Start with what a slip test report should contain
A useful report for existing floors, tested in accordance with AS 4663:2013, should identify each test location precisely (not just "foyer" but where in the foyer), describe the surface and its condition, state the test method and conditions, and give the result for each location. If any of those elements are missing, the report is hard to rely on and even harder to compare against a future retest.
The numbers: BPN and P classifications
Wet pendulum testing produces a British Pendulum Number (BPN) for each location. The BPN maps to a P classification from P0 to P5, where higher means more slip resistant when wet. A result might read "BPN 47, Class P4". The classification is the part you will use for decisions; the BPN tells you where the surface sits within its class, which matters when a floor is near a boundary.
A floor that scores at the bottom edge of its class is more likely to drift down a class as it wears or gets polished. Two P3 results can therefore carry quite different levels of comfort: BPN 44 is one point from P4, while BPN 35 is one point from P2.
For the full classification table and what each class means in practice, see our guide to Australian slip resistance standards.
"Pass" or "fail" compared to what?
This is the most misunderstood part of slip testing. For existing buildings there is generally no single legislated number a floor must achieve. What good reports do instead is compare each result to the recommended minimum classification for that location type in HB 198:2014, the Standards Australia handbook. An external ramp is recommended to achieve a much higher classification than a dry internal corridor, so the same P3 result can be comfortable in one location and a genuine problem in another.
When your report says a surface "does not meet guidance", the question to ask is: which guidance, for which location type, and how far short? A surface one class below the HB 198 recommendation in a low-traffic area is a different problem from a main entry two classes short.
Check the test conditions
Slip resistance results are only meaningful in context. Look for:
- Wet or dry testing. Most slips happen when floors are wet or contaminated, so wet pendulum results are usually the ones that matter. A dry-only test can make a dangerous floor look fine.
- Surface condition at the time. Freshly stripped, recently polished, or contaminated floors can test very differently from their everyday state. The report should record what state the floor was in.
- Number of test locations. One reading in the middle of a large foyer says little about the worn path near the door. Sensible reports test the areas where people actually walk and where risk concentrates.
What a good report adds: interpretation and priority
Numbers alone do not manage risk. A report you can act on should also tell you, for each location: what the result means, how urgent it is relative to your other results, and what the practical options are. Rectification is not always expensive; sometimes the fix is a changed cleaning regime or better entry matting rather than a new floor. If your report ends at the results table, you are being left to work all of this out yourself.
This gap is why Slip Audit exists. Every report we issue interprets each result against HB 198:2014 guidance in plain English, ranks findings by risk, and includes referral pathways to rectify surfaces that fall short.
Red flags in a slip test report
- No comparison against HB 198:2014 or any stated benchmark, just raw numbers
- Vague location descriptions that would make a retest impossible to compare
- No record of whether surfaces were tested wet or dry, or of surface condition
- A blanket "compliant" or "non-compliant" stamp with no reference to location types
- No recommendations, priorities or next steps of any kind
Questions to ask your slip tester
- Which standard did you test to, and which guidance are you comparing against?
- Why did you choose these test locations?
- Which results are closest to a class boundary?
- What would you fix first, and what are my options for fixing it?
- Can you retest after rectification so the improvement is documented?
If the answers are vague, that tells you something too.
Already holding a report you cannot make sense of?
Send it through to us. We are happy to give you a straight explanation of what your results mean and what we would do about them, whether or not the testing was ours.