Australian Standard AS 5488 classifies subsurface utility information. It grades what is known about a buried service by how it was obtained, from Quality Level D (QL-D), records only, up to Quality Level A (QL-A), exposed at a point and positioned.
OpsChase’s utility locating software records a quality level against every service a locator finds, and groups the report by level.
The four levels
The Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) Best Practice Guide summarises them, from lowest to highest:
- Quality Level D (QL-D): existing records, such as asset owner plans. Information with no level given defaults to QL-D.
- Quality Level C (QL-C): records matched to features seen on site, such as pit lids, valves and meters.
- Quality Level B (QL-B): the service detected and traced, for example with an electromagnetic locator, with a relative position in three dimensions.
- Quality Level A (QL-A): the service positively identified at a point, usually by exposing it, with an absolute position in three dimensions. Only QL-A counts as validated.
Which edition applies
Standards Australia lists AS 5488.1:2022 and AS 5488.2:2022 as current, both published on 24 June 2022. Much guidance still in use refers to AS 5488-2013, so check which edition a client’s specification names.
Why locating firms care
A quality level shows how the information about a buried service was obtained. A report that gives each service its level, method and date tells the excavator how far to rely on it. Our article on quality levels explained goes through each one with examples.
How OpsChase reports quality levels
Locators record type, method, depth and quality level for each service on their phone. The report comes out grouped from QL-A to QL-D, with limitations, photos and plans. AS 5488 is published by Standards Australia; OpsChase is not affiliated with it.
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- Is a traced service Quality Level A?
- No. Tracing with a locator gives Quality Level B at best. Quality Level A needs the service exposed and positively identified at a point.
- Can one report carry several quality levels?
- Yes, and it usually should. Each service, or each part of a service, is reported at the level it actually reached.
- Do quality levels expire?
- The 2022 Part 1 says quality levels apply at the date the information was obtained, so record the date against each service.