Plant and Equipment
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Plant and equipment means the machinery, vehicles, tools, appliances and fixed installations used to run work, from hand tools and generators to excavators and cranes. It is usually recorded in an asset register and managed through inspections, maintenance and lifecycle records.
Buying for an Australian operation? Our guide compares plant and equipment management software in Australia, from offline pre-starts to servicing on run hours.
The plain meaning of plant and equipment is the physical assets a business uses to carry out work: machinery, vehicles, tools, appliances, containers, implements and fixed installations. In Australian WHS language, plant includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement or tool, plus related components and fittings. In accounting, plant and equipment is usually treated as property, plant and equipment (PPE), a non-current capital asset rather than consumable inventory.
| Term | Plain meaning | Common examples |
|---|---|---|
| Plant | Machinery or fixed items used to carry out work, often with WHS inspection duties. | Excavators, cranes, forklifts, conveyors, pumps and generators. |
| Equipment | The broader group of tools, devices and supporting assets used by workers or crews. | Power tools, test instruments, compressors, trailers and workshop equipment. |
| Plant and equipment | The combined asset class covering operational machinery, tools, vehicles and installations. | A complete register of mobile plant, fixed plant, vehicles, tools and hired equipment. |
Use consistent terms in asset registers so finance, operations and safety teams can reconcile the same assets.
What counts as plant under WHS law
Section 4 of the model WHS Act defines plant broadly: it includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement and tool, any component of any of those things, and anything fitted or connected to any of those things.
The plant duties in Part 5.1 of the model WHS Regulations apply to all plant, with one carve-out in regulation 185: they do not apply to plant that relies exclusively on manual power and is designed to be primarily supported by hand. Explosive power tools designed to be supported by hand are brought back in. So a manual hand drill is plant, but the Part 5.1 duties do not attach to it.
Victoria is not a model WHS state; its duties sit under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. This page is general information, not legal advice: confirm the detail with your state or territory regulator.
Sources: Safe Work Australia: model Work Health and Safety Bill (5 December 2025), section 4 · Safe Work Australia: model WHS Regulations (5 December 2025)
Maintenance, inspection and records
A person with management or control of plant at a workplace must manage the risks associated with it in accordance with Part 3.1 (regulation 203), and must ensure that its maintenance, inspection and, if necessary, testing is carried out by a competent person (regulation 213).
Regulation 213 also sets the standard to work to: the manufacturer's recommendations, if there are any; if there are none, the recommendations of a competent person; and for inspection, if neither can reasonably be followed, annually.
For plant that must be registered under Part 5.3, regulation 237 goes further. The person with management or control must keep a record of all tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, decommissioning, dismantling and alterations of the plant, for as long as the plant is used or until they relinquish control of it. The record must be available for inspection, and must be passed on to whoever takes control of the plant next.
In practice this is a register problem: which item is which, who controls it, what the manufacturer's schedule says, when it was last inspected and by whom, and where that history goes when the plant is sold or moved on.
Sources: Safe Work Australia: model WHS Regulations (5 December 2025)
Plant that must be registered
Schedule 5 of the model WHS Regulations lists two kinds of registration. Design registration (Part 1) applies to the plant's design; item registration (Part 2) applies to each individual item. Some plant needs both.
| Plant | Design registration (Part 1) | Item registration (Part 2) |
|---|---|---|
| Boilers, hazard level A, B or C (AS 4343) | Yes (1.1) | Yes (3.1) |
| Pressure vessels, hazard level A, B or C, other than gas cylinders, automotive LP Gas fuel vessels and serially produced vessels | Yes (1.1) | Yes (3.2) |
| Other pressure equipment at hazard level A to D, excluding pressure piping | Yes (1.1) | No |
| Gas cylinders (AS 2030.1) | Yes (1.2) | No |
| Tower cranes, including self-erecting tower cranes | Yes (1.3) | Yes (3.3) |
| Lifts, escalators and moving walkways | Yes (1.4) | Yes (3.4) |
| Building maintenance units | Yes (1.5) | Yes (3.5) |
| Hoists with a platform movement over 2.4 metres, designed to lift people | Yes (1.6) | No |
| Work boxes designed to be suspended from cranes | Yes (1.7) | No |
| Amusement devices (AS 3533.1), with listed exclusions | Yes (1.8) | Yes (3.6) |
| Passenger ropeways | Yes (1.8A) | No |
| Concrete placing booms | Yes (1.9) | Yes (3.7) |
| Prefabricated scaffolding | Yes (1.10) | No |
| Boom-type elevating work platforms | Yes (1.11) | No |
| Gantry cranes over 5 tonnes or bridge cranes over 10 tonnes safe working load, or any designed to handle molten metal or Schedule 11 hazardous chemicals | Yes (1.12) | No |
| Vehicle hoists | Yes (1.13) | No |
| Mast climbing work platforms | Yes (1.14) | No |
| Mobile cranes with a rated capacity over 10 tonnes | Yes (1.15) | Yes (3.8) |
Registrable plant under Schedule 5 of the model WHS Regulations (5 December 2025)
Neither list covers a manually powered crane or hoist, a reach stacker, or pressure equipment outside the scope of AS/NZS 1200:2015. Design registration also excludes a heritage boiler, a scissor lift or vertically moving platform, and a tow truck. Everything on either list falls under the regulation 237 record-keeping duty above.
Sources: Safe Work Australia: model WHS Regulations (5 December 2025)
Plant that needs a licensed operator
Operating some plant also needs a high risk work licence under Schedule 3, including cranes and hoists, forklifts, reach stackers, boilers and boom-type elevating work platforms with a boom of 11 metres or more. The high risk work licence entry in this glossary lists all 29 classes.
Sources: Safe Work Australia: model WHS Regulations (5 December 2025)
Key facts you can cite
Under section 4 of the model WHS Act, plant includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement and tool, any component of them, and anything fitted or connected to them.
Source: Safe Work Australia, model Work Health and Safety Bill, checked 21 September 2026
Regulation 213 of the model WHS Regulations requires maintenance, inspection and, if necessary, testing of plant by a competent person, following the manufacturer's recommendations where there are any.
Source: Safe Work Australia, model WHS Regulations, checked 21 September 2026
If neither the manufacturer's nor a competent person's recommendations can reasonably be followed, regulation 213 requires plant to be inspected annually.
Source: Safe Work Australia, model WHS Regulations, checked 21 September 2026
For registrable plant, regulation 237 requires a record of all tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, decommissioning, dismantling and alterations, kept for as long as the plant is used.
Source: Safe Work Australia, model WHS Regulations, checked 21 September 2026
Mobile cranes with a rated capacity over 10 tonnes need both design registration and item registration under Schedule 5 of the model WHS Regulations.
Source: Safe Work Australia, model WHS Regulations, checked 21 September 2026
Reuse these lines with attribution: cite the named primary source, and link this page if the summary helped.
Why it matters
Examples of plant and equipment include excavators, loaders, cranes, forklifts, compressors, generators, trailers, pumps, test instruments, workshop tools, safety equipment, conveyors, tanks and fixed installations. Because these assets are expensive and safety-critical, teams need reliable records for location, custody, pre-start inspections, scheduled maintenance, faults, service history, depreciation and disposal. Weak plant and equipment management leads to missed inspections, excess hire, downtime and poor evidence during WHS or insurance reviews.
How MapTrack helps
MapTrack gives every item of plant and equipment a live asset record with QR, barcode or GPS tracking, pre-start checklists, inspection history, maintenance schedules, custody changes and lifecycle costs in one platform.
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Frequently asked questions
What is plant and equipment?
Plant and equipment is the collective name for the physical assets a business uses to perform work, including machinery, vehicles, tools, appliances and fixed installations. In operations it usually means the assets that need tracking, inspections, maintenance and service history. In finance it is commonly recorded as property, plant and equipment, a non-current asset category.
What are examples of plant and equipment?
Common examples include excavators, loaders, cranes, forklifts, trailers, generators, compressors, pumps, conveyors, tanks, workshop machines, power tools, test instruments and fixed production equipment. The exact list depends on the industry, but the term generally covers both heavy plant and smaller equipment that is valuable, safety-critical or operationally important.
What is the difference between plant, machinery and equipment?
Plant usually refers to machinery or fixed operational assets used to do work. Machinery is a narrower term for powered mechanical assets such as engines, presses, pumps or excavators. Equipment is broader and can include tools, instruments, appliances, trailers and supporting items. Many businesses use plant and equipment as the umbrella term for the full asset register.
Is plant and equipment a current asset?
Plant and equipment is usually a non-current asset because it is bought or leased for long-term use in the business rather than for resale or quick conversion to cash. Accounting teams commonly track it under property, plant and equipment (PPE), with purchase value, depreciation, useful life and disposal details recorded over the asset lifecycle.
How should plant and equipment be managed?
A strong plant and equipment process starts with a complete asset register, unique IDs or QR labels, assigned custody, location tracking, inspection schedules, maintenance plans and service history. Higher-risk plant should also have pre-start checklists, competency records, fault workflows and evidence that inspection and maintenance obligations have been met.
What is the legal definition of ‘plant’ in Australia?
Under section 4 of the model WHS Act, plant includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement and tool, any component of those things, and anything fitted or connected to them. The plant duties in Part 5.1 of the model WHS Regulations apply to all plant except plant that relies exclusively on manual power and is designed to be primarily supported by hand, so a manual hand drill is outside them while an explosive power tool is not (regulation 185). Only the plant listed in Schedule 5 has to be registered.
What are the WHS obligations for managing plant and equipment?
A person with management or control of plant must manage its risks under Part 3.1 of the model WHS Regulations (regulation 203) and ensure its maintenance, inspection and, if necessary, testing is done by a competent person: to the manufacturer's recommendations, or a competent person's where there are none, or for inspection annually if neither can reasonably be followed (regulation 213). For plant that must be registered under Schedule 5, regulation 237 also requires a record of all tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, decommissioning, dismantling and alterations, kept for as long as the plant is used. Some plant also needs a licensed operator under Schedule 3.
Related terms
Asset Lifecycle Management
Asset lifecycle management (ALM) is the practice of managing a physical asset through every stage of its life, from planning and acquisition through operation, maintenance, and eventual disposal or replacement. It integrates financial, operational, and technical data to optimise decisions at each stage. The goal is to maximise the value an asset delivers over its entire useful life while minimising total cost of ownership.
Pre-Start Inspection
A pre-start inspection is a systematic check performed on plant, equipment, or vehicles before each use or shift to identify defects, damage, or unsafe conditions. It typically follows a standardised checklist covering safety-critical items such as brakes, steering, lights, tyres, guards, fluid levels, and warning devices. In Australia the legal duty behind it is the requirement to inspect plant in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, so where an operator's manual specifies a check before each shift, that check is how the duty is met.
Fleet Management
Fleet management is the administration of an organisation’s vehicles and mobile plant, including acquisition, maintenance, fuel management, driver compliance, GPS tracking, and disposal. It covers light vehicles, heavy vehicles, trailers, mobile plant, and any other registered or unregistered mobile assets. Modern fleet management relies on telematics, GPS tracking, and software platforms to optimise operations and reduce costs.
Asset Register
An asset register is a comprehensive database or record of all physical assets owned, leased, or managed by an organisation. Each entry typically includes the asset’s unique identifier, description, category, serial number, purchase date, cost, location, assigned custodian, warranty details, and current condition. The asset register serves as the single source of truth for what the organisation owns and where it is.
Compliance Management
Compliance management in asset-intensive industries is the systematic process of ensuring that equipment, operations, and personnel meet all applicable regulatory, safety, environmental, and contractual requirements. It encompasses tracking inspection due dates, certifications, licences, safety checks, environmental obligations, and industry-specific standards. Compliance management requires both proactive scheduling and thorough record-keeping.
Asset Hierarchy
An asset hierarchy is a structured, multi-level classification that organises physical assets in a parent-child relationship reflecting their functional or physical relationships. A typical hierarchy might flow from site to building to system to equipment to component. It provides context for each asset’s role within the broader operation and enables structured analysis of maintenance data, costs, and performance at any level of the hierarchy.
Cite this definition
Writing about this topic? You’re welcome to quote this definition. Here’s the wording to use so your readers can find the original.
The plain meaning of plant and equipment is the physical assets a business uses to carry out work: machinery, vehicles, tools, appliances, containers, implements and fixed installations.
- Short attribution
- MapTrack Glossary: Plant and Equipment, https://www.maptrack.com/glossary/plant-and-equipment
- Reference list
- MapTrack. (2026). Plant and Equipment [Glossary definition]. Retrieved from https://www.maptrack.com/glossary/plant-and-equipment
Free to reuse with credit under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. If you’d rather link straight to it, the page is https://www.maptrack.com/glossary/plant-and-equipment.
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