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Annual rigging inspections - what needs an annual inspection of powered hoisting and lifting equipment, what the standards require, and what you get

Compliance & Service · Annual Inspections & Recertification

If it lifts, it gets inspected. Every year.

Annual inspection of your powered hoisting and lifting equipment is required by the manufacturers and by the governing body. One visit covers it: functional and load testing, electrical Test & Tag, graded findings, and an individual certificate for every chain hoist load-tested, typically valid for 12 months.

See what's in the programme

Or call 1300 439 872

Inspected on stages and in venues around Australia
HOTA Home of the Arts Canberra Theatre Centre Brisbane Powerhouse Ipswich Civic Centre Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre Brisbane Showgrounds Arts Queensland WA Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries National Gallery of Victoria Griffith University Queensland University of Technology University of Melbourne University of Adelaide Logan City Council Mackay Regional Council Wollongong City Council Mueller College Anglican Church Grammar School Cairns Convention Centre Melbourne Olympic Park
What needs an annual inspection

The gear that lifts
and holds load.

Your powered hoists, the rigging hardware around them and the electrical safety that drives them. Scope is your stage systems, not fire exits, seating banks or building certification. Two things sit outside the annual cycle: fall-arrest harnesses and lanyards are inspected six-monthly, and hoists you own or hire and send to us are covered by hoist service.

Not sure when your hoists were last load-tested or certified? and we will start from what you already have on file.

What the standards require

No single clause.
Several, per asset.

The requirement comes from two places: the equipment manufacturers, and the governing body. Where manufacturer guidance is unclear, TSA works to the Australian Standard that applies to the asset. There is no one clause that covers a venue - a chain hoist, a shackle and a fall-arrest lanyard each answer to different documents, and often to several at once. Findings are graded against criteria built from the manufacturers' specifications together with the applicable Australian, New Zealand and international standards. For powered hoisting the headline documents are AS 1418 and AS 2550, with AS 4991 for entertainment lifting devices, AS/NZS 1891 for height-safety gear and AS/NZS 3760 for electrical Test & Tag - five of the 50+ standards behind every TSA inspection.

The visit is carried out in-house by TSA's Competent Inspection Officers. Every asset is checked visually and by hand, run through its functions, brakes and limits, load-tested where it is a powered hoist, and electrically tested to AS/NZS 3760. Minor corrective maintenance is carried out in-situ where we can. A small venue is commonly a single day; a larger asset list runs across several, scheduled around your performance calendar rather than through it.

Annual cycle, six-monthly height safety 50+ standards assessed against 12 mo typical certificate validity 1 day at a small venue Graded findings + timeframes
Certificate anatomy · example of what's on every cert
A blueprint of a chain hoist certificate with callouts to the serial and model, the rated capacity, the three load-test figures - minimum required, maximum applied and held at - the compliance result and standards, and the Competent Inspection Officer sign-off. A 12-month validity stamp is highlighted in orange. EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATE Chain hoist · load test & inspection MODEL Chain hoist · 1000 kg SERIAL XX0000 RATED CAPACITY (SWL / WLL) 1000 kg LOAD TEST · APPLIED AND HELD Minimum required 1100 kg Maximum applied 1250 kg Held at 1250 kg COMPLIANCE & STANDARDS Compliant · assessed against The recognised standards applying to the asset SIGNED OFF BY TSA Competent Inspection Officer VALID 12 MONTHS FROM INSPECTION DATE

One certificate per asset. Every load-tested chain hoist gets its own - serial, model, rated capacity, the three load-test figures, the standards assessed against and the Competent Inspection Officer sign-off. The validity stamp is what keeps you current, typically 12 months, set by the asset's duty and environment. Slings, shackles, harnesses and lanyards carry the same certificate in a visual-inspection form, valid to their next scheduled inspection.

0+
Standards assessed against
0 mo
Typical certificate validity, per chain hoist
0-5
Due-Diligence Level, tracked year on year
AU
In-house Competent Inspection Officers, Australia wide
What you get

Paperwork that
stands up.

An annual inspection is not a quick visual. You walk away with tested, graded and certified assets, and an individual certificate for every chain hoist load-tested on the day.

Functional + brake/limit testEach powered hoist run through its functions, brakes, limits and emergency stop.Function
Calculated load test, held + recordedA calculated test load applied and held, with the minimum-required, maximum-applied and held-at figures recorded.Load test
AS/NZS 3760 Test & TagIn-service electrical safety of your powered equipment, dated and logged in the same visit.Test & Tag
Inspection report, graded line by lineEvery asset graded A/B/C (pass) or Low/Medium/High (fail), with the standard referenced, a recommended action and a rectification timeframe.Report
Per-asset chain hoist certificateOne per item: serial, model, rated capacity and the load-test figures, typically valid 12 months.Certified
Maintenance Priority ListAssets grouped by urgency, so anything flagged becomes a costed, ordered plan.Priorities

One visit recertifies your powered gear.

The annual inspection is the yearly maintenance visit: functional and load testing, Test & Tag and a graded report in a single visit, with a fresh certificate for every chain hoist load-tested on the day. A small venue is commonly one day on site.

Or roll it into the Programme

A one-off Venue Systems Health Check sets the whole-of-venue baseline and the right interval for each asset. The annual inspection keeps your powered hoisting and lifting gear certified from there, and rolled into the Service & Inspection Programme the same deliverables repeat on schedule.

FAQ

Questions
about annual inspection.

If your question isn't here, call us or send your asset detail - we will come back with the right answer for your gear.

Call 1300 439 872
If you have powered hoisting or lifting equipment, yes. Annual inspection is required by the equipment manufacturers and by the governing body, and where manufacturer guidance is unclear we work to the Australian Standard that applies to the asset. Fall-arrest harnesses and lanyards are the exception - height-safety gear is inspected twice a year, not annually.
The gear that lifts and holds load: electric chain hoists, pile wind hoists, and the rigging and lifting hardware around them - slings, shackles, chain, wire rope and terminations - plus electrical Test & Tag of the powered equipment. Scope is your stage systems, not fire exits, seating banks or building certification.
There is no single clause that covers a venue. Findings are graded against criteria built from the manufacturers' specifications together with the applicable Australian, New Zealand and international standards - often several to one asset. The headline ones are AS 1418 and AS 2550 for hoists, AS 4991 for entertainment lifting devices, AS/NZS 1891 for height safety and AS/NZS 3760 for electrical Test & Tag, part of the 50+ standards behind every TSA inspection.
A small venue is commonly a single day. A larger asset list runs across several days. Visits are scheduled around your performance calendar rather than through it, and minor corrective maintenance is carried out in-situ during the visit where we can.
Load testing is a staged process carried out by TSA's Competent Inspection Officers - not a single reading. A calculated test load is applied and held, and the hoist's performance under load - lifting, braking and holding - is assessed for linearity across the test. The certificate records the minimum required, maximum applied and held-at figures, the rated capacity, the standards assessed against, and the officer's sign-off. It is typically valid for 12 months.
It is graded (Low, Medium or High) with a recommended action and a rectification timeframe, and tagged Out of Service if it is condemned. Everything flagged lands on a Maintenance Priority List grouped by urgency, so you get a costed, ordered plan rather than a list of faults.
A Venue Systems Health Check audits all your stage systems whole-of-venue and sets the right inspection interval for each asset. An annual inspection recertifies your powered hoisting and lifting assets each year. Many venues run both - the Health Check to set the baseline, the annual inspection to keep it current.
Keep it current

Due for
recertification?

Tell us about your powered hoists and rigging assets. We will scope and book your annual inspection, load-test and certify what we find, and hand you current paperwork - here and Australia wide.

See what's in the programme