Machinery Safety & Compliance
we take the risk out of operating non-compliant and unsafe machinery, plant and equipment
IMS Global is your insurance policy mitigating the cost, downtime, and personal liability that come with operating non-compliant machinery, plant and equipment. We bring imported and existing plant into line with
Australian Standards and the
Work Health and Safety framework, so your business stays operating, your workers stay safe, and your obligations as a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) are met
The Regulatory Framework
The principal national workplace safety regulator is
Safe Work Australia. Each state and territory then has its own independent safety division: SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria, WorkSafe Queensland, SafeWork SA, WorkSafe WA, WorkSafe Tasmania, WorkSafe ACT, and NT WorkSafe. All operate under the same national framework, with the same objectives and the same model regulations. Penalties and procedures vary state by state, but the safety standards do not. Wherever your business operates in Australia, the duty of care for machinery, plant and equipment is the same
Why Machinery Safety & Compliance Matters
Under the
model Work Health and Safety Act (adopted by NSW as the WHS Act 2011, and by most other states with their own enacted equivalent) and the supporting WHS Regulations and Codes of Practice, every business that operates machinery, plant and equipment has a legal duty to ensure it is safe and compliant. This is not optional, and the responsibility sits squarely with the business owner or managing director
Machinery, plant and equipment imported from overseas, especially from China and other non-EU manufacturing regions, is frequently not built to Australian Standards. The electrical wiring, guarding, emergency stop systems, and field wiring almost always need to be brought into compliance before the machine can be lawfully connected, operated, or insured in Australia
Safe Work Australia and the state safety regulators have made machine safety a top priority. In recent state-level compliance blitzes, inspectors have issued hundreds of non-compliance notices across Australian workplaces, with the unsafe operation of fixed machinery, plant and vehicles among the top safety risks identified
The Risk of Doing Nothing
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improvement notices and prohibition notices from your state safety regulator that can shut down production immediately
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fines that have reached hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent enforcement actions
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insurance refusal in the event of an incident, leaving the business exposed to full liability
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personal liability for directors and officers under WHS due-diligence obligations
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serious worker injuries, the most important reason of all
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avoidable damage to your valued assets, including the cost of replacement, repair, and the production interruption that follows
Our Machinery Safety & Compliance Capabilities
IMS Global takes a machine that is non-compliant or in question and delivers it back to you certified, documented, and ready to operate. Our service covers the full lifecycle the regulator expects, with all work carried out by licensed competent persons as required under WHS Regulation 213:
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risk assessments – the foundation of all machinery safety work. Every machine and every item of equipment is risk-assessed to identify the level of risk under AS 4024. Identified risks are then either eliminated, reduced, or mitigated through the safety category system, with the installation of safety devices specified to meet the relevant standards. This is the most important step. Without a proper risk assessment, every other compliance activity is guesswork
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supplier and source audits – auditing the manufacturer overseas and identifying compliance gaps before the machine is shipped, far cheaper than fixing after arrival
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pre-shipment inspections at manufacturer sites in China, India, Thailand, the Philippines, or elsewhere in our service network
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electrical compliance across the full machine: control panel, control circuits, control panel components, field wiring, and field components such as motors, sensors, and safety switches. All brought into compliance as per Australian Standards
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Certificates of Compliance for Electrical Work (COCEW) issued and submitted to the regulatory authority for each state by a licensed competent person, satisfying both the regulator and your insurer
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machinery safety audits against AS 4024 Safety of Machinery and the Safe Work Australia Model Code of Practice for Managing the Risks of Plant in the Workplace, with documented findings and prioritised actions
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guarding and risk controls, including specification and installation of fixed and interlocked guarding, presence-sensing devices, light screens, and emergency stop systems, as per Australian Standards
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commissioning and sign-off with documentation that the state safety inspector, your insurer, and your auditor will accept
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records and maintenance compliance documentation kept to satisfy WHS Regulation 226, which requires records of tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, and alterations to be kept for the life of the plant
Your Machinery Safety & Compliance Benefits
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you know exactly what you are operating is safe and compliant. Compliance is verified at the source, before the machine arrives in your factory, instead of being discovered as a problem afterwards
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your business is protected from improvement and prohibition notices that can shut down production
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your insurance position is preserved, with documentation that an Australian insurer will accept
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your managing director and officers have the documented due-diligence evidence the WHS Act requires
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your workers go home in the same condition they arrived
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you reduce the risk of damage to your valued assets, protecting the capital you have invested in your plant and equipment
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you deal with one provider, end to end, who takes responsibility for the result rather than passing the problem on
Who This Is For
IMS Global Machinery Safety & Compliance services are for:
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businesses importing machinery, plant and equipment from overseas suppliers and needing assurance it will pass Australian compliance on arrival
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factories operating existing plant that has not been independently audited against current Australian Standards and regulatory authority requirements
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businesses that have received an improvement notice or prohibition notice from a state safety regulator following a safety concern report, and need expert remediation. A typical case looks like this: a regulator inspects a site after a complaint or safety concern is raised, finds non-compliant electrical work or unsafe machinery, and issues notices that halt production immediately. The business is then ordered to make the entire installation compliant before operations can resume. We have walked clients through exactly this process, brought the equipment into compliance, and delivered the documentation the regulator required to lift the notice
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insurers and brokers requiring an independent compliance assessment, either prior to underwriting or post-incident where an insurer is being asked to respond to a claim. The reality is straightforward: where equipment is found to be non-compliant at the time of an incident, the insurer will likely refuse to pay. An independent compliance assessment protects both the insurer and the insured by confirming the equipment’s compliance status in writing
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managing directors, PCBUs, and anyone responsible for operating plant and equipment. A PCBU is a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking, the WHS Act’s term for any business or entity that owes a primary duty of care. But the responsibility extends further: it includes officers, supervisors, and anyone with control over plant and equipment. Under WHS due-diligence obligations, every one of these people needs documented evidence that they took reasonable steps to ensure compliance. For an authoritative explanation of where this responsibility sits, refer to Safe Work Australia and your state safety regulator
If you import, operate, or are considering purchasing imported machinery, plant or equipment, the responsible way to deal with compliance is to address it before it becomes a problem. to get in touch for a confidential discussion of your situation, or use the EMAIL US button on the right of the page
References to Safe Work Australia, the state safety regulators, the Work Health and Safety Act, and the WHS Regulation on this page are provided for general information about the regulatory environment in which IMS Global operates. IMS Global is an independent engineering services provider and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Safe Work Australia, any state safety regulator, or any other government body. For the official position on any matter, refer to safeworkaustralia.gov.au and to the website of your relevant state safety regulator
