Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Electricity Safety Act 1998 - SECT 3

Definitions

3. Definitions

In this Act-

accepted electricity safety management scheme means an electricity safety
management scheme in respect of which an Order of the Governor in Council
under Division 2 of Part 10 is in force;

accepted electricity safety manager means a person in respect of whom an Order
of the Governor in Council under Division 1 of Part 10 is in force;



business day means a day other than a Saturday or Sunday or a public holiday
appointed under the Public Holidays Act 1993;

cathodic protection system means a prescribed system designed to use direct
electric current to protect metallic structures from corrosion;

Code means the Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance prescribed for the
purpose of Part 8;

company assets means property of an electricity supplier, being the whole or
part of any pole, cable, conduit, conductor, device, appliance or other thing
used for or in connection with a private electric line;

Committee means-

   (a)  in Part 4, the Equipment Advisory Committee;

   (b)  in Part 8, the Electric Line Clearance Consultative Committee;

   (c)  in Part 9, the Victorian Electrolysis Committee;

connect, in relation to an electrical installation or electrical equipment,
includes make capable of receiving an electric current; decision for the
purposes of Part 6 includes prohibition, requirement or direction;

Director means the Director of Energy Safety appointed under the
Energy Safe Victoria Act 2005;

distribution area means an area in which a licensee under a distribution
licence under the Electricity Industry Act 2000 is authorised to distribute
electricity;

distribution company has the same meaning as in the
Electricity Industry Act 2000;



electric line means-

   (a)  the whole or any part of a wire, cable or other thing used or to be
        used for the purpose of transmitting, distributing or supplying
        electricity; or

   (b)  any thing enclosing or supporting such a wire, cable or other thing-

but does not include a wire, cable or other thing directly used in converting
electrical energy into another form of energy;

electrical connection work means connecting or disconnecting electrical
equipment to or from a supply of electricity;

electrical contracting means contracting or undertaking to carry out
electrical installation work;

electrical contractor means a person who carries out electrical contracting;

electrical equipment means any appliance, wire, fitting, cable, conduit or
apparatus that generates, uses, conveys or controls (or that is intended to
generate, use, convey or control) electricity;

electrical equipment work means repair, alteration or maintenance of
electrical equipment;

electrical inspection work means testing, inspection or certification of
electrical equipment;

electrical installation means electrical equipment that is fixed or to be
fixed in, on, under or over any land;

electrical installation work means installation, alteration, repair or
maintenance of an electrical installation;

electrical installation worker means a person who carries out electrical
installation work;

electrical work means electrical connection work, electrical equipment work,
electrical inspection work or electrical installation work;

electrical worker means a person who carries out electrical work;

electricity supplier means a person who supplies electricity to another
person; Energy Safe Victoria means Energy Safe Victoria established under the
Energy Safe Victoria Act 2005;

enforcement officer means a person appointed as an enforcement officer under
Part 11;

fire control authority, in relation to an area of land, means-

   (a)  the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board, if the area is
        within the metropolitan fire district within the meaning of the
        Metropolitan Fire Brigades Act 1958; or

   (b)  the Secretary to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment,
        if the area is within a fire protected area within the meaning of the
        Forests Act 1958; or

   (c)  the Country Fire Authority, if the area is within the country area of
        Victoria within the meaning of the Country Fire Authority Act 1958;

high voltage electric line means an electric line other than a low voltage
electric line;

install includes lay and place;

low voltage electric line means an electric line which is ordinarily operated
at a voltage not exceeding the voltage prescribed for the purposes of this
definition;

maintenance, in Part 8, in relation to an electric line or a private electric
line, includes the keeping of the whole or any part of a tree clear of the
line;

member, in Part 8, means a member of the Electric Line Clearance Consultative
Committee and includes a chairperson, acting chairperson and acting member;

mitigation system means a prescribed system designed to reduce the effects on
metallic structures of the leakage of stray electrical currents;

network operator means a person who owns or operates-

   (a)  an upstream network; or

   (b)  a railway or tramway system;

occupier, in Part 8 or 11, in relation to land, means a person who is in
actual occupation of the land or, if no-one is in actual occupation of the
land, the owner of the land;

* * * * *



officer, in relation to a corporation, has the same meaning as in section 9 of
the Corporations Act;

person, in Part 8, includes an unincorporated body or association and a
partnership;

point of supply-

   (a)  in relation to a low voltage electric line, means-

   (i)  in the case of an underground line (unless subparagraph (iii)
        applies), the point at which that line crosses the boundary of the
        land; and

   (ii) in the case of an overhead line (unless subparagraph (iii) applies),
        the first point of connection of that line on the land, being either-

                (A)  if the line is carried onto the land by one or more
                     poles, the first pole on the land carrying that line;

                (B)  if the line is connected directly to premises on the
                     land, that connection to the premises; or

                (C)  if it is not possible to determine a point of supply in
                     accordance with sub-subparagraph (A) or (B), the point at
                     which the line crosses the boundary of the land; and

   (iii) in the case of a line connected to company assets, the point at which
        the line is connected to the company assets; and

   (b)  in relation to a high voltage electric line, means the point agreed
        between the relevant distribution company or the relevant transmission
        company and the customer supplied by that electric line; practicable,
        in sections 111 and 119, means practicable having regard to-

   (a)  the severity of the hazard or risk in question; and

   (b)  the state of knowledge about the hazard or risk and any ways of
        removing or mitigating the hazard or risk; and

   (c)  the availability and suitability of ways to remove or mitigate the
        hazard or risk; and

   (d)  the cost of removing or mitigating the hazard or risk;



private electric line means any low voltage electric line used to take
electricity from the point of supply, whether or not that line is vested in an
electricity supplier;

public land, in Division 4 of Part 3 and Part 8, means-

   (a)  Crown land; or

   (b)  land vested in a Minister of the Crown; or

   (c)  land vested in a public statutory authority or municipal council; or

   (d)  land (whether privately or publicly owned) used for public purposes;

railway or tramway system has the same meaning as in section 93(1) of the
Transport Act 1983;

relevant function, in Division 1 of Part 10, means a function under section
31, 40, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61 or 62 or a regulation relating to any of those
sections;

responsible person, in Part 8, means a person responsible under section 84 for
the maintenance of a private electric line or for the keeping of the whole or
any part of a tree clear of an electric line;

rural area, in Part 8, means an area that is not an urban area;

serious electrical incident means an incident involving electricity which
causes or has the potential to cause-

   (a)  the death of or injury to a person; or

   (b)  significant damage to property; or

   (c)  a serious risk to public safety;

supply includes supply (including re-supply) by way of sale, exchange, lease,
hire or hire-purchase;

supply network means a network consisting of electric lines, generators,
substations, circuits and any other thing required for the purposes of the
generation, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity;

tree includes vegetation;

Tribunal means the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal established by
the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998;

upstream network means the part of a supply network that is upstream of the
point of supply in relation to electric lines forming part of that supply
network;

urban area, in Part 8, means an area of land that is predominantly-

   (a)  subdivided into allotments or lots each of which, in the case of land
        used or to be used for residential purposes, is not greater than 0×4
        hectares; and

   (b)  able to be used or developed under a planning scheme for residential,
        industrial or commercial purposes; and

   (c)  provided with constructed streets and services; and



   (d)  provided with street lighting installed at not less than 3 lanterns in
        every 500 metres-
and includes any other area for the time being specified in a notice under
section 79 but does not include an area to which a fire control authority has
for the time being assigned a fire hazard rating of "high" under section 80.