If your inspection checklists, certificates, or proposals still cite AS/NZS 1891.4:2009, they reference a superseded document. AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 was approved in September 2025 and published in November 2025, ending a sixteen-year run for the 2009 edition — and it changes inspection intervals, anchor proof-testing rules, and even the name of the series.
The retitle: fall-arrest becomes "work at height"
The series has moved on from Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices. The new edition is titled AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 Personal equipment for work at height, Part 4: Selection, use and maintenance — a deliberate widening from arresting falls to the full scope of equipment used to work at height: harnesses, lanyards, pole straps, connectors, anchors, fall-arrest devices, horizontal lifelines, and rail systems.
The document has also been restructured to remove duplication and to align with the standards published or revised since 2009: AS/NZS 1891.1 and 1891.2, AS 1891.3 and 1891.5, AS 5532 (anchor devices, itself revised in 2025), and AS/NZS ISO 22846 for rope access.
What changed at a glance
| Area | Under 2009 | Under 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Series title | Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices | Personal equipment for work at height |
| Installed fall-arrest devices | Manufacturer could allow up to 5 years between inspections | Annual inspection; 5-year allowance removed |
| Harnesses, lanyards, removable PPE | Six-monthly inspection | Six-monthly inspection retained |
| Multi-fastener anchors | Annual proof load to at least half design performance load | No annual proof test if documentation conditions are met |
| Training | Less explicit | New clause and appendix on training requirements |
Inspection regimes: the five-year carve-out is gone
The change with the most operational bite for inspection businesses: installed fall-arrest devices must now be inspected annually, and the previous provision that let a manufacturer specify up to five years between inspections has been removed. There is no longer any product category that escapes the annual cycle on the strength of its instruction manual.
For PPE and other removable items — harnesses, lanyards, connectors — the regime stays at six-monthly formal inspections, on top of the user's own pre-use check. The familiar six-monthly inspection by a competent height safety equipment inspector that has anchored Australian recertification rounds since 2009 carries straight through, so your existing six-monthly service contracts don't change frequency — but the checklist behind them should now cite the 2025 edition.
Anchor proof testing: less brute force, more paperwork
Under the old regime, chemically or mechanically fixed anchors were annually proof tested to at least half their designed performance load. The 2025 edition drops the annual proof load for anchors with multiple fasteners — but only where the documentation exists to justify it:
- installation in accordance with the manufacturer's guidelines;
- structural adequacy calculations for the substrate;
- valid manufacturer specifications and warranty; and
- certification that the anchor was proof loaded at installation and has been maintained since.
This is a genuine shift in what a recertification visit looks like. The test rig comes out less often; the document review matters more. If the installation records don't exist, the practical position is that the exemption doesn't apply — which makes capturing and storing installation certification a billable, durable part of the service.
Technical changes your inspectors will notice in the field
- Hierarchy of fall protection systems. The standard sets a preferred order of system types, with total restraint at the top and free fall at the bottom — useful ammunition when recommending system upgrades.
- Re-anchoring at 60 degrees. Where a user's line diverges more than 60 degrees from an anchor, the user must re-anchor to create a new primary anchorage rather than continue on the swung line.
- Functional length. Fall clearance calculations may use the functional length of the connection between harness and anchor rather than the maximum length of an adjustable lanyard or line — tightening clearance maths without changing hardware.
- Expanded guidance on fall clearance calculations, anchors, fasteners, and work positioning systems, plus new guidance for leading-edge and tie-back lanyards.
- Training gets its own clause and appendix — worth reading before your next competency-matrix review.
What inspection businesses should update now
- Checklists and report templates — replace every "AS/NZS 1891.4:2009" citation, and update the series title where it appears on certificates.
- Intervals in your scheduling system — any installed system sitting on a manufacturer-approved interval longer than 12 months needs to be re-baselined to annual.
- Anchor recert procedures — build the four-document check into the workflow so the proof-test exemption is applied (or refused) consistently and defensibly.
- Customer communications — existing systems installed to the 2009 edition remain safe to use, with upgrade to the new standard suggested rather than forced; manufacturers typically take 12–24 months to transition product. That's a consultative conversation, not a panic letter — and the businesses that have it first usually win the upgrade work.
Our free height safety register is a useful starting point for getting harness, lanyard, and anchor fleets into a structure that supports the new intervals.
Where Core fits
A standards revision is mostly a data problem: thousands of assets whose inspection intervals, checklist versions, and certificate citations all need to change at once, per customer, without anything slipping through. Core stores intervals and checklist templates centrally, so re-baselining installed systems to annual is an update, not a migration — and every report generated from that point cites the current edition. Book a demo to see how a 2009-to-2025 transition looks in practice.
Sources
- Standards Australia — Spotlight on AS/NZS 1891.4:2025
- Standards Australia Store — AS/NZS 1891.4:2025
- Height Safety Engineers — AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 in detail
- Height Safety Engineers — What do the 2025 fall protection standards mean for you?
- Working at Heights Association — Standards update: AS/NZS 1891.4 and AS 5532
Frequently asked questions
Has AS/NZS 1891.4:2009 been replaced?
Yes. AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 was approved in September 2025 and published in November 2025, superseding AS/NZS 1891.4:2009. It also carries a new series title: Personal equipment for work at height, replacing Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices.
How often must harnesses be inspected in Australia?
Two regimes apply: the user inspects their own equipment before each use, and a competent inspector carries out a formal recorded inspection at six-monthly intervals. The 2025 edition keeps six-monthly inspections for harnesses, lanyards, and other removable PPE items.
Can installed fall-arrest systems still go up to five years between inspections?
No. The 2025 edition requires annual inspections for installed fall-arrest devices and removes the previous allowance for a manufacturer to permit up to five years between inspections.
Do all anchors still need annual proof testing?
Not all. Under the 2025 edition, chemically or mechanically fixed anchors with multiple fasteners no longer require an annual proof load, provided the documentation stack is in place: installation to manufacturer guidelines, structural adequacy calculations, valid manufacturer specifications and warranty, and certification that the anchor was proof loaded at installation and subsequently maintained.
Do my customers need to rip out systems installed under the 2009 edition?
No. Industry guidance is that existing compliant systems remain safe to use, with upgrading to the new standard suggested rather than mandated. Manufacturers typically take 12 months to two years to transition product lines to a new standard.