Tasmania is an interesting AED market. There’s no AED-specific Act and no Bill currently before the Tasmanian Parliament. But the state has more than 1,300 publicly accessible AEDs registered statewide, an active Tasmanian Government Community AED Fund placing 180 free units over two years, and a free GoodSAM-integrated registration system through Ambulance Tasmania. That’s an unusually strong public-AED footprint for a state with no legal mandate.
For commercial property owners in Hobart, Launceston, the North-West, and across regional Tasmania, the question is what the WHS first aid duty actually requires — and how to read a state where the government has chosen funding and infrastructure over legislation.
Is an AED legally required in Tasmanian commercial buildings?
No. Tasmania has no AED-specific legislation in force as of May 2026.
There’s no Tasmanian equivalent to South Australia’s Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Act 2022. A scan of the Parliament of Tasmania Bills lists for 2024 (56 Bills) and 2025 (70 Bills) found no Bill containing “defibrillator”, “AED” or “Automated External”. South Australia remains the only Australian jurisdiction with an AED Act in force.
A Tasmanian commercial building in 2026 isn’t breaking any AED-specific law if it doesn’t have one. The duty of care under WHS law still applies — and Tasmania’s approach to the broader AED question is funding-led rather than mandate-led.
What Tasmanian workplaces are required to do
The governing Act is the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (Tas), supported by the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022. Under the Act, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure the health and safety of workers and others, so far as is reasonably practicable.
The practical detail is set out in WorkSafe Tasmania’s First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice, effective from 27 May 2020. The Code mirrors the Safe Work Australia model and is the document a WorkSafe inspector or court would refer to in working out whether you’ve discharged your duty.
What the Code says about AEDs
The Tasmanian Code follows the model wording across all states. The relevant passage:
“You should consider providing an AED if there is a risk to workers at your workplace from electrocution, if there would be a delay in ambulance services arriving at the workplace, or where there are large numbers of members of the public.”
Same three trigger factors as every other state’s Code:
- Electrocution risk. Workplaces with switchboards, electrical work, plant rooms, manufacturing or trades-heavy environments.
- Ambulance delay. Particularly relevant in regional and remote Tasmania — the West Coast, Tasman Peninsula, Bruny Island, the Central Highlands, the East Coast outside the main centres. Ambulance response times stretch quickly outside greater Hobart and Launceston.
- Large numbers of members of the public. Shopping centres, hospitality venues, gyms, sporting facilities, large offices, hotels, function venues.
Failure to install an AED isn’t, in itself, an offence under WHS law in Tasmania. Failure to discharge the broader duty of care could be — but that’s a fact-based argument, not a specific AED rule.
Why Tasmania looks different
The thing that makes Tasmania genuinely unusual isn’t the law — it’s the funding and registration infrastructure.
The Community AED Fund
The Tasmanian Government has committed $500,000 over two years (2024-25 and 2025-26) to deliver 180 free AEDs to community organisations across the state. Round 2 (2025-26) opened in December 2025 with 90 units on offer, closing 31 January 2026. Recipients have included community groups, charities, sporting clubs, councils, local businesses and not-for-profit organisations, with priority for rural, regional and remote locations.
As of April 2026, the Government’s running scoreboard:
- 180 AEDs delivered through the current $500,000 Fund commitment over two years
- 540+ devices delivered by the Tasmanian Government to communities since 2014
- 1,300+ publicly accessible AEDs registered statewide
That last figure is the headline number. Tasmania has more publicly accessible AEDs per capita than any state in Australia — and most of them are on the GoodSAM register and visible on the public LISTmap layer.
St John Ambulance Tasmania’s Safe Community Grant Program
Separate from the Government Fund, St John Ambulance Tasmania runs the Safe Community Grant Program. Multiple rounds per year, providing a free AED plus training to community groups and charities — preference for organisations that can install the AED externally for genuine 24/7 public access.
For commercial premises, neither program is the primary pathway — both are community/not-for-profit oriented. But the existence of both signals a market where AED placement is expected, not unusual.
Ambulance Tasmania and GoodSAM
Ambulance Tasmania operates the state’s AED registration program in partnership with GoodSAM. Registration is voluntary and free.
Owners register devices via the GoodSAM platform at goodsamapp.org/TAS_AED. First-time registrations include a label affixed to the device and a photo upload. Members of the public can also submit photos of unregistered community AEDs they spot in the wild — useful for keeping the registry comprehensive.
Registered devices appear in:
- The GoodSAM Responder app (mobile)
- The public LISTmap AED layer at thelist.tas.gov.au
- Various council-operated maps (Huon Valley, Circular Head, King Island and others publish derived maps)
Importantly, only the AED location is public. Owner contact details aren’t.
The integration with Triple Zero means a 000 call-taker can direct callers to the nearest registered AED. In practice, that’s the genuine value of registration — a registered AED is the only AED a 000 caller can be told about.
Tourism, wilderness and remote-area considerations
Tasmania’s geography makes AED placement an outsized factor in survival outcomes. Ambulance response times in remote, rural and wilderness areas are materially longer than in greater Hobart or Launceston, which is one of the WHS Code-of-Practice “trigger factors” for AED installation.
Known publicly accessible AED placements at major remote sites include the Cradle Mountain gateway, Wineglass Bay car park, Jetty Beach campground (South Bruny National Park) and Fortescue Bay — all installed through the Parks-AED footprint or community programs.
For Tasmanian tourism operators — lodges, eco-resorts, tour operators, charter boats, dive operations — the WHS Code’s “delay in ambulance services” trigger applies squarely. AEDs in those settings are best framed as a reasonable response to a foreseeable risk, aligned with the WHS first aid duty, and consistent with the existing Government-funded community network already present in many parks.
Comparison: TAS vs SA vs NSW
| Factor | Tasmania | South Australia | New South Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| AED-specific Act in force | No | Yes (Act 2022, regs 2024) | No (three Bills lapsed) |
| AED-specific Bill before parliament | None identified (2024 + 2025 Bills lists scanned) | N/A — already law | Yes (Ward MP, lapsed three times) |
| Mandatory installation in commercial buildings | No | Yes (>600 m²) | No |
| Compliance deadline | None | 1 January 2026 | None |
| Mandatory registration | No (voluntary, free, GoodSAM) | Yes (SAAS register, 2 weeks) | No (voluntary, GoodSAM) |
| GoodSAM integration | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mandatory signage | No | Yes | No |
| Mandatory maintenance | No (recommended) | Yes (per manufacturer) | No |
| Penalties tied to AED | None (general WHS) | Yes (under the Act) | None |
| Government AED grant program | Yes — Community AED Fund (180 units / 2 yrs) | No (Act compels installation) | Yes (Office of Sport, sport-only) |
| Public-access AED map | LISTmap public layer + GoodSAM | SAAS register (mandatory) | GoodSAM |
| Total registered public AEDs | 1,300+ | Tracked under SAAS | Tracked via GoodSAM |
Tasmania’s place in the table is distinctive. No mandate, but a Government-funded rollout that’s effectively saturating the community-AED footprint. For commercial property managers, that means the question isn’t whether the public expects AEDs in workplaces — it’s whether your workplace is keeping up.
Where AEDs make most sense in Tasmania
Even without legal compulsion, the workplaces and properties where the WHS case is strongest:
- Multi-tenant commercial offices in Hobart CBD, Salamanca, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie
- Tourism operators in remote areas (Cradle Mountain, Freycinet, West Coast, Bruny Island, Maria Island)
- Sporting clubs, gyms, recreation centres
- Aged care, retirement villages and disability services (high-risk demographic)
- Construction sites (electrocution risk)
- Large commercial premises (size + public access)
- Schools, tertiary education and early-childhood centres
- Hospitality venues with significant public throughput
- Industrial workplaces with electrical hazards
For coastal and high-humidity placements, IP55 or above for outdoor cabinets is the minimum.
Practical approach for Tasmanian property managers and employers
- Run a documented WHS risk assessment. Apply the three trigger factors. Document the decision either way.
- Pick a TGA-approved unit. Required basis. IP55+ for outdoor or coastal placement.
- Place it well. Visible, accessible, unlocked. Foyer or staffed reception is the default. Mount 1.2–1.4 m from floor.
- Register with Ambulance Tasmania via GoodSAM. Free, at goodsamapp.org/TAS_AED. Surfaces your AED to 000 call-takers and on the public LISTmap layer.
- Train responders. Optional but materially improves the chance the AED gets used confidently.
- Maintain per manufacturer instructions. Pads typically two-yearly, battery four-yearly, plus monthly self-test verification.
- For tourism and remote-area operators: include the AED in the site’s emergency response plan with explicit reference to expected ambulance response time. The “delayed ambulance” trigger is your strongest WHS argument.
Where SafePulse fits
We install AEDs for commercial buildings, sporting clubs, hospitality venues, tourism operators and industrial workplaces across Tasmania. SA-based, but the install package travels — TGA-approved Mindray units, 8-year warranty, signage, GoodSAM registration via Ambulance Tasmania, and an ongoing maintenance plan included.
If you’re scoping this for a Tasmanian site, see our Tasmania AED solutions or send us the site details and we’ll come back with a scope.
Where to from here
Tasmania’s approach to AEDs has been funding-led rather than legislation-led, and it’s working. 1,300+ publicly registered AEDs in a state of 570,000 people is one of the strongest public-AED footprints in the country. Whether that’s followed by a future mandate is anyone’s guess — but the practical infrastructure is already in place.
For Tasmanian property managers and employers, the question isn’t “are we required to?” — it’s “have we discharged the WHS duty, and is the AED on the wall, registered and ready?” The community sector is well ahead. Commercial buildings have some catching up to do.
