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AS 1318-1985 Use of colour for the marking of physical hazards and the identification of certain equipment in industry (known
as the SAA Industrial Safety Colour Code) (incorporating Amdt 1)

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Australian Standard

SAA Industrial Safety Colour Code

AS 1318—1985
 This Australian standard was prepared by Committee SF/5, Industrial Warning Signs.
It was approved on behalf of the Council of the Standards Association of Australia on
27 December 1984 and published on 3 May 1985.
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The following interests are represented on Committee SF/5:

Australian and New Zealand Society of Occupational Medicine

Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia
Confederation of Australian Industry
Department of Defence
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Department of Employment and Industrial Relations

Department of Labour, S.A.
Department of Industrial Relations, N.S.W.
Electricity Supply Association of Australia
Ethnic Affairs Commission, N.S.W.
Ministry of Employment and Training, Vic.
National Safety Council of Australia
Railways of Australia Committee
Safety Institute of Australia
The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
University of Sydney

Review of Australian Standards. To keep abreast of progress in industry, Australian Standards are subject
to periodic review and are kept up to date by the issue of amendments or new edit ions as necessary. It is
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This standard was issued in draft form for comment as DR 84035.

 AS 1318—1985
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Australian Standard
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USE OF COLOUR FOR THE

MARKING OF PHYSICAL
HAZARDS AND THE
IDENTIFICATION OF CERTAIN
EQUIPMENT IN INDUSTRY
known as the
SAA INDUSTRIAL SAFETY
COLOUR CODE

First publi shed (as AS CZ 3) . . . . .... .. .. .. 1952

AS 1318 fi rst published . . . . . . . . .. .. ... ... 1972
Second editi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ...... 1985
Amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 1986
Reprinted incorporating amendment .. .. .... . 1986

PUBLISHED BY STANDARDS AUSTRALIA

(STANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA)
1 THE CRESCENT, HOMEBUSH, NSW 2140
ISBN 0 7262 3682 9
 AS 1318—1985 2

PREFACE
This edition of this standard was prepared by the Association’s Committee on Industrial Warning
Signs, under the direction of the Safety Standards Board, to supersede AS 1318—1972.
The standard is intended to provide rules for the use of certain colours for the marking of physical
hazards and for the identification of certain equipment in industry. Such colour coding should form
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an integral part of the total safety information system of any occupational environment. Attention
is drawn to the fact that education and training are an essential part of any system for giving safety
information and that implementation of colour coding in accordance with this standard does not
replace the need for proper accident prevention measures.
The principal changes in this edition are as follows:
(a) Reference to AS K185, Colours for Specific Purposes, has been deleted and the colours have
been specified in terms of chromaticity coordinates and photometric properties. In addition,
colours listed in AS 2700 and BS 5252 and known to fall within the coordinates (colour boxes)
are listed.
(b) The colour for emergency exit signs is now green (i.e. safe condition) in lieu of red. This
change is in agreement with that introduced in AS 1319, Safety Signs for the Occupational
Environment, AS 2293, Emergency Evacuation Lighting in Buildings and in ISO 3864, Safety
Colours and Safety Signs.
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CONTENTS
Page
SECTION 1. SCOPE AND GENERAL
1.1 Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . ... . 3
1.2 Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . ... . 3
1.3 Referenced Documents . . . . . . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . ... . 3
1.4 Colour Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . ... . 3
1.5 Contrast Colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . .. . . 3
1.6 Materials Used and their Application .. . . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . ... . 3

SECTION 2. APPLICATION AND E XAMPLES OF RED

2.1 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Typical Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

SECTION 3. APPLICATION AND E XAMPLES OF Y ELLOW

3.1 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2 Typical Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SECTION 4. APPLICATION AND E XAMPLES OF G REEN

4.1 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 Typical Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SECTION 5. APPLICATION AND E XAMPLES OF BLUE

5.1 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5.2 Typical Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

APPENDIX A. PHOTOMETRIC AND COLORIMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE

MATERIALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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 3 AS 1318—1985

STANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

Australian Standard
for
USE OF COLOUR FOR THE MARKING OF PHYSICAL HAZARDS AND THE
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IDENTIFICATION OF CERTAIN EQUIPMENT IN INDUSTRY

SECTION 1. SCOPE AND GENERAL

1.1 SCOPE. This standard sets out requirements for
the use of certain colours for—
(a) the marking of physical hazards;
(b) the identification of certain equipment in
industry to be used in connection with accident
prevention; and
(c) general information signs.
1.4 COLOUR STANDARDS. The actual colour
used shall comply with the colorimetric and, where
appropriate, the photometric requirements specified in
Appendix A.
NOTE: Although the colours specif ied in this standard are in
terms of specif ied coordinates, colours li sted in AS 2700 and
BS 5252 and known to fall within the coordinates (colour
boxes), are also li sted in Table 1.1.

1.2 APPLICATION. The standard shall be applied TABLE 1.1

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in conjunction with the relevant provisions of safety

standards issued from time to time by the Standards COLOUR REFERENCES
Association of Australia. Colour AS 2700 Reference BS 5252 Reference
It is not intended that the standard be applied in a Red R13 (Signal Red) 04E53
manner conflicting with any statutory regulations or Yell ow Y15 (Sunfl ower) 08E53
generally accepted standards or regulations relating to (preferr ed colour)
the use of colour for the identification of services in 10E51
10E55
buildings or on premises, and in this connection
Green G21 (Jade) 14E53
attention is drawn to the following Australian
standards: Blue B23 (Bri ght Blue) 20E56
(preferr ed colour)
AS 1169, AS 1319, AS 1216, AS 1345, AS 1742, 18D45
AS 1743, AS 1849 and AS Z29. 20D44
20D45
18E53
1.3 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS. The following 20E53
standards are referred to in this standard:
AS 1169 Minimizing of Combustion Hazards 1.5 CONTRAST COLOURS. If a contrast colour
Arising from the Medical Use of is required to improve the visibility of the safety
Flammable Anaesthetic Agents colour or identified object, it shall be white or black,
AS 1216 Classification, Hazard Identification and as shown in Table 1.2.
Information Systems for Dangerous Goods The contrast colour for white shall be black, and the
(all parts) contrast colour for black shall be white.
AS 1319 Safety Signs for the Occupational
Environment
AS 1345 Identification of the Contents of Piping, TABLE 1.2
Conduits and Ducts CONTRAST COLOURS
AS 1742 Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Safety Colour Contrast Colour
Devices
Red Whit e
Part 1—Description and Use of Elemental Yell ow Black
Traffic Control Devices Green Whit e
Part 2—Application of Traffic Control Blue Whit e
Devices to Traffic Situations
AS 1743 Road Signs 1.6 MATERIALS USED AND THEIR APPLICA-
AS 1849 Identification Colours for Portable Fire TION. The colours should be prepared with
Extinguishers materials having an appropriate colour stability under
AS 1906 Retroreflective Materials and Devices for expected conditions of use.
Road Traffic Control Purposes Safety colours should be applied so as to be clearly
Part 1—Retroreflective Materials visible in all circumstances, and generally on a
AS 2700 Colour Standards for Paints and Related limited scale, so as not to interfere with colour
Materials schemes in which colours are applied to relatively
AS Z29 Recommendations for Pictorial Markings large surfaces.
for the Handling of Packages Safety colours, with or without white or black as
BS 5252 Framework for Colour Coordination for contrasts, can be directly applied on objects or on
Building Purposes. safety signs.

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 AS 1318—1985
SECTION 2. APPLICATION AND EXAMPLES OF RED
2.1 APPLICATIONS. Red shall be the basic or
background colour, used alone or in conjunction with
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white lettering, stripes, or edging, to identify or
indicate the location of—
(a) danger;
(b) fire protection equipment and apparatus;
(c) stop buttons and emergency stop controls.
2.2 TYPICAL EXAMPLES. The following is a
partial list of appropriate applications of red in
accordance with Clause 2.1:
(a) Danger.
(i) Flashing red lights at rail crossings.
(ii) Danger and prohibition signs (see AS 1319).
(b) Fire protection equipment and apparatus.
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(i) Fire alarms and boxes.
(ii) Boxes for fire blankets and fire proximity
suits.
(iii) Fire buckets.
(iv) Positions of fire extinguishers.
NOTE: The colour should be used on the housing,
COPYRIGHT
4
wall or support to indicate the locati on. Identi fi cati on
colours for the vari ous types of fir e exti nguisher are
given in AS 1849.
(v) Position of fire hose, reels and fire
hydrants.
NOTE: The colour should be used on the reel,
supports or housing but not on the hose.
(vi) Fire pumps.
(vii) Valve locations for all fire services.
(viii) Sprinkler piping, coloured red throughout
its length or with red pipeline markers
appropriately spaced (see AS 1345).
(ix) Location of any other equipment to be
used in a fire emergency and which is not
normally used in the routine processes.
(c) Stop buttons and emergency stop controls.
(i) Stop buttons for electrical switches used
for normal and emergency stopping of
machinery.
(ii) Emergency stop bars on hazardous
machines.
(iii) Emergency stop controls of any description.
 5 AS 1318—1985
SECTION 3. APPLICATION AND EXAMPLES OF
YELLOW
3.1 APPLICATIONS. Yellow shall be the basic or
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background colour, used alone or in conjunction with
black for marking the following:
(a) Places where caution should be exercised and
where cautionary notices of a general nature
should be displayed.
NOTE: See AS 1319 for requirements for cauti on (warning)
signs.
(b) Places where cautionary notices warning of
hazards from radioactive sources should be
displayed.
Solid yellow, yellow and black stripes, or yellow and
black checks should be used interchangeably, using
the combination which will create the best attention
in the particular environment.
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NOTE: The indiscri minate use of yellow or yell ow in
conjunction with black is li kely to detract fr om its value and due
care must be exercised in the use of this colour for the marking
of hazards.
3.2 TYPICAL EXAMPLES. The following is a
partial list of appropriate applications of yellow in
accordance with Clause 3.1:
(a) Places where caution should be exercised.
(i) Industrial locomotives, mobile plant or
suitable areas thereon.
(ii) Flashing yellow, markings at barricades, at
temporary constructions or on mobile
equipment.
(iii) Low pulley blocks and crane hooks.
(iv) Fixtures suspended from ceilings or walls
which extend into normal operating areas.
(v) Markings for projections, low doorways,
travelling conveyors, beams and low pipes
(see AS 1345).
(vi) Corner marker for storage piles.
SECTION 4. APPLICATION AND EXAMPLES OF
GREEN
4.1 APPLICATIONS. Green used in conjunction
with white shall be the colour used for denoting
safety and for indicating the location of safety and
first aid equipment (other than firefighting
equipment).
Green and white in panels, green and white stripes,
and green edging to a white area and solid white on
green should be used according to local conditions.
Green should be the basic or background colour for
starting buttons and similar applications.
4.2 TYPICAL EXAMPLES. The following is a
COPYRIGHT
(vii) Coverings on guards for guy wires.
(viii) Pillars, posts or columns which might be
struck.
(ix) Barrier rails and top and bottom treads of
stairways where caution is needed; also,
temporary barricades.
(x) Location and widths of aisleways and
traffic markings.
(xi) To draw attention to hazards which have
been created by the unfastening or removal
of guards or covers of industrial
machinery. This may include the marking
of the interior of the guard or cover and
appropriate areas of the exposed hazard.
NOTE: If the yellow and black combination cit ed
above is not satisfactory or adequate, a special
distinctive contrasting colour may be used.
(xii) The horizontal lips of vertically sliding
counterbalance lift doors.
(xiii) Vertical edge of horizontally sliding pairs
of fire doors.
(b) Where radiation hazards from radioactive
materials exist.
(i) Rooms and areas (outside or inside
buildings) where radioactive materials are
stored or handled, or which have been
contaminated with radioactive materials.
(ii) Burial grounds and storage areas for
contaminated materials and equipment.
(iii) Disposal cans for contaminated materials.
(iv) Containers of radioactive materials.
(v) Contaminated equipment that is not placed
in special storage.
partial list of appropriate applications of green and
white in accordance with Clause 4.1:
(a) Location of first aid facilities, including
stretchers.
(b) Location of respiratory protective equipment and
rescue equipment.
(c) Safety deluge showers or their location.
(d) Exit signs.
(e) Safety instructions signs.
NOTE: See AS 1319 for emergency-r elated informati on
signs.
 AS 1318—1985 6

SECTION 5. APPLICATION AND EXAMPLES OF BLUE

5.1 APPLICATIONS. Blue shall be used as the 5.2.2 Information Signs. Information signs are used
basic or background colour with white lettering for at those places and on subjects where there is no
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marking the following: specific hazard. The following is a partial list of

(a) Mandatory instructions to be followed (see appropriate applications of blue in accordance with
AS 1319 for mandatory action signs). Clause 5.1(b):
(b) Places where it is desired to convey information (a) Parking areas.
of a general nature. (b) Equipment storage.
(c) Toilets.
5.2 TYPICAL EXAMPLES
(d) Offices.
5.2.1 Mandatory (obligation) Signs. AS 1319
specifies the use of the colour blue for symbolic signs (e) Entrances.
depicting locations where personal protective (f) Locker rooms.
equipment must be worn. Examples are as follows:
(a) Head protection must be worn. 5.2.3 Physical Markings. Blue stripes may be used
on the floor to indicate those premises or parts
(b) Hearing protection must be worn. thereof in which the wearing of personal protective
(c) Foot protection must be worn. equipment is necessary.
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 7 AS 1318—1985

APPENDIX A
PHOTOMETRIC AND COLORIMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE
MATERIALS
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A1 COLOUR DESIGNATION. The safety colours listed in this standard are

considered to be within coordinates specified in Table A1 and as shown in Fig. A1.

A2 RETROREFLECTIVE MATERIAL. The colorimetric and photometric

properties of retroreflective material used in signs shall comply with AS 1906, Part 1.

TABLE A1
COLOUR COORDINATES*
Luminance
Chromacity coordinates of corner points determining the permit ted factor ß for
Colour colour area ill uminant: Standard ill uminant D65 (45/0° geometry) ordinary
materials
1 2 3 4
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Red x 0.690 0.595 0.569 0.655 ≥ 0.07

y 0.310 0.315 0.341 0.345
Blue x 0.078 0.150 0.210 0.137 ≥ 0.05
y 0.171 0.220 0.160 0.038
Yell ow x 0.519 0.468 0.427 0.465 ≥ 0.45
y 0.480 0.442 0.483 0.534
Green x 0.230 0.291 0.248 0.007 ≥ 0.12
y 0.754 0.438 0.409 0.703
Whit e x 0.350 0.300 0.290 0.340 ≥ 0.75
y 0.360 0.310 0.320 0.370
Black x 0.385 0.300 0.260 0.345 ≤ 0.03
y 0.355 0.270 0.310 0.395

* The numbers refer to CIE (Commission Internationale de l’ Eclair age) Vocabulary Publi cati on No 17,
1970, International Lighti ng Vocabulary.

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AS 1318—1985
8

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SU RFAC E COLOUR S
Fig. A1. BO UN DA RIES FOR RE D, YELLOW, GRE EN , BLUE, WHITE AN D BLAC K ORD INAR Y