Standards library · Updated 4 August 2026 · Free to read
AS/NZS 1554 explained: structural steel welding
AS/NZS 1554 is the joint Australian and New Zealand standard series that governs how steel structures are welded, how those welds are qualified and supervised, and what a weld has to look like to be accepted. It is the standard a structural drawing points at when it says “weld to AS/NZS 1554.1, category SP”.
In one line
AS 4100 tells you how big the weld has to be. AS/NZS 1554 tells you how to make it, who is allowed to make it, and how it will be judged.
What AS/NZS 1554 covers
AS/NZS 1554 is a fabrication standard for welded steel structures. It covers the whole chain from the written welding procedure through to the inspection report:
- materials and welding consumables that may be used together
- joint preparation and fit up
- welding procedures, and the two routes to having one accepted
- qualification of the welders and machine operators doing the work
- welding supervision
- workmanship, distortion and dimensional tolerances
- the inspection required, and the acceptance criteria the welds are judged against
It is a series, not a single document. The part you need depends on what you are welding, not on how hard the job is.
The seven parts
| Part | Subject | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| 1554.1 | Welding of steel structures | The default. General structural steelwork in carbon and carbon manganese steels. |
| 1554.2 | Stud welding | Steel studs welded to steel, including shear connectors on composite beams. |
| 1554.3 | Welding of reinforcing steel | Welding reinforcement bar and mesh, including tack welds and splices. |
| 1554.4 | Welding of high strength quenched and tempered steels | Q and T plate, where hydrogen control and heat input limits become critical. |
| 1554.5 | Welding of steel structures subject to high levels of fatigue loading | Cyclically loaded structures: crane runways, bridges, mining and materials handling equipment. |
| 1554.6 | Welding stainless steels for structural purposes | Structural stainless, where the consumable and heat input rules differ. |
| 1554.7 | Welding of sheet steel structures | Thin gauge sheet steel, below the thickness range that Part 1 handles well. |
Two practical notes. Fatigue loaded work sits in Part 5 and not in Part 1, so a specification that names only Part 1 for a crane runway has named the wrong document. And Part 4 exists because quenched and tempered steel punishes the same welding practice that is perfectly acceptable on mild steel.
Weld categories: SP and GP
This is the part of AS/NZS 1554 that has the most direct effect on cost, and the part most often left off a drawing.
Welds are assigned a category, and the category sets the acceptance criteria and the amount of inspection:
- Category GP, general purpose. For welds where the consequence of a defect is low. Looser acceptance criteria for imperfections, and less non-destructive testing.
- Category SP, structural purpose. For welds carrying the load the structure was designed for. Tighter acceptance criteria and more inspection.
Two things follow that are worth knowing before you price a job.
First, the category belongs to the weld, not to the job. A single fabricated item routinely has SP welds where the load path runs and GP welds on cleats, stiffeners and non structural attachments. Specifying SP across an entire drawing when only some welds carry load is a real and avoidable cost.
Second, if the drawing does not state a category, the standard has a default, and the default is not the cheap one. Read the current edition rather than assuming, and if you are the fabricator, ask the designer in writing rather than choosing for them.
Fatigue loaded welds are handled through Part 5 rather than by a third category. Older specifications sometimes still call for a fatigue category inside Part 1, which is a sign the specification has not been updated.
How a welding procedure gets accepted
AS/NZS 1554.1 gives you two routes, and choosing the right one is where most of the money is.
Route one: a prequalified procedure
The standard contains a set of joint preparations, material and consumable combinations, and welding conditions that it accepts without a procedure qualification test. Stay inside those limits, document the procedure properly, and you do not have to weld and destroy a test coupon.
This is the route most structural fabrication takes, and it is a deliberate design feature of the standard: routine structural steel work should not need a laboratory. The conditions are specific though. Prequalification depends on the joint geometry, the parent material, the consumable classification, the process, the position and the preheat. Drift outside any one of them and the procedure is no longer prequalified.
Route two: qualification by test
Where the joint or the material sits outside prequalified limits, the procedure is qualified by welding a test coupon and testing it. That gives a welding procedure qualification record, which then defines the range of production welding the procedure covers.
This is the same principle used internationally under ISO 15614, and under AS 4041 and AS 1210 for pressure work, although the detailed rules and ranges differ between them. A procedure qualified under one standard is not automatically acceptable under another.
How welders are qualified for AS/NZS 1554 work
A qualified procedure and a qualified welder are two separate requirements. AS/NZS 1554 requires both, and satisfying one does nothing for the other. If that distinction is new, read this next, because it is the single most common cause of rejected welding documentation.
Welder qualification under AS/NZS 1554 is established by a welder qualification test, welded and tested to demonstrate that the individual can produce a sound weld with the process, in the position and in the thickness range required. In practice, specifications on Australian structural projects commonly accept certification to AS 1796 as the evidence of welder competence, and larger clients frequently require it. ISO 9606 qualification also appears, particularly where the design or the client is international.
Does an AS 1796 certificate satisfy AS/NZS 1554
Yes, directly. Checked against AS/NZS 1554.1:2014 incorporating Amendments 1 and 2. Clause 4.12.2.2 is titled “Qualification via Standards” and it states that welders qualified to standards such as AS 1796, AS/NZS 2980, AS/NZS 3992 or ISO 9606-1 shall be deemed to be qualified. It is not conditional on the project specification calling the certificate up.
There is one condition attached, and it is the one that actually gets argued on site: the evidence has to refer to welding carried out on joints and in positions as close as practicable to the joints and positions used in the construction. A certificate is evidence of range, not a blanket permission. If the ticket was earned on plate in the flat position and the job is overhead on hollow section, the certificate does not reach the work.
The alternative route, for a welder not already qualified under a standard, is clause 4.12.2.3: weld a test piece for each welding procedure required on the job, minimum 300 mm examination length, examined visually and by macro test against clause 6.2.2.
Where an AS 1796 qualification behaves differently to AS/NZS 2980
This is worth knowing before choosing which certificate to hold, and it cuts against the Australian standard. Clause 4.12.2.4 lists when a welder needs reapproval. One trigger is a change of employment, and it applies to everything other than welders qualified to AS/NZS 2980 or ISO 9606-1. In practice:
- A welder qualified under AS/NZS 2980 or ISO 9606-1 keeps that qualification when they change employer.
- A welder qualified under AS 1796, or by test under clause 4.12.2.3, must be requalified by the new employer.
Reapproval is also required if six months or more have passed since the welder worked on the relevant processes, or if there is a specific reason to question their ability. Validity otherwise rests on the employer’s records showing reasonable continuity on the relevant processes and continued sound welds verified by non-destructive examination.
So the honest answer to “which one should I hold” depends on the work. For a welder who stays put, AS 1796 satisfies AS/NZS 1554 and is enough. For a welder who moves between employers, or for any work at construction category CC3 or CC4 under AS/NZS 5131, AS/NZS 2980 or ISO 9606-1 is the qualification that travels.
Supervision is not optional
Clause 4.12.1 requires welding to be carried out under the supervision of a welding supervisor employed by or contracted to the fabricator. The supervisor needs a minimum of three years’ experience in fabricating welded structure, plus one of: a Welding Supervisor’s Certificate to AS 2214, AS 1796 Certificate No. 10, or the New Zealand equivalent; an IIW qualification at International Welding Specialist, Technologist or Engineer level; an NZIW certificate in welding engineering; a postgraduate qualification in welding engineering; or other qualifications and experience acceptable to the principal and conforming to ISO 14731.
One power in that clause is often missed. The welding supervisor may undertake welder qualification tests for welders under their supervision, and may issue and prolong welder qualification test certificates. A fabricator with a properly qualified supervisor can qualify its own welders under this standard.
Welding supervision
AS/NZS 1554 work is expected to be supervised by somebody competent to supervise welding, which is the reason AS 2214 exists as a separate standard for the certification of welding supervisors in structural steel welding. On projects that name a construction category under AS/NZS 5131, the supervision and coordination requirement becomes more explicit and scales with the category.
The practical version: if your specification names AS/NZS 1554 and you have nobody certified to supervise the welding, you have a gap that shows up at the first audit. Supervisor certification through AWI.
Inspection and acceptance
All welds get visually inspected. That is not a formality: visual inspection catches profile, undercut, overlap, surface cracking, arc strikes and missing weld, and it catches them at the cheapest possible moment.
Beyond visual, the amount of non-destructive testing depends on the weld category, the joint type and the loading. Category SP butt welds in tension attract the most. Ultrasonic testing is the usual method for volumetric examination of structural butt welds, with magnetic particle or penetrant testing used for surface examination.
The acceptance criteria are tabulated in the standard, differ between GP and SP, and are expressed as numeric limits on specific imperfection types. AWI does not reproduce those tables. Work from the current edition, because the numbers are the whole point of them.
Who is allowed to perform the inspection matters as much as the method. AS/NZS 1554.1 section 7 covers inspection, including clause 7.2 on the qualifications of inspectors. The person signing an inspection report should be able to demonstrate they understood the criteria they were applying.
How AS/NZS 1554 relates to the other standards
| Standard | Relationship |
|---|---|
| AS 4100 | The steel structures design standard. It decides the weld type and size. AS/NZS 1554 decides how that weld is made and accepted. |
| AS/NZS 5131 | Fabrication and erection of structural steelwork. Sets construction categories CC1 to CC4, which scale the fabricator capability and quality management around the AS/NZS 1554 welding. |
| AS 1796 | Certification of welders. The usual Australian evidence that the person welding is competent. |
| AS 2214 | Certification of welding supervisors for structural steel welding. The supervision side of the same job. |
| AS/NZS ISO 3834 | Company level welding quality requirements. Called up through AS/NZS 5131 construction categories, and increasingly named directly by principal contractors. |
| ISO 15614 | The international procedure qualification standard. Different rules and ranges. Not interchangeable with AS/NZS 1554 qualification without agreement. |
Questions people actually ask about AS/NZS 1554
What is the difference between weld category SP and GP?
SP means structural purpose and applies to welds carrying design load. GP means general purpose and applies to welds where a defect has low consequence. SP has tighter acceptance criteria for weld imperfections and requires more non-destructive testing, so it costs more. The category is assigned weld by weld on the drawing, not once for the whole job, and a drawing that specifies SP everywhere is usually specifying more inspection than the design needs.
Is AS/NZS 1554.1 the same as AS 1554?
Yes, in practice. The standard was originally published as an Australian standard and became a joint Australian and New Zealand standard, which is why the number carries the AS/NZS prefix now. Specifications and drawings still say AS 1554 quite often. If a document says AS 1554 with no part number, it almost always means AS/NZS 1554.1.
Do I need a welding procedure qualification test for ordinary structural steel?
Usually not. AS/NZS 1554.1 allows prequalified welding procedures for a defined range of joint preparations, materials, consumables and welding conditions, which covers most routine structural fabrication. You still have to write the procedure and demonstrate that it sits inside the prequalified limits. Step outside those limits, in joint geometry, material, consumable or position, and the procedure has to be qualified by test.
Does my AS 1796 welding ticket cover me for structural work?
It depends on the certificate category and on what the specification asks for. An AS 1796 certificate covers a defined range of process, material, configuration, position and thickness. Structural work inside that range is normally accepted, and many specifications name AS 1796 directly. Work outside the range is not covered by the certificate no matter how current it is. Check the range on the certificate against the joints on the drawing before you start, not after.
Which part of AS/NZS 1554 applies to a crane runway beam?
Part 5, welding of steel structures subject to high levels of fatigue loading. Crane runways are cyclically loaded, and fatigue sensitive welds have different acceptance criteria and different detailing rules from statically loaded welds. A specification that names only Part 1 for fatigue loaded work has an error in it, and it is worth raising before fabrication rather than during inspection.
Can I use AS/NZS 1554 for stainless steel?
Use Part 6, welding stainless steels for structural purposes. Part 1 is written for carbon and carbon manganese steels. Stainless has different consumable matching, different heat input and distortion behaviour, and different surface finish requirements, so the rules genuinely differ rather than being a stricter version of the same thing.
Getting a copy of the standard
AS/NZS 1554 is published by Standards Australia and is not free. Buy the part you need, or access it through a subscription. If you only work on one type of structure, you probably only need one part.