What AS 1418 actually is
AS 1418 is the Australian Standard for the design of cranes, hoists and winches, published by Standards Australia. It's not a single document — it's a series of numbered parts, each covering a specific crane type or aspect of design. AS 1418 is recognised by state WHS regulators as the established means of demonstrating safe crane design, and is widely referenced in WHS Codes of Practice. Worth noting: the standard itself states that conformance to AS 1418 does not by itself guarantee compliance with Work Health & Safety law — designers and PCBUs still have to satisfy the broader "reasonably practicable" duty under the relevant state Act. In practice, designing to AS 1418 is the route the regulator expects.
Note that AS 1418 governs design. The companion standard AS 2550 governs safe use — how the crane is operated, maintained and inspected once installed. The two are designed to work together, and any meaningful conversation about crane compliance involves both.
The structure of the AS 1418 series
AS 1418 has multiple parts, each addressing a specific crane type or design aspect. The parts most commonly referenced in Australian industrial crane procurement are:
- AS 1418.1 — General requirements. The foundational document; current edition AS 1418.1:2021 (fifth edition, published 29 January 2021, superseding the 2002 edition). The 2021 revision restructured the part as a framework that normatively references a suite of ISO-adopted Australian Standards (the AS 522X series) for the technical detail on loads, mechanisms, structural proof of competence, wind, controls, electrical and access. If you read only one part of AS 1418, this is it.
- AS 1418.2 — Serial hoists and winches. Specific provisions for serially manufactured hoists and winches.
- AS 1418.3 — Bridge, gantry, portal (including container cranes) and jib cranes. The part-specific standard for most overhead EOT bridge cranes, gantry cranes, portal cranes, container cranes and jib cranes.
- AS 1418.5 — Mobile cranes. Truck-mounted, crawler, all-terrain mobile cranes (modified adoption of EN 13000:2010).
- AS/NZS 1418.10 — Mobile elevating work platforms. Boom and scissor MEWPs.
- AS 1418.11 — Vehicle-loading cranes. Truck-mounted loader cranes (modified adoption of EN 12999:2011).
- AS 1418.13 — Building maintenance units. Facade access equipment.
- AS 1418.17 — Design and construction of workboxes. Personnel-carrying workboxes suspended from cranes.
- AS 1418.18 — Crane runways and monorails. Applies wherever a runway beam supports a moving crane or hoist.
Other parts cover tower cranes (Part 4), guided storing/retrieval (Part 6), builders' hoists (Part 7), special-purpose appliances (Part 8), vehicle hoists (Part 9), crane collector systems (Part 12), arduous service (Part 14) and mast-climbing platforms (Part 16). Part 15 (concrete placing equipment) has been withdrawn. The series ends at Part 18 — there is no AS 1418.19.
One thing to be careful about: AS 5229.1 is sometimes incorrectly cited as a jib-crane standard. It is not. AS 5229.1 — Cranes — Tolerances for wheels and travel and traversing tracks, Part 1: General — is an Australian adoption of ISO 12488-1 that deals with rail and wheel alignment tolerances on running cranes. It is normatively referenced from AS 1418.1:2021, but it is not a design standard for cantilever or jib cranes. Jib cranes are covered by AS 1418.1 (general) and AS 1418.3 (which explicitly includes jib cranes in its scope).
Key concept 1 — Duty classes
The single most important concept in AS 1418 is duty class. Cranes are classified by how hard they're worked — combining how often they lift with how heavy the typical load is relative to the crane's rated capacity. The class scale runs A1 to A8, with A1 being very light infrequent duty and A8 being continuous severe duty.
Why it matters: duty class drives the fatigue design of the structure. A crane sized for A2 duty will fail its first major inspection if it's actually run at A6 duty. Conversely, paying for an A8 crane when the application is A2 means buying twice the steel you need. Right-sizing the duty class is where most catalogue specifications go wrong.
Indicative applications:
- A1–A2: standby cranes, infrequently used maintenance cranes
- A3–A4: typical Australian workshop and fabrication cranes
- A5–A6: active production cranes, mid-tier mining maintenance
- A7–A8: continuous-duty cranes — steel mills, foundries, port cranes
Key concept 2 — Design life and load combinations
AS 1418.1 (via the referenced AS 5224 / ISO 20332 method for steel structures and AS 5227.1 / ISO 10972-1 for mechanisms) frames a crane's design life as a calculation from the expected service profile — the load spectrum, the resulting state of loading, and the group classification — not a fixed calendar number. The output is a stress-cycle count that drives fatigue assessment of welded and bolted connections.
The 2021 edition specifies load combinations through its referenced standards: AS 5221.1 for loads and load combinations (an adoption of ISO 8686-1), AS 5222 for crane-specific wind load assessment (an adoption of ISO 4302), and either ISO 11031 or AS 1170.4 combined with AS 1170.1 for seismic. The AS/NZS 1170 series is also referenced for general structural design actions. Different load combinations apply for in-service operation, out-of-service stowage, and one-off events.
Key concept 3 — Welded connections and fatigue
Crane structures live or die on their welded connections. AS 1418.1:2021 normatively references the AS/NZS 1554 series (structural steel welding) for weld requirements, and the duty class drives how aggressively those welds are assessed for fatigue. High-duty cranes need higher weld categories and more inspection. The structural proof of competence itself is now per AS 5224 (the Australian adoption of ISO 20332).
Fatigue is what catches most older cranes at their 10-yearly major inspection — accumulated cycles eventually crack the welds at high-stress locations (end-carriage to girder connections, drum mountings, hook flanges). Specifying the duty class correctly at design time is what prevents this.
How AS 1418 interacts with AS 2550
If AS 1418 is the "design" standard, AS 2550 is the "use" standard. Together they cover the full lifecycle:
- AS 1418 — at design time. Specifies the crane's structural and mechanical properties.
- AS 2550.1 — once installed. Specifies pre-start checks, routine inspection, annual inspection, and the 10-yearly major inspection.
Most Australian workplace crane compliance discussions reference both standards. WorkSafe regulators expect to see evidence of AS 1418 compliance at design (engineering documentation, design certificate) and AS 2550 compliance through service life (inspection records, maintenance log, plant register entries). See our 10-yearly major inspection guide for the AS 2550 side.
What this means when you're buying a crane
Three things to look for in any quote you receive:
- Explicit AS 1418 reference — the quote should name the parts of AS 1418 the design has been worked to. "AS 1418 compliant" without specifying parts is a red flag.
- Duty class stated — the quote should state the duty class the crane has been designed to. If it doesn't, ask. "We'll figure it out later" means it'll get figured out at your expense.
- Engineering documentation — the deliverable should include calculations, drawings, design certificate. A crane delivered without these isn't really an AS 1418 crane.
Talk to an engineer
Sorian engineers every crane to the relevant parts of AS 1418 — from a 125 kg workshop jib through to 50-tonne EOT bridge cranes. Every quote names the parts of AS 1418 applied, the duty class designed to, and includes the calculation summary. See our crane range, or talk to the engineer.
Frequently asked questions
What is AS 1418?
AS 1418 is the Australian Standard governing the design of cranes, hoists and winches. It's published in numbered parts — AS 1418.1 covers general crane requirements, with subsequent parts addressing specific crane types. Every crane installed in an Australian workplace must be designed to the relevant parts of AS 1418.
What's the difference between AS 1418 and AS 2550?
AS 1418 governs design — how the crane is engineered. AS 2550 governs safe use — how it's operated, maintained and inspected once installed. The two work as a pair throughout the crane's service life.
What are crane duty classes?
Duty classes classify cranes by how hard they're worked — combining frequency of use with proportion of rated load lifted. Classes range from A1 (very light) to A8 (continuous severe duty). Most Australian workshop cranes are A2-A4; mining and steel-mill cranes can reach A6-A8.
How long is the design life of an AS 1418 crane?
Design life is a calculated cycle count, not a fixed calendar number — it falls out of the load spectrum and frequency the crane was specified to. As an industry rule of thumb, light-duty workshop installations are often planned for around 20–25 years of typical service; high-duty cranes can consume their design life in well under a decade. The 10-yearly major inspection under AS 2550.1 is the formal point at which the crane's residual life is reassessed against the actual usage history.
Which parts of AS 1418 apply to jib cranes?
AS 1418.1 (general requirements) applies to all cranes including jib cranes. AS 1418.3 — Bridge, gantry, portal (including container cranes) and jib cranes — is the part-specific standard. Where a jib runs on a runway beam, AS 1418.18 (Crane runways and monorails) also applies. AS 5229.1 is sometimes cited as a jib-crane standard, but it isn't — it covers wheel and traversing-track tolerances.