AS 1680 Lux Levels for Australian Workplaces: The Complete Reference Guide

Your electrician replaced the metal halides, the lights are clearly brighter, and everyone seems happy. Then a Work Health and Safety audit happens, or an insurance assessor walks through, or your new property manager asks for a lux report. Now you need to prove the lighting meets AS/NZS 1680, and the question of what number you actually need to hit becomes urgent.

This is the reference page for that question. It covers the required lux levels for every common workplace type in Australia, the maintained illuminance concept that catches most LED installs out, and a practical process for checking whether your existing lighting is compliant.

The values below are drawn from AS/NZS 1680.1:2006 and its application-specific parts. They are the numbers used by lighting designers, WHS inspectors, VEU assessors and IPART auditors across the country.

What AS/NZS 1680 actually is

AS/NZS 1680 is a joint Australian and New Zealand standard series that specifies minimum lighting requirements for the interior of buildings. It is referenced by the National Construction Code, by state Work Health and Safety regulators, and by the energy efficiency schemes when assessing whether a commercial LED upgrade has maintained adequate light output.

The series has nine parts:

• AS/NZS 1680.0: Safe movement
• AS/NZS 1680.1:2006: General principles and recommendations. Sets lux levels by task type, uniformity, glare and colour rendering. The primary reference for the tables below
• AS/NZS 1680.2.1: Circulation spaces and other general areas
• AS/NZS 1680.2.2: Office and screen-based tasks
• AS/NZS 1680.2.3: Educational and training facilities
• AS/NZS 1680.2.4: Industrial tasks and processes
• AS/NZS 1680.2.5: Hospital and medical tasks
• AS/NZS 1680.3: Measurement, calculation and presentation of photometric data
• AS/NZS 1680.4: Maintenance of electric lighting systems, which sets the light loss factor methodology used later in this article

There is no Part 2.6 or 2.7. Sports and outdoor ground lighting is governed by a separate standard, AS 2560, not the 1680 series, and internal car park lighting is covered by AS 1680.1 itself rather than a dedicated sub-part.

The lux level reference table

The values below are maintained illuminance levels in lux (lx): the minimum your lighting must sustain over its operational life, not just at first switch-on. See the light loss factor section below for what that means for your installation target.

This first table covers space types where a free source states a figure directly, mostly the NCC’s own Table J7D3. Space types not covered here are not included rather than estimated. The general AS 1680.1 task-difficulty classification, covering manufacturing and industrial work, follows in its own table below.

Manufacturing and industrial tasks: the general classification

AS 1680.2.4 sets figures for specific industrial tasks and processes, and that document is paywalled. What follows is the general task-difficulty classification from AS/NZS 1680.1 itself, the fallback a competent person uses when a task-specific figure is not to hand. It is published in full, with these exact task examples, in Table 1 of SafeWork NSW’s Code of Practice Managing the Work Environment and Facilities, which cites it directly to AS/NZS 1680.1:2006.

The number that catches most LED installs: maintained illuminance

This is where the majority of LED upgrade disputes start.

A new LED fitting straight out of the box emits its rated lumen output. Over time, two things reduce actual light levels. First, LEDs depreciate. A quality commercial LED fitting rated at 19,500 lumens will typically deliver 90% of that (17,550 lumens) after 50,000 hours of operation. This is the lamp lumen maintenance factor (LLMF). Second, dust, grease and general grime accumulate on lenses, reflectors and ceiling surfaces, reducing the light that actually reaches the work surface. This is the other light loss factor (OLF).

Combined, these are the light loss factor (LLF). AS/NZS 1680.4 sets the methodology for calculating it.

The required installation lux is then:

Uniformity: the other number most people ignore

A space can average the right lux level across the floor but still fail to meet the standard because the light distribution is uneven. A row of bright patches under each fitting and dark zones between them is a uniformity problem even if the average reads correctly.

AS/NZS 1680.1 does specify minimum uniformity ratios, and they vary by application. The specific figures sit in the paywalled standard and are not reproduced here rather than guessed at. Get them from your lighting designer’s photometric report, which should state the uniformity ratio achieved alongside the average lux.

What is not in dispute is the practical fix. Poor uniformity is almost always a fixture-spacing problem: reducing the spacing-to-mounting-height ratio (S/MHR) improves it. For most LED high bays at 8 metres mounting height, a spacing of 6 metres or less is a reasonable starting point, to be confirmed by the photometric model rather than assumed. Your lighting supplier should provide a DIALux or Relux report demonstrating both average lux and uniformity before you accept any commercial installation.

Colour rendering: what CRI actually means for your space

CRI (Colour Rendering Index, also written Ra) measures how accurately a light source renders colours compared to natural daylight, on a scale of 0 to 100. AS 1680 does address colour rendering, but the specific minimum Ra values by space type sit in the paywalled standard and are not reproduced here.

As a general orientation, spaces where colour accuracy affects the task, such as fine inspection, colour matching, apparel retail, fitting rooms and clinical work, need higher CRI than spaces where it does not, such as bulk storage, plant rooms and car parks. Most economy commercial LED product ships at Ra 80. Ra 90 product typically costs 10–25% more and is worth the premium wherever a customer or inspector is judging colour: a fitting room, a produce display, a print or paint colour match.

Ask your supplier for the actual Ra figure on the datasheet rather than relying on a generic “high CRI” marketing claim. Some economy panels advertised as high CRI test closer to Ra 75–78 in independent measurement.

Glare: what UGR is and why it matters

Unified Glare Rating (UGR) is the standardised measure of discomfort glare from a lighting installation, on a scale where lower is better. AS 1680 sets maximum UGR limits by space type in its application-specific parts.

The specific limits by space type sit in the paywalled 1680.2 sub-parts and are not reproduced here. As a general orientation, screen-based office work and drawing tasks are held to the tightest limits of any common commercial space, because a bright reflected fitting on a monitor or drawing surface is directly disruptive to the task. Industrial and warehousing spaces are generally held to a looser limit, because the visual tasks involved are less glare-sensitive.

UGR is determined by the luminaire’s photometric data combined with room geometry and surface reflectances, not by the fitting alone. The luminaire datasheet should state a UGR value for standard room configurations. If you are replacing bare fluorescent battens with LED panels in an office, ask the supplier for the UGR figure and a photometric report rather than accepting a generic marketing claim. Many economy LED panels perform worse on glare than their lumen output suggests.

How to check if your workplace is compliant right now

You do not need an expensive lighting audit to get a reasonable picture of your current lux levels.

Option 1: a calibrated lux meter

A decent digital lux meter costs $50 to $150 and reads to within 5% accuracy for most commercial applications. Take readings at the work surface level (typically 800mm above floor for desk work, floor level for walkways and car parks) at multiple points across the space and average them. Compare to the table above.

For a 10m x 20m warehouse bay, take at minimum 9 readings (a 3x3 grid across the bay) and calculate both the average and the lowest individual reading. Divide the lowest by the average to get your uniformity ratio: a lowest reading of 198 lx against an average of 310 lx gives a ratio of 0.64. AS 1680.1 sets a minimum ratio for each space type in the paywalled standard, so check the applicable figure with your lighting designer rather than assuming a single number applies everywhere. A result this uneven is worth investigating regardless of which threshold applies, since it usually points to a fixture-spacing problem.

Option 2: a phone app

Apps like Lux Light Meter Pro (iOS/Android) use the phone camera as a lux sensor. Accuracy is typically 10–20% with most phone cameras, which is good enough for a quick assessment but not for a formal compliance report. Use it to flag obvious problems. Get a calibrated meter before telling a client or insurer everything is fine.

Option 3: a formal photometric report

For compliance documentation, a VEU or ESS upgrade, an insurance requirement, or a new fitout approval, you need a formal lux report. This is typically conducted by the installing electrician or a lighting designer using a calibrated instrument and documented in writing. The report records the date, time, fixture specification, number of readings, average, minimum, uniformity ratio and the AS 1680 requirement being verified. In Victoria, VEU ACPs are required to produce this report as part of commercial lighting upgrades.

The five most common AS 1680 failures after an LED upgrade

What colour temperature (CCT) should you specify

AS 1680 does not mandate a specific colour temperature (CCT) for most spaces, but it does require that CCT be appropriate for the task. The practical guidance:

2700K–3000K (warm white): Hospitality, restaurants, hotels, residential common areas. Creates warmth but renders colours slightly yellow. Not ideal for task-critical work.

4000K (cool white/neutral): General offices, retail, schools. The most common commercial specification. Good colour rendering without the harshness of daylight.

5000K–6500K (daylight): Warehouses, manufacturing, workshops, outdoor-adjacent spaces. High perceived brightness. Reduces melatonin slightly in sustained exposures, which matters for night-shift operations. The right choice where task accuracy and alertness matter more than ambience.

Avoid mixing CCT across adjacent spaces where there is a visible transition. The difference between 3000K and 5000K is jarring at a doorway.

When you need a lighting designer vs a sparkie with a calculator

A licensed electrician can specify and install commercial LED lighting to a product recommendation from a supplier. For most straightforward retrofit work (replacing like-for-like fixtures in well-understood spaces) this is fine, provided someone runs the photometrics.

Engage a qualified lighting designer when: the space has unusual geometry, very high ceilings, mixed task requirements, strict uniformity needs, or critical colour rendering requirements. Also engage one for any new construction fitout, any space requiring formal AS 1680 compliance documentation for a building permit, or any healthcare or education installation.

Photometric software (DIALux EVO and Relux are both free) produces the output your designer or electrician needs. A credible commercial lighting supplier will provide a photometric report for any installation above 20 fittings. If yours does not offer this, ask for it. If they cannot provide it, that is information worth having before signing off on the job.