What is AS 4687? It is the Australian Standard that sets out how temporary fencing, pedestrian barriers, hoardings and temporary swimming pool fencing should be designed, assessed and installed, and since 2022 it has been published as a four part series rather than a single document. If you hire fencing for building work or for a public event, this is the reference point your supplier, your engineer and your principal contractor are all working from when they talk about whether a fence is fit for the job.
The useful thing about knowing your way around it is that it turns a vague request into a specific one. Instead of asking for a fence and hoping, you can ask which part applies, which pathway was used to show the panels perform, and what the supplier recommends for the ground and the wind exposure you actually have. That conversation tends to produce a better setup, fewer surprises on site, and a tidier paper trail if anyone ever asks.
A Performance Standard, Not a Shopping List
The current series was published on 24 June 2022 and replaced the 2007 edition, which was a single document. The Temporary Fencing Association notes that the revision is split into four parts, with Part 1 carrying the general requirements that are common to the other three. The Hire and Rental Industry Association described the revised series as considerably more comprehensive than the version it replaced, and as offering two pathways to show conformance: design analysis and testing.
That structure matters more than it sounds. A performance standard does not tell a manufacturer to use a particular wall thickness or a particular foot design. It describes what the finished assembly has to cope with, and then sets out acceptable ways of demonstrating that it does. Two very different looking panel systems can both sit comfortably inside the standard, which is why a like for like comparison between suppliers is really a comparison of evidence rather than of appearances.
Part 1: The General Requirements
Part 1 is titled Temporary fencing and hoardings, General requirements. It holds the material that applies no matter which product you are dealing with, including the pathways to conformance and the design side of the work. In practice it is the part that an engineer or a manufacturer spends time in, and the part that underpins any conformance claim made about the other three.
Part 2: Fencing And Pedestrian Barriers
Part 2 is titled Temporary fencing and temporary pedestrian barriers, and it is the part most site and event work lands in. It deals with the panel fencing you see around a building site and with the barriers used to guide people along a footpath or around a work zone. If you are setting up temporary construction fencing around a residential build, or lining up crowd control barriers to steer foot traffic, Part 2 is the relevant reference.
Part 3: Hoardings
Part 3 is titled Temporary hoardings. Hoardings are the solid, usually sheeted structures that go up where work is close to a public footpath or a shared boundary, and they carry a very different load story to a mesh panel because they present a solid face to the wind. They are also the setups most likely to involve a council permit, since they typically occupy public land.
Part 4: Temporary Swimming Pool Fencing
Part 4 is titled Temporary swimming pool fencing. It is a narrow part with a specific job, and it comes up on renovation work and on new builds where a pool exists or is being built while the site is still active. Whether you need it on a particular job, and in what form, depends on the conditions set for that job, so your building surveyor or council is the right place to confirm it before you order anything.
Two Pathways: Design Analysis And Testing
The two conformance pathways are worth understanding because they shape the paperwork you can reasonably ask for. A design analysis pathway means the performance has been established by engineering calculation against the design actions the standard sets out. A testing pathway means physical testing has been carried out instead. Either way, the outcome you care about as a hirer is documentation that is specific to the product you are getting, not a general brochure claim.
This is where a lot of good intent goes astray. Panels, feet, clamps, braces and shade cloth are often treated as interchangeable parts from a shed, when the conformance claim attaches to a configuration. Swap the bracing out, add a solid covering, or stand the same panels on a different surface, and you have changed the thing that was assessed. Keeping the configuration together is the single easiest way to keep the standard on your side.
How AS 4687 Sits Alongside Victorian Law
AS 4687 is a standard, not legislation, and that distinction is worth getting right. In Victoria the safety duty comes from the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, supported by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. Victoria did not adopt the model work health and safety laws used in most other states, so guidance and codes written for that framework do not carry weight here. The in force version of the Victorian Regulations is version 018, effective 20 October 2026.
WorkSafe Victoria describes its compliance framework as a layered thing. The Act sets the duties. The Regulations specify how a duty must be performed. Compliance codes give practical advice, and WorkSafe states plainly that compliance codes are not mandatory and that a duty holder may choose another way to achieve compliance. Below that sits non statutory guidance, which WorkSafe says is not mandatory but does form part of the state of knowledge about occupational health and safety.
An Australian Standard generally does its work inside that picture rather than on top of it. It is part of the body of knowledge a duty holder is expected to be aware of, and it very often arrives as a contractual requirement, a specification clause or a permit condition on a particular job. The practical upshot is that AS 4687 is usually relevant because somebody has made it relevant to your site, and because it represents current thinking on how these products should perform. Obligations vary by site, by council and by permit, so treat your own permit conditions and contract as the first place to look.
What The Standard Looks Like On An Actual Site
WorkSafe Victoria publishes guidance specifically on construction site security fencing, and it is a sensible companion to the standard because it speaks to the setup rather than the product. It says security fencing should be at least 1.8 metres high, and that for demolition a higher fence may be required depending on the risk, pointing readers to the demolition compliance code. It also says gates and joints in fence sections should be securely connected, without weak points for entry. The duty it describes falls on a person who has management or control of a workplace, with a builder running a construction site given as the example.
Wind Is The Part People Underestimate
WorkSafe also notes that fencing carrying signage or shade cloth coverings may require additional support to resist wind loadings. This is the most common way a well chosen fence becomes a poorly performing one. Adding shade cloth or a printed banner turns a porous mesh screen into something much closer to a sail, and the load path through the feet and the ground changes with it. The answer is to plan the covering and the support together, which usually means H bracing across the fence line rather than bracing added as an afterthought once the cloth is already on.
Ground, Layout And Panel Choice
The surface a fence stands on does as much work as the panel. Soft fill, loose gravel, a nature strip and a concrete slab all behave differently under the same load, and the bracing and ballast decisions follow from that. Layout matters too, because long unbroken runs, exposed corners and gateways are where movement concentrates. Getting the right panel dimensions for the run is part of the same decision, and it is worth settling before delivery rather than on the day.
If you are new to how this comes together, it helps to understand how a fence install runs from start to finish, because the sequence drives access, gate positions and the order trades arrive in.
Questions Worth Putting To Your Supplier
The most productive version of this conversation is short. Ask which part of AS 4687 applies to what you are hiring. Ask whether the configuration has been established by design analysis or by testing, and ask for documentation that names the product rather than the brand. Tell the supplier what the ground is, how exposed the site is, and whether you intend to add shade cloth, banners or signage, because all three change the bracing recommendation. Then ask who is installing it and who is responsible for checking it after weather.
A supplier who deals with this every week will have the answers to hand and will usually improve your layout while you are talking. If you would like a configuration worked through for a specific site, you can request a fencing quote for your site or talk to the AFC team about your setup and bring the ground conditions and the covering plan with you.
For event work the same logic applies with a different emphasis, since crowd flow and sightlines join wind and ground in the decision. The approach to event fencing and barrier layout is worth looking at separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AS 4687 a legal requirement in Victoria?
AS 4687 is a standard rather than legislation. The duty in Victoria comes from the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. In practice the standard often becomes a requirement for a specific job through a contract, a specification or a permit condition, and WorkSafe treats non statutory material of this kind as part of the state of knowledge about safety. Check your own permit and contract conditions, because they vary by site and by council.
Which part of AS 4687 applies to a building site?
Part 2, titled Temporary fencing and temporary pedestrian barriers, covers the panel fencing and pedestrian barriers used on most building sites. If your setup includes a solid sheeted hoarding, Part 3 applies to that element. Part 1 sits underneath all of them with the general requirements, and Part 4 deals only with temporary swimming pool fencing.
Does AS 4687 set a minimum fence height for a construction site?
Height expectations for site security come through safety guidance rather than the product standard. WorkSafe Victoria guidance says security fencing should be at least 1.8 metres high, and that a higher fence may be required for demolition depending on the risk. Your permit conditions or your principal contractor may ask for more than that, so confirm the figure for your job before you order.
What changed when AS 4687 was revised in 2022?
The series published on 24 June 2022 replaced the 2007 edition and split the material into four parts, with general requirements gathered into Part 1. Industry bodies describe the revision as more comprehensive than the earlier version and point to two pathways for showing conformance, design analysis and testing.
How do I show the fencing on my site meets the standard?
Keep documentation that is specific to the configuration you hired, covering the panels, the feet, the bracing and any covering. Record what was installed and when, and keep a note of inspections after wind or rain. If you change the setup by adding shade cloth or signage, treat that as a new configuration and ask your supplier what support it needs.