Every 10 years or so, the Australian pallet racking industry sits down with the board and the Australian Standards Committee and looks at how to make pallet racking safer within the Australian climate.

Most of the time, the changes are additional items that make pallet racking and the people working around it safer. Things like floor fixings, weight load capacities, minimum requirements and general safety measures that everyone across the Australian industry needs to work with.

With the 2023 standards, there were a few outstanding issues that were specifically addressed. The main one was seismic rating for the Australian environment.

Seismic Rating Is One Of The Biggest Changes

Pallet racking now needs to be seismically rated to be earthquake conscious and preventative.

In the case of an earthquake, very tall pallet racking does move and sway. That movement is made worse by the large amount of weight stored on the pallet racking. If a pallet at the very top weighs one tonne and is full of liquid (e.g ICBs), as that sways, it can potentially gain momentum and increase the probability of the whole rack moving or collapsing.

That is now being looked at quite vigorously.

For racking companies, seismic rating meant going back and doing further engineering to make sure their racking design and specifications were compliant with AS4084:2023.

It is not just about whether the rack stands there on a normal day. It is about whether the system has been designed with the Australian environment, the soil, the geolocation and the load on the racking in mind.

Rust Is Now Looked At More Closely

Another thing the standard looked at was rust.

It is not enough to just say, “There is a bit of rust there.” The question is what type of rust it is and how much is acceptable.

Is it surface level? Is it penetrative? Is it absolutely minor?

That has now been brought into the defect coding side of the standard, which means it becomes part of what inspectors are looking for when they assess a racking system.

For warehouse managers, this means rust should not just be ignored because the rack still looks like it is standing. There is a difference between a small surface issue and something that is starting to affect the structure.

End Frames, Foot Plates And General Strengthening

There were also design changes brought in around the frames at the end of pallet racking runs. End frames now need to be 50% of the pallet height.

That is to help prevent pallets falling off either side of the edge onto an aisle space. Once again, it is another safety measure.

Heavier duty foot plates were another major change. That generally increases the whole capacity throughout the industry and improves how much the pallet racking can hold.

There has also been a general upgrade in strength and rigidity. More bracing, extra bolts and better protection are now part of the direction the standard has moved in.

Racking protection within the warehouse has also shifted. Previously it was more suggested. Now it is more strongly recommended.

Signage Matters More Than People Think

The standard also tightened up around signage and acknowledgement of the racking system.

A proper racking system should identify whose racking it is, who installed it and who supplied it. The supplier, manufacturer and installer details help someone new walking into that warehouse identify what they are looking at and have more confidence that the racking is likely to be compliant.

The safety sign should also include the tolerance grade, which relates back to the grade of the soil, the geolocation and the effects those factors may have on the racking. That also ties back into the seismic side of the standard.

A safe workload sign is not just a sticker on a rack. It is part of the compliance trail. It tells people what the rack is rated to, what loads it can take and gives the warehouse a clear point of reference.

Annual Inspections Are Still A Key Requirement

The past two editions of AS4084 have stated that someone deemed competent within the industry must inspect your racking every 12 months.

The latest standard still says that, and also includes the recommendation that it should be mandatory. That is generally agreed upon throughout the industry.

On top of that, someone within the warehouse should also be doing a visual inspection every month as part of their internal workplace health and safety process.

That does not mean the warehouse manager is expected to pick up every subtle engineering defect. It means they should be looking for obvious damage, impact, movement, missing components or anything that has changed.

Then once a year, someone who is deemed competent should come in and look at the system properly.

What Does A Competent Person Actually Mean?

The Australian Standard says “competent person”, but that is left open to interpretation.

Most people would assume a competent person is someone who has been in the pallet racking industry for five or 10 years plus and is well versed across the whole industry, different brands, different weight capacities and the full spec of the engineering chart.

That does not just mean someone competent in warehousing.

It needs to be someone in the pallet racking industry.

There are a lot of smaller items that get missed, and you would not expect a competent warehouse person to pick them all up. But someone competent in pallet racking should notice them. If someone has not read the Australian Standards, there is no real chance they can pick up all the nuances and smaller items that need to be double checked.

What Will Business Owners Actually Notice?

For business owners and warehouse managers, the main thing they will notice is a general upgrade in quality and a reassurance that the pallet racking is going to sustain and stand up.

Pallet racking installed before AS4084:2023 can still be used, just like a classic car can still be used. It does not automatically become useless just because a newer standard exists.

But there are design increases and strengthening increases in the latest standard, and new racking now needs to be compliant with those requirements.

Capacity wise, there may also be more opportunity to go higher if a business decides to install new racking. There is more strength, more rigidity, extra bracing, extra bolts and more protection built into the newer systems.

What Happens If You Move Existing Racking?

Your racking is compliant if it remains in the same warehouse and is used for the exact same purpose.

If you pull down your racking and relocate it to a new premises, that changes the situation. You will either need new racking or you will need the manufacturer to come out and specify what changes need to happen for the racking to be certified.

Technically, any racking made prior to 2023 cannot simply be brought up to the latest standard automatically. However, if the company still manufactures in the exact same way and purpose, they should be able to give recommendations on what needs to be changed.

In many cases, that might mean adding more bracing or changing foot plates, and the rest of the system may be good to go.

In other cases, if a company no longer manufactures that style of racking, they may tell you the old system has to be scrapped and replaced with brand new racking.

That is one of the advantages of working with a manufacturer that still produces and supports its own system. Macrack continues to manufacture racking that has been found to surpass the latest standards of AS4084:2023. For some clients, that means if they relocate, they may only need to change foot plates or add another brace, rather than throw the whole system away.

How The Standard Affects Day-To-Day Warehouse Operations

For most existing warehouses, the day-to-day change is fairly simple.

Someone should be walking through the warehouse each month and doing a quick visual inspection to make sure there is no obvious damage. In a modern workplace, with continuous improvements and workplace health and safety being heavily encouraged, that should already be part of the routine.

Once the racking is installed properly, it should be fairly self-maintained unless someone crashes into it or damages it. That is the whole point of professional installers and good quality racking. It should stay upright by itself, hopefully in perpetuity.

But once a year, the subtle issues, minor defects and smaller compliance problems should be checked by someone competent.

Annual racking inspections are not a big dollar figure in the context of running a business and keeping employees safe. Macrack’s inspections generally sit around $695 to $895, with warehouses over 1,000 pallets assessed based on warehouse plans.

The simple advice is this: keep an eye on your racking monthly, get it properly inspected yearly, and do not wait until damage becomes obvious from the other side of the warehouse. That is usually when the problem has already gone too far.

About Leo Kanas

Leo Kanas brings over two decades of hands-on experience in warehouse storage systems and racking design. As Project Manager and lead designer at Macrack Australia, Leo works at the intersection of engineering, layout optimisation, and customer-driven solutions. He holds qualifications in project management and industrial design, and has overseen dozens of warehouse redesigns across Australia. Leo is passionate about helping businesses unlock hidden capacity, streamline workflows, and future-proof their storage systems.