Whether you are a specifier, building owner, employer, or worker the updates to the Australian height safety standards are something you need to be aware of.
Australian and international standards are updated all the time. In the case of two major standards relating to height safety, these updates have been a long time coming.
AS/NZS 1891.4 was last reviewed in 2009, while AS 5532 was done in 2013. Both standards were long past due an update when it finally occurred in September 2025.
The updates to both these standards, which relate to selection use and maintenance of personal height safety equipment for working at height as well as the manufacturing requirements of single anchor points, have been broad. They make substantive changes to a number of different areas.
This will affect how work at heights is undertaken, how systems are designed, tested, and what is required to keep them compliant over their working life.
What are the new standards?
The two standards that have been updated as AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 Personal equipment for working at height – selection, use and maintenance and AS 5532:2025 Manufacturing requirements for single-point anchor devices used for harness-based work at height.
To make a bit more sense of the names, AS 5532 is the standard to which roof anchor points must be manufactured and tested to. While AS/NZS 1891.4 is the standard referenced when selecting, using and maintaining the equipment used when working at height.
So, depending on your role, you may only ever need to reference one standard, or the other. Although many roles do require a basic understanding of both.
Of course, these are not the only standards that might be referenced when it comes to height safety and fall protection. There are other standards relating to ladders, stairways and platforms, as well as systems designed for rope access and abseil work.
I am a developer, architect or specifier designing fall protection systems
If you are an architect or specifier, it is important that you understand the changes to the process for selecting and designing anchor-based height safety systems in accordance with AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 and AS 5532:2025.
Specifically, how the hierarchy of fall protection has been clarified – how total restraint, restraint technique and fall arrest systems are assessed and implemented.
Changes have also been made to how fall clearance calculations are completed for fall arrest systems.
The manufacturer of any anchor point proposed to be installed in a new building should be asked to confirm their anchors are compliant with the requirements of AS 5532:2025. Independent certification of that compliance should be requested.
It is not likely that the new standards are going to be adopted by manufacturers immediately. Typically, there is a transition period. This could be 12 months or less but may stretch up to two years. Any period longer than that is not recommended and unlikely to be accepted.
I am an employer or worker that uses height safety systems
For employers sending people out to work at height or those that work at height themselves there are changes to the use of systems in the updated standards.
The most significant aspect of the updated standards are the changes around work positioning and rigging techniques when working on steeply pitched or very slippery areas. If the worker is relying on the fall protection system to maintain their footing, then they will require a secondary, backup, system. This is to mitigate the risk of a fall should the primary connection or system fail.
The other substantive change in how fall protection systems are used has to do with diversion anchors and re-anchoring.
In situations where a worker is deviating more than 60-degrees from a straight line projected from the previous two anchors, then they are required to re-anchor. This involves placing an alpine butterfly knot (or similar) in their rope line at the anchor where they are diverting. This ensures that, in the event of a fall, the loads placed on the anchor do not exceed their design capacities.
I own or manage a building with an existing height safety system
The main change to be aware of is that the new AS 1891.4 standard specifies that regular compliance inspections are to be conducted annually for installed fall arrest devices and every six months for PPE and other removable items. There is no longer a carve-out for a manufacturer to allow up to five-years to pass between inspections for any type of fall arrest system or device.
The most significant change to be aware of is how some types of chemically or mechanically fixed anchors are checked as part of a regular compliance inspection. Previously, each installed anchor of these types would need to be annually proof tested to at least half their designed performance load (7.5kN for a 15kN anchor). In the updated standard this is no longer the case for anchors that have multiple fasteners (that is, they are connected to the structure with more than one fixing). Annual proof testing of these anchors will no longer be required, so long as the following documentation is available to the compliance inspector:
- Certification the anchor has been installed per the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Calculations for the structural adequacy of the fasteners have been performed manually or by using software provided by the manufacturer.
- The manufacturer’s specification is evidenced, and their warranty remains valid.
- Certification the anchor was proof loaded at the time of installation, and subsequently maintained, are provided at time of the inspection.
In practice currently, this change will only affect chemically fastened anchors of this type. No manufacturer of friction/mechanical fastened anchors offers a warranty for attachment into concrete. Further, formulae or software to perform the required calculations for structural adequacy are not available.
For building owners, facility managers and others responsible for the places fall protection and height safety systems are installed, it is important to note the changes in the standard to not mean your previously compliant system is suddenly unsafe.
It is important to note in some situations, a system that was assessed as compliant under the 2009/2013 standards could potentially be non-compliant when assessed using the 2025 standards. However, as noted above there is always a period of transition when moving from one set of standards to another.
What may happen, depending on the company completing your annual compliance inspection, is that initially any discrepancies between your system and the updated standards could be noted as a recommended upgrade. That is, your system is still safe to use, but upgrading to be compliant with the new standard is suggested.
A later inspection, after the transition period, could see your system be assessed as non-compliant if the upgrade works are not completed.
Partners in protecting people
As representatives of the Working at Height Association, HSE sits on the committee that writes, reviews and updates height safety standards. We have been deeply involved in the updates to AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 and AS 5532:2025.
To start your safety journey with the experts, call us on 1300 884 978, email us enquiries@heightsafety.net or click here to send us a message.
