Planning school holiday test and tag: a checklist for Melbourne business managers

Start with due dates, not just the holiday calendar

Compare your current equipment register and previous reports with the applicable testing schedule. For Victorian government schools, use the department's frequency guide and policy. Other schools should confirm their own governing-body requirements and applicable safety arrangements.

Identify equipment due before the proposed visit and any outstanding unsafe-item actions. Plan earlier work where required instead of treating the next holiday as a blanket extension. Allow time for follow-up after testing rather than assuming everything can be resolved on the final day before term starts.

Confirm buildings, rooms and equipment available for testing

Do not mark an inaccessible room or absent item as tested. Ask for unavailable equipment to be identified separately in the visit records, with a school-side owner assigned to arrange the next step.

• Provide a campus map or room list covering classrooms, offices, libraries and specialist areas.
• Confirm keys, alarm arrangements, sign-in requirements and the authorised school contact.
• Identify borrowed equipment, staff-owned items and appliances usually moved between rooms.
• List equipment taken home or unavailable, and agree how missing items will be followed up.
• Check access around holiday care, cleaning, building works and other contractor visits.

Coordinate IT and teaching equipment before unplugging

Portable equipment testing can require disconnection from power. Agree shutdowns with your IT or facilities contact before attendance, particularly for network equipment, shared systems and anything supporting an active holiday program. Do not assume that school holidays mean every system can be switched off.

Arrange staged access if only some buildings are ready. Label room locations consistently with the register so a relocated charger or audiovisual item can still be matched to its record. Discuss specialist science or technology equipment separately where ordinary portable appliance testing may not address all of its risks.

Keep RCD and emergency lighting work as separate agreed scopes

A school may also need RCD safety switch testing or emergency and exit light testing. These are different systems with their own scope, records and scheduling requirements; a portable equipment tag is not evidence that either system has been checked.

If you want the services coordinated, provide the relevant records and confirm who is responsible for the building systems. Discuss any power interruptions, occupied areas and access restrictions before booking. Combining access arrangements does not change the required intervals for each service.

Review the report and assign follow-up before term starts

Before equipment returns to use, check that urgent findings have been handled under the school's safety procedures. A booking confirmation or contractor invoice is not a substitute for the results and follow-up evidence. Share relevant actions with the staff who use the affected equipment.

• Match the completed scope to the room list and equipment register.
• Review failed equipment, unavailable items and any exclusions separately.
• Follow the school's isolation and tag-out procedure for unsafe items.
• Assign repair, replacement or further assessment to an appropriate person; testing is not repair.
• Store the final records centrally and update future due dates and reminder contacts.

What to send A Plus when requesting a school testing quote

Send the school suburb, number of campuses or buildings, approximate equipment quantities, required services, current due dates and preferred access windows. Include room lists and previous reports where useful, but remove student or other unnecessary personal information before sharing documents.

A Plus Compliance Services supports education sites across Melbourne and Victoria with clear digital reports, asset registers and reminders. School holiday, pupil-free-day or staged attendance can be discussed with our compliance team; availability and the final scope are confirmed before booking. The estimate calculator emails an indicative estimate, followed by confirmation of a written quote.