Test schedule for a switchboard
Print a board test sheet with the limit for each test.
Reads Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, AS/NZS 3000:2018 and AS/NZS 3017:2022. Tables checked 1 Oct 2026.
Try a job 4
Each job fills in example values. Replace them with your values.
- Print the test sheet for a house boardSix circuits with their tests in order and the pass limits.
- Test a workshop board with three-phase socketsAdds the phase sequence test to the three-phase socket circuit.
- Make an Australian test sheetA house board where each RCD must operate, with no trip time.
- Mark a circuit for the reduced test voltageA data rack circuit tested at the lower insulation voltage.
Inputs
Worked example with the default inputs. The live calculator replaces it when the page loads.
- Country
- New Zealand
- Board name
- Not stated
- Final subcircuits
- 6 rows
Circuits on the sheet
6
- Tests in the sequence
- 7
- Main earth and bonding, at most
- 0.5Ω
- Circuits with no Table 8.1 row
- 0
- Order of tests
- De-energized, earth continuity, insulation, polarity, phase sequence, Zs, RCD
This result is a design aid. Verify it against the current standard.
Calculation steps
- Test 1Test for de-energized
AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.3
- Test 2Earth continuity
AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.4
- Test 3Insulation resistance
AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.5
- Test 4Polarity and correct circuit connections
AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.6
- Test 4Phase sequence of multi-phase socket-outlets
AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.7
- Test 5Earth fault-loop impedance
AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.8
- Test 6RCD operation
AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.9
- Test 7Repeat a failed test and the tests before it that it may have upset
AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.2.2
- Circuit 1 insulation resistance, at least1MΩ
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.6
- Circuit 1 earth continuity Re, at most1Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 1 earth fault-loop impedance, at most3.1Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.1
- Circuit 1 Rphe, at most2Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 1 RCD trip time at 30 mA, at most300ms
Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 reg 24
- Circuit 2 insulation resistance, at least1MΩ
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.6
- Circuit 2 earth continuity Re, at most0.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 2 earth fault-loop impedance, at most1.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.1
- Circuit 2 Rphe, at most1Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 2 RCD trip time at 30 mA, at most300ms
Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 reg 24
- Circuit 3 insulation resistance, at least1MΩ
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.6
- Circuit 3 earth continuity Re, at most0.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 3 earth fault-loop impedance, at most1.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.1
- Circuit 3 Rphe, at most1Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 3 RCD trip time at 30 mA, at most300ms
Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 reg 24
- Circuit 4 insulation resistance, at least1MΩ
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.6
- Circuit 4 earth continuity Re, at most0.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 4 earth fault-loop impedance, at most1.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.1
- Circuit 4 Rphe, at most1Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 4 RCD trip time at 30 mA, at most300ms
Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 reg 24
- Circuit 5 insulation resistance, at least1MΩ
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.6
- Circuit 5 earth continuity Re, at most0.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.5
- Circuit 5 earth fault-loop impedance, at most1Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.1
- Circuit 6 insulation resistance, at least1MΩ
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.6
- Circuit 6 earth continuity Re, at most0.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Circuit 6 earth fault-loop impedance, at most1.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.1
- Circuit 6 Rphe, at most1Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 8.2
- Main earth and bonding, at most0.5Ω
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.5
About this calculator
How this is calculated
You list the final subcircuits of one board: what each supplies, its protective device and rating, its active conductor, single or three phase, and its RCD. The tool turns the list into the sheet you test from.
The tests follow the preferred order of the verification standard's sequence figure. First prove the circuit de-energized. Then test earth continuity, insulation resistance, and polarity with the correct connection of each circuit. A circuit with three-phase socket-outlets also takes the phase sequence test, so every outlet of a type turns a motor the same way. Then the earth fault-loop impedance, and last the operation of each RCD. If a test fails, fix the fault and repeat that test and any earlier one it may have upset.
Each circuit carries the limits its readings are judged against. They come from the wiring rules, through the same code the test results tool uses: the insulation resistance and its test voltage, the earth continuity Re and the Rphe from the subcircuit resistance table, and the earth fault-loop impedance from the loop impedance table, at a 0.4 s disconnection time. Where the resistance table has no row, Re falls back to the main earth figure, and the tool says so.
An RCD must operate at about its rated residual current and disconnect the circuit. In New Zealand the sheet also holds it to the regulations' trip time at that current. In Australia the sheet states no time, since the verification standard prints none.
| Step | Table or clause | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Order of tests | AS/NZS 3017 Figure 4.1 | The sequence on the sheet |
| Repeat after a fix | AS/NZS 3017 Cl 4.2.2 | Which tests to run again |
| Insulation resistance | Cl 8.3.6 | The least resistance and the test voltage |
| Earth continuity and Rphe | Table 8.2 | The most each conductor may read |
| Earth fault-loop impedance | Table 8.1 | The most Zs may read |
| Phase sequence | AS/NZS 3017 Cl 4.7 | Which circuits take it |
| RCD | AS/NZS 3017 Cl 4.9.4 and reg 24 | What the RCD must do, and the NZ trip time |
Worked examples
- A New Zealand house board. The sheet holds 6 circuits. The 10 A lighting circuit reads Zs at most 3.1 Ω, and each 30 mA RCD trips within 300 ms.
- An Australian house board. The same 6 circuits, and each RCD must operate at about 30 mA; the sheet states no trip time.
- A workshop board. The sheet holds 4 circuits. The three-phase socket circuit takes the phase sequence test, and the D20 compressor reads Zs at most 0.9 Ω.
Limits
The sheet sets out the tests and the limits; it does not judge a reading. Put a reading into the test results tool to check it, or use it for a fuse circuit at a 5 s disconnection time. The sheet covers final subcircuits: test the main earthing conductor and the bonding against their own limit, shown on the sheet. It does not replace the visual inspection the standard asks for first.
See also: The order of verification tests, A test sheet for a house board and Test Results.
Questions
Each answer describes what this tool calculates. The result is a design aid. Verify against the current standard.
What order should I test a new installation in?
AS/NZS 3017 Figure 4.1 sets a preferred order: prove it de-energized, then earth continuity, insulation resistance, polarity and connections, earth fault-loop impedance and last the RCDs. A fault found later can upset an earlier test, so repeat those after the fix.
Where do the pass limits come from?
From AS/NZS 3000: insulation resistance by Cl 8.3.6, the earth continuity Re and Rphe by Table 8.2, and the earth fault-loop impedance by Table 8.1. They are the same limits the test results tool checks a reading against.
What trip time does an RCD need?
In New Zealand the sheet holds a 30 mA RCD to the Electricity (Safety) Regulations limit at its rated residual current. AS/NZS 3017 asks that each RCD operates at about its rated current and disconnects the circuit, and prints no time, so an Australian sheet states none.
Which circuits need the phase sequence test?
A circuit with multi-phase socket-outlets, so that every outlet of the same type has the same phase sequence (AS/NZS 3017 Cl 4.7). Tick the three-phase socket-outlets box on that circuit.
Can I print the sheet?
Yes. The PDF prints each circuit with its limits and empty boxes for the insulation, Re, Zs, polarity and RCD readings, to fill in on site.
Clauses and tables this tool reads
- AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.5Earth continuity test
- AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 8.3.6Insulation resistance test
- AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.2.2Order of tests
- AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.3Test for de-energized
- AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.4Earth continuity test method
- AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.5Insulation resistance test method
- AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.6Polarity and circuit connections test method
- AS/NZS 3017:2022 Cl 4.7Phase sequence test method
Every clause and table, with how each was verified
Tables last checked on 1 Oct 2026.
Related tools
- Switchboard circuit chartMake a board circuit chart and the labels it needs.AS/NZS 3000
- Test results checkerCheck measured test results against Section 8 limits.AS/NZS 3000AS/NZS 3017Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010
- Earth fault loop impedance calculatorCheck earth fault loop impedance against the maximum Zs.AS/NZS 3008.1.2AS/NZS 3008.1.1AS/NZS 3000
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