Guide · workplace and site safety
What the symbols and colours on safety signs mean
In Australia, safety signs follow AS 1319, and the shape and colour tell you what kind of sign it is before you read a word. A red ring means you must not. A blue disc means you must. A yellow triangle warns of a hazard. Green is safety and first aid. Red with white is fire equipment.
In one paragraph
AS 1319 sorts safety signs into six kinds: prohibition (red ring and slash, black symbol), mandatory (blue disc, white symbol), warning (yellow triangle with a black border), danger (the word DANGER in white on a red oval, on a black band), emergency information (white on green: first aid, exits, assembly points) and fire (white on red: extinguishers, hose reels, alarms). The first aid symbol is a white cross on green.
The six kinds of safety sign
| Kind | Looks like | Means | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibition | Red ring with a diagonal slash, black symbol on white | Do not | No smoking |
| Mandatory | Blue disc, white symbol | You must | PPE must be worn |
| Warning | Yellow triangle, black border and symbol | Hazard ahead | Caution, wet floor |
| Danger | DANGER in white on a red oval, on a black band, with the hazard written below | A hazard that can kill or seriously injure | Danger, keep out |
| Emergency information | White symbol or words on green | Where safety is: first aid, exits, assembly points | First aid |
| Fire | White symbol or words on red | Where the fire equipment is | Fire extinguisher |
The examples are free A4 signs from our sign library, drawn to the AS 1319 shapes and colours. They are not certified; where a site’s safety plan or an inspector specifies a sign, that decides the wording and the size.
What we print for this
Proofed before they run
Symbols people ask about
What is the first aid symbol?
A white cross on a green background, the emergency information colours. It marks a first aid kit, a first aid room or a first aider’s station. A red cross is not the first aid symbol: it is a protected emblem of the Red Cross movement and is not meant for workplace signs. Our first aid sign is free to print.
What is the symbol for a first aider?
The same white cross on green, usually with the words “First aider” or the person’s name underneath, on a sign at their workstation or on a helmet sticker so they can be found quickly.
What is the biological hazard symbol?
The biohazard symbol is three interlocking crescents around a small circle, in black, used as a warning: on a sign it sits in a yellow triangle with a black border. It marks infectious material, clinical waste and laboratories handling biological agents.
What does the corrosive symbol look like?
Liquid dripping from two test tubes onto a hand and onto a surface, eating into both. On chemical labels it is a GHS pictogram, a black symbol in a red-bordered diamond; on a dangerous goods placard it is the Class 8 diamond, black and white. It means the substance burns skin and damages metal.
What does an emergency assembly point sign look like?
White on green, an emergency information sign, usually four figures gathered with arrows pointing in. It marks where everyone meets after an evacuation so they can be counted. Ours is in the sign library.
What is AS 1319?
The Australian Standard for safety signs in the occupational environment. It sets the shapes, colours, symbols and sizes so that a sign means the same thing on every site. Work health and safety regulations point to it, which is why safety signs in Australia look the way they do, and different from American signs.
What colour is a danger sign?
Red, white and black: the word DANGER in white on a red oval, inside a black band across the top, with the hazard written underneath in black on white. It is for hazards likely to be life-threatening; a yellow warning sign is for everything less.
How big should a safety sign be?
Big enough to read from where people will be when they need it. AS 1319 sets upper-case text at 5mm of letter height per metre of viewing distance: 50mm to be read from 10 metres. Our sign size guide has the table.
Printed for the site
Paper lasts a week outside
Any sign in the library prints on corflute, foam PVC or vinyl, with your wording or logo if you want it. A builder’s whole set of notices goes on one board as a site safety sign, five for $160 delivered.
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