AS 5532:2025 & AS/NZS 1891.4:2025: What These Updates Mean for Your NSW Sites
Two of the most important height safety standards in Australia were updated in September 2025.
If your building has anchor points, static lines, or any harness-based height safety equipment — and you haven't had a compliance review since those updates came into effect — there's a real chance your systems no longer meet the standard they were certified to.
That's not a scare tactic. It's the practical consequence of two standards changing simultaneously after more than a decade without major revision.
This post explains what changed, who is affected, and what NSW building owners, facilities managers, and strata bodies need to do now.
What Are These Two Standards and Why Do They Matter?
AS 5532:2025 covers the manufacturing requirements for single-point anchor devices used in harness-based work at height. In plain terms: it defines how roof anchor points must be designed, tested, and marked by manufacturers.
AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 covers the selection, use, and maintenance of personal fall protection equipment — harnesses, lanyards, connectors, anchor points, horizontal lifelines, and rail systems. It's the standard that governs how all of that equipment is chosen and used in the field.
Both were updated in September 2025, superseding versions that had been in place since 2013 and 2009 respectively. Together, they set the benchmark for what "reasonably practicable" height safety looks like under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the WHS Regulation 2017.
Australian Standards are not legislation in themselves — but they are directly referenced in WHS regulations and Codes of Practice. When a fall from height results in injury, whether your systems met the current standard is a primary factor in any SafeWork NSW investigation, prosecution, or insurance assessment.
What Changed in AS 5532:2025
The previous version of AS 5532 — released in 2013 — was the first to require dynamic and static load testing of anchor points. That was a significant improvement on what came before it.
The 2025 update goes further in several important areas.
Substrate-specific testing is now required. The 2013 standard allowed anchor manufacturers to test their products in idealised conditions that didn't always reflect the surfaces those anchors would actually be installed on. The 2025 update requires testing on representative real-world substrates — steel purlins, timber structures, concrete — matching the specific building materials the anchor is designed for.
This has a direct consequence for building owners: anchors installed under the 2013 standard may have been tested in conditions that don't reflect your roof structure. Systems that passed then may not pass now.
Improved coverage for energy-absorbing anchors. The previous standard didn't adequately account for anchors with energy absorption properties built into their design. The 2025 version addresses this directly, providing clearer testing protocols for these systems.
Cleaner manufacturer compliance pathway. The updated standard removes ambiguity about what an anchor must be certified to. Manufacturers are now required to state compliance with AS 5532:2025 specifically — a manufacturer cannot claim compliance with AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 in place of AS 5532:2025. Each standard does a distinct job.
Simplified and standardised marking requirements. Documentation and product marking rules have been streamlined, making it easier to verify that an installed anchor is compliant and traceable.
What Changed in AS/NZS 1891.4:2025
The 1891.4 update is significant for anyone who designs, approves, manages, or uses height safety systems on buildings — which includes building owners and facilities managers, not just safety professionals.
The 60-degree re-anchoring rule. This is the change most likely to affect existing installed systems. The updated standard requires re-anchoring whenever a worker's rope line deviates more than 60 degrees from a straight line projected from the previous two anchors.
Why does this matter? When a worker uses a diversion anchor and deviates significantly from a straight-line path, the physics of a potential fall change. The lateral forces on that anchor during a fall event can exceed the anchor's design load — which means the anchor could fail at the moment it matters most. The 60-degree rule addresses this by requiring workers to create a new primary anchor point at that location rather than relying on a diversion.
The practical implication for buildings: if your existing anchor layout was designed under the old standard without this constraint in mind, the number of anchors, their positions, or the approved work procedures may need to be reassessed.
Secondary backup systems for steeply pitched and slippery roofs. For work on steep or slippery roof surfaces where the worker relies on the fall protection system to maintain their footing — not just to arrest a fall — the 2025 standard now requires that a secondary backup system be available. A single connection point is no longer sufficient in these conditions.
This affects solar installers, roof plumbers, and maintenance crews working on metal or tiled roofs above the 15-degree threshold referenced in the Managing the Risk of Falls Code of Practice. It also affects building owners whose anchor layouts were designed without provision for a secondary connection.
Passive systems must be considered before active systems. The standard now makes explicit what was previously implied: when designing a height safety system, passive fall prevention systems must be assessed and considered before active systems that require the worker to apply a restraint technique. This aligns with the WAHA fall protection hierarchy and the WHS hierarchy of controls, but it is now a specific requirement within the standard — not just best practice.
Clarified inspection and maintenance requirements. Periodic inspection frequencies and criteria have been clarified in the updated standard. For personal protective equipment in the AS/NZS 1891 series, regular checks every six months are now the recognised benchmark. For installed anchor systems, this underlines the importance of a documented, scheduled recertification program.
What This Means for Your Building — Practically
If you own, manage, or are responsible for a NSW building with height safety equipment, here is what the 2025 updates require you to think about.
Systems certified under AS 5532:2013 are not automatically non-compliant — but they may be. The key question is whether the anchor points on your building were tested on substrates that reflect your actual roof structure, and whether the installed layout still satisfies the 60-degree re-anchoring rule under the new 1891.4 standard.
There is no automatic grandfather clause that protects systems installed under the old standard indefinitely. At the next inspection or recertification event, systems will be assessed against current requirements. If gaps are found and not rectified, the liability falls on the PCBU — the building owner, facilities manager, or strata body — not the original installer.
Anchor layouts designed before September 2025 may need review. If your anchor points are positioned in a way that workers routinely deviate more than 60 degrees from a straight-line path between anchors, the layout needs to be reassessed and potentially supplemented with additional anchors or diversion points.
Steeply pitched roofs need a secondary system audit. If your building has roof areas that require workers to rely on their harness system for footing — not just fall arrest — you need to confirm that your installed system allows for a secondary backup connection. Many existing systems do not.
Documentation must be current. Under the updated AS/NZS 1891.4:2025, clearer inspection criteria mean that inspectors are working to a more defined standard. Missing, outdated, or inadequate recertification documentation is an increased risk.
Your Compliance Checklist
Use this as a starting point before your next inspection or recertification:
✅ When were your anchor points last inspected and recertified?
✅ Were they originally installed and certified to AS 5532:2013 or an earlier version?
✅ Does your roof have complex geometry or long traverses that may involve workers deviating more than 60 degrees from anchor-to-anchor paths?
✅ Does your building have steeply pitched or slippery roof areas where workers rely on fall protection for footing?
✅ Do your current safe work procedures reference AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 or are they written to older standards?
✅ Is there a documented recertification schedule in place, and is it being followed?
✅ Have contractors accessing your roof been informed of any changes to the approved work procedures?
If you cannot answer yes to all of these, a professional height safety audit is the fastest way to understand your current compliance position.
The Legal Position for NSW PCBUs
Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking has a primary duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers at the workplace. That duty extends to the safety of the access environment — which includes the condition and compliance status of installed height safety systems.
"Reasonably practicable" in NSW WHS law is assessed against what a person in the PCBU's position ought to have known and done. With two major standards updated in September 2025, and publicly available guidance on the changes from WAHA and Standards Australia, building owners who have not reviewed their systems since those updates are operating with growing exposure.
SafeWork NSW regularly conducts compliance blitzes. When incidents occur, investigators examine the full documentation trail. Adequate and current certification records — against the current standard — are your primary evidence of due diligence.
How Anchorman Can Help
Anchorman Height Safety & Rope Access is a nationally accredited height safety installer and certifier, and Kattsafe Certified Installer. We work with building owners, facilities managers, strata bodies, and operations teams across NSW and ACT.
In response to the 2025 standards updates, we are currently conducting compliance gap assessments for existing clients and new enquiries — reviewing installed systems against AS 5532:2025 and AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 to identify any gaps and provide a clear, prioritised remediation report.
If your building has anchor points or static line systems that haven't been reviewed since September 2025, the right time to act is before your next scheduled access event — not after.
📞 Call us: (02) 9136 2406 📧 Email: [email protected]