AS 1735 Editions and Who Can Work on a Lift
By Sujit Katariya, ElevatorPlus · Published 3 September 2026 · Last updated 3 September 2026 · ~7 min read · Compliance reviewed by Mr. Sumeet Katariya
In short: This is a document control article, not a registration one. Which part of AS 1735 is current, which edition, what the National Construction Code actually calls up, and who is licensed to put a spanner on a lift. If your templates still cite AS 1735.1, they cite a designation no current standard answers to.
Key takeaways
- AS 1735.1:2016 is superseded. AS 1735.1.1:2022, the eighth edition of 19 August 2022, replaced it on 18 June 2024, and the number changed.
- Most of AS 1735 is not law. In NCC 2022 Part E3 the only part referenced is AS 1735.12, for accessibility. The rest binds through your contract.
- AS 1735.4:2020 is the service lift standard, 300 kg or less, not intended to move persons. It sets no passenger lift interval. That comes from WHS regulation 213.
- NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026 and adoption is staggered, not national.
- There is no lift mechanic licence in Australia. ANZSCO 341113 is a classification, not a licence. What you need is electrical plus high risk work.
What this guide covers: which article this is · part numbering and editions · what the NCC calls up · NCC 2025 corrected · what sets your service interval · who is licensed to touch a lift · what we could not verify · FAQs
Which of these two articles do you need?
If your question is "does my state register this lift, and when does it expire", you want Australia lift compliance 2026, built state by state. This one asks something else: which version of which document are you citing, and is the person with the spanner licensed to be there?
Which part of AS 1735 is current, and which edition?
Start with the change most likely sitting unfixed in your templates.
AS 1735.1:2016, published 30 June 2016, is superseded. The replacement is AS 1735.1.1:2022, Lifts, escalators and moving walks, Part 1.1: General requirements, published 19 August 2022 as the eighth edition. Supersession took effect on 18 June 2024.
The renumbering is what catches people. General requirements moved from 1735.1 to 1735.1.1. A tender citing "AS 1735.1" flat in 2026 is not citing an old edition. It is citing a designation no current document answers to, which is harder to defend in front of a certifier.
| Designation | What it covers | Status we verified |
|---|---|---|
| AS 1735.1:2016 | General requirements, seventh edition | Superseded 18 June 2024. Do not cite. |
| AS 1735.1.1:2022 | General requirements, eighth edition, 19 August 2022 | Current. Cite this. |
| AS 1735.2:2001 | Passenger and goods lifts, electric, sixth edition | Most recent edition, flagged obsolescent. Cite with the year. |
| AS 1735.4:2020 | Service lifts, 300 kg or less, not for persons | Current. Adopts EN 81-3:2000+A1:2008. |
| AS 1735.12:2020 | Facilities for persons with disabilities | Current, and the only part the NCC calls up. |
For any other part, check the store record before you cite it, because we do not publish a status we have not read. Getting one wrong in front of a client is worse than saying nothing. Cite the part number with the year. "AS 1735" alone is not a reference, it is a gesture.
Does the National Construction Code make AS 1735 mandatory?
Almost none of it, and this is where compliance packs overstate their position.
NCC 2022 Volume One deals with lifts at Part E3. The only part of AS 1735 referenced anywhere in Part E3 is AS 1735.12, at clauses E3D7 and E3D8, for accessibility: control buttons, handrails, door openings and lighting. AS 1735.1 and AS 1735.2 do not appear there. If you have told a client the NCC mandates AS 1735, you overstated it by about eleven parts.
Elsewhere the series binds through your contract, a registration condition, or not at all. That is no licence to ignore it, since a specification you signed is enforceable whether a regulation repeats it or not. It does mean you should stop calling contractual obligations legal.
What is the correct position on NCC 2025?
Worth stating precisely, because the repeated version is wrong.
NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026. Adoption is a matter for each state and territory, and it is staggered. Victoria, Western Australia, and the ACT adopted it on 1 May 2026. South Australia split its adoption, Volume Three in 2026 and Volumes One and Two in 2027. New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania adopt on 1 May 2027. The Northern Territory has not adopted it.
For document control that has one consequence. Your job file needs the code edition recorded against the building approval date, not today. Two identical designs certified the same month, one in Melbourne and one in Sydney, sit under different editions until May 2027.
We could not verify whether NCC 2025 Part E3 changes its AS 1735 references, because the Australian Building Codes Board site blocks automated retrieval. Confirm your jurisdiction against the ABCB table before relying on a date.
So what sets your maintenance interval?
Not AS 1735.4, whatever you have been told.
AS 1735.4:2020, Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts, Electric and hydraulic service lifts, identically adopts EN 81-3:2000+A1:2008. Its scope is service lifts of rated load not exceeding 300 kilograms, expressly not intended to move persons. It governs dumbwaiters, and sets no passenger lift interval, because passengers are outside its scope.
The interval comes from WHS regulation 213, maintenance and inspection of plant, numbered the same across the model and state instruments. The person with management or control of plant must ensure maintenance, inspection and, if necessary, testing by a competent person, at the manufacturer's recommended intervals if any; failing that, at a competent person's; and for inspection only, annually, if neither is reasonably practicable.
That order makes the manufacturer's manual the legal reference point for your service frequency, not the standard. "We service quarterly, as required" is not a compliance claim. If the manufacturer specifies six weeks on a high traffic unit, quarterly puts you outside regulation 213 however neat the schedule.
👉 The manufacturer's interval, per unit, with the standard edition and the evidence attached to the job. Book an ElevatorPlus demo →
Who is actually licensed to work on a lift?
Nobody holds one, because no jurisdiction issues one.
We could find no state or territory issuing a dedicated lift mechanic or lift maintenance contractor licence. ANZSCO 341113, Lift Mechanic, is an occupational classification used for labour statistics and skilled migration, assessed by Trades Recognition Australia at skill level three. Migration listings do note registration or licensing is required, which points at the state licences below rather than a lift licence. If a competitor implies one exists, ask which regulator issues it.
Three groups, then.
Electrical licensing, state by state. Lift mechanics train through the electrical stream, and the licence is issued by the state: NSW Fair Trading, Energy Safe Victoria, the Queensland Electrical Safety Office and their counterparts. Cross border mobility runs through the East Coast Electricians Scheme, covering NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT, and Automatic Mutual Recognition more broadly.
High risk work licences. Queensland is the only large jurisdiction publishing lift specific guidance, and it maps the work onto licence classes plainly.
| Licence class | Lift or escalator work it is mapped to |
|---|---|
| Dogging | Slinging for guide rails, rope installation, car and counterweight placement |
| Basic rigging | Lift motor placement using lifting gear, escalator installation with a single winch |
| Intermediate rigging | Escalators lifted by multiple cranes, the rigger directing the crane operators |
| Advanced rigging | Suspended scaffolds, including a false car on a temporary hoist |
| Basic and intermediate scaffolding | Modular or tube and coupler scaffold above four metres |
| Personnel and materials hoist | A false car installed as a cantilever or tower hoist |
Plant registration duties. These sit legally with the owner or PCBU, not your technician, though in practice you fill in the forms. State by state registration is the companion article's ground.
What could we not verify?
Three things, said plainly. No lift mechanic licence in any jurisdiction, from a primary source. Whether NCC 2025 Part E3 changed its AS 1735 references, because the ABCB site blocks retrieval. And the status of every AS 1735 part, which is why the table above stops where our reading stopped. Where this article says we could not verify something, that is literal. Settle it with the regulator, not a blog.
Frequently asked questions
Is AS 1735.1:2016 still current?
No. AS 1735.1.1:2022 superseded it on 18 June 2024, and the part number changed.
Why did the part number change?
It was renumbered with the eighth edition of 19 August 2022. Same role, new designation.
Does AS 1735.4 set my maintenance interval?
No. It covers service lifts of 300 kg or less not intended to move persons. Your interval comes from regulation 213 and the manufacturer.
Is NCC 2025 in force where I work?
Published 1 May 2026. Victoria, Western Australia and the ACT adopted then. NSW, Queensland and Tasmania adopt 1 May 2027, South Australia split its volumes, the NT has not adopted.
Do I need a lift mechanic licence?
No such licence was found in any jurisdiction. You need the state electrical licence plus high risk work licences matching the dogging, rigging and scaffolding parts of the job.
Is ANZSCO 341113 a licence?
No. It is a classification used for statistics and skilled migration, and it confers no right to work on a lift.
Can my Victorian electrician work in Queensland?
Check before the job. The East Coast Electricians Scheme covers NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT, and Automatic Mutual Recognition applies more broadly, but some jurisdictions want notification first.
The bottom line
Australian lift compliance punishes copy and paste, and document control is where the copying shows. Cite the part number with the year. Stop citing AS 1735.1. Stop calling the series law when the NCC calls up one part. Record the NCC edition against the building approval date, because until May 2027 the answer differs by state.
Then answer the competency half honestly. There is no lift licence. There is an electrical licence, high risk work tickets, and a competent person test you must evidence.
Related reading
- Australia lift compliance 2026: state by state registration
- LOLER and passenger lifts in the UK
- Elevator inspector certification, US
- Lift maintenance checklist 2026
About the author · Sujit Katariya is part of the ElevatorPlus team, which builds the Elevator Business Operating System used by 200+ elevator companies across 20+ countries. Compliance reviewed by Mr. Sumeet Katariya.
Sources: AS 1735.1:2016 supersession · AS 1735.4:2020 scope · AS 1735.2:2001 record · NCC 2022 Part E3 · NCC 2025 adoption · NSW, NCC May 2027 · WHS regulation 213 · Queensland HRWL, lifts and escalators · ANZSCO 341113 Lift Mechanic · East Coast Electricians Scheme
