signed as a patient area has to be brought up to it. Fixed equipment of 2.0 kW or more is the case where the whole patient area must conform.
Can repairs be done in a treatment room if the test label has expired?
A current test sticker is needed before repairs or alterations go ahead, so the 12-month test is done first or on the same visit.
Who signs it off where you are
Pick your state
See who certifies and inspects there.
Need an electrician for the work?
Other states and New Zealand
Pick your state for its rules and the electricians listed there, or ask us to find one. Electricians and builders can get listed.
LND Group is the site publisher’s own business. How listings work.