// // If your crew works roadside, on a construction site, or anywhere visibility is a legal requirement, your hi-vis workwear is doing two jobs at once: keeping your team safe, and putting your brand in front of every client, council inspector and passing vehicle. Getting the embroidery right — without compromising the safety standard the garment is built to — matters more than most businesses realise. Here’s what to know before you order.
Why Branded Hi-Vis Matters On Site
A ute full of unbranded hi-vis polos looks like a ute full of hi-vis polos. A ute full of embroidered, branded hi-vis looks like a company that takes itself seriously. For trade and construction businesses in Perth, branded workwear does double duty — it identifies who’s meant to be on site (handy for larger builds with multiple contractors), and it’s free advertising every time your team steps out of the vehicle.
What Actually Makes Workwear “Hi-Vis”?
Before you brand anything, it’s worth understanding what you’re working with. In Australia, high-visibility garments are governed by AS/NZS 4602.1, which sets out the fluorescent background colours, reflective tape placement and minimum coverage a garment needs to legally count as “hi-vis”. A few basics:
- Approved colours — fluorescent yellow-green, fluorescent orange-red, and fluorescent red are the only background colours the standard recognises.
- Class D garments use fluorescent fabric only — suited to daytime work.
- Class N garments add retroreflective tape for visibility in low light or at night.
- Class D/N garments combine both, and are the most common choice for trade and construction crews who might be on site early or late.
- A minimum of 0.2m² of unbroken fluorescent fabric is required across the front and back of the torso.
This matters for branding because it puts real limits on where a logo can go — more on that below.
Embroidery or Print? Why Embroidery Wins on Hi-Vis Garments
We get asked this constantly, and for hi-vis specifically, embroidery is almost always the better call:
- It survives industrial washing. Hi-vis gear gets washed hard and often. Stitched thread holds up to repeated commercial laundering far better than a printed or heat-pressed logo, which will eventually crack or peel.
- It doesn’t interfere with the fabric’s performance. Embroidery sits on top of the fabric without the heat or adhesive used in printing methods, so there’s no risk of affecting the fluorescent backing.
- It looks premium. On a bright fluorescent background, a clean embroidered logo reads as professional in a way a printed one often doesn’t.
The one exception: very large designs (roughly over 200mm) are better suited to print, since embroidery at that size gets heavy with stitching and can feel stiff against the fabric. For a standard chest or back logo, embroidery is the right tool for the job.
Where to Place Your Logo (Without Breaking Compliance)
This is the part that actually matters for safety, not just looks. Your logo can never cover the reflective tape or reduce the fluorescent fabric below the standard’s minimum coverage — a hi-vis garment that’s been over-branded can technically fail to meet AS/NZS 4602.1, which defeats the purpose of wearing it. The safe zones we work within are:
- Left chest, above or beside the chest-level reflective band — typically kept within a 100mm x 100mm area.
- Upper back, between the shoulders and the back reflective tape.
We check placement against the garment’s tape layout before we digitise anything, so you’re not left with a shirt that looks great but technically isn’t compliant hi-vis anymore.
Popular Hi-Vis Garments We Embroider in Perth
Most of our trade and construction clients order some combination of:
- Hi-vis polos (our most popular option — smart enough for client-facing site visits, practical enough for the tools)
- Hi-vis work shirts
- Hi-vis vests
- Hi-vis jackets and fleece for the cooler months
All of it comes from workwear brands built for Australian conditions. See the full range on our workwear & uniforms page, or read more about our approach to embroidery services in Perth.
Ordering With LUMA: Built for Small and Growing Trade Businesses
A lot of Perth workwear suppliers want you to order 50 or 100 units before they’ll even quote you. We don’t work that way. Our minimum order is 10 items, which means a five-person sparky crew or a small landscaping outfit can get properly branded hi-vis without over-ordering stock they don’t need. Need to add three more shirts six months later when you hire? No problem — reordering the same design is simple.
Everything is embroidered locally in our Perth workshop, with fast turnaround and a real person to talk to if you’re not sure which garment or placement is right for your crew.
FAQ
Does embroidering my logo affect hi-vis compliance?
Not if it’s placed correctly. As long as the reflective tape stays uncovered and the minimum fluorescent coverage is maintained, an embroidered logo doesn’t affect the garment’s AS/NZS 4602.1 rating.
Can I send in my own hi-vis garments to be embroidered?
For most orders, no — we supply the hi-vis garments ourselves from our workwear range as part of the service. We can consider customer-supplied (bring your own) garments for larger orders of 50+ items — get in touch to discuss.
What’s the minimum order?
10 items — ideal for small trade teams, with easy reordering as your crew grows.
How long does turnaround take?
Standard turnaround is around 10 business days. If your order is urgent, contact our team and we’ll do our best to accommodate it.
Ready to get your crew looking sharp and staying visible? Request a quote and we’ll come back with pricing and garment options.