The Code of Practice on Electrical Safety for Work on or Near High Voltage Electrical Apparatus

The Blue Book is maintained by the Electrical Safety Committee (ESC), established under Section 8 of the Energy Safe Victoria Act 2005.

Owners and operators of the electricity supply network, high voltage electrical installations and complex electrical installations are required to comply with the Blue Book.

The objective of the ESC is to review and further develop the Blue Book to facilitate the electrical safety of electrical generation, transmission and distribution systems and high voltage electrical installations.

The 2012 Blue Book was revised and republished in 2017.

The Blue Book 2017

The 2017 Blue Book has been revised by the Electrical Safety Committee established under section 8 of the Energy Safe Victoria Act 2005.

The latest edition of the Blue Book 2017 is now available.

To download your copy, click here.

UPDATE: Please note, the latest edition of the Blue Book 2017 has been updated as at Sunday, 1 July 2018. If you have downloaded a copy prior to this date – please discard it and refer to the latest version. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The Code of Practice on Electrical Safety for Work On or Near High Voltage Electrical Apparatus, (The Blue Book) is revised and republished every five years to ensure the safety standards for work on or near high voltage electrical apparatus are fit for purpose, reflect industry best practice and are improved where possible.

The first draft was released in June 2017, open to public comment. Since its last publishing, the 2017 edition has made 18 amendments, excluding typographical and formatting errors.

To download the summary of the Blue Book changes, click here.

Ongoing changes

As part of the ongoing review, ESV is seeking comments and suggested improvements on the 2017 edition of the Blue Book.

To find the ‘Comments on the Blue Book’ form, click here.

The Code of Practice on Electrical Safety for Work on or Near High Voltage Electrical Apparatus was superseded by The Blue Book 2017 on 17 October 2017. All industry workers must now comply with the requirements of The Blue Book 2017.