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ELECTRICITY (LICENSING) REGULATIONS 1991 - REG 19

ELECTRICITY (LICENSING) REGULATIONS 1991 - REG 19

19 .         Electrical work prohibited unless authorised

        (1A)         In this regulation —

        flexible cord has the meaning given in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules clause 1.4.40;

        professionally qualified engineer means a person who —

            (a)         holds a degree in electrical engineering with a specialisation in electrical power engineering; and

            (b)         is, or is eligible to be, a member of the body known as Engineers Australia otherwise than at the grade of student;

        relevant training contract , in relation to an apprentice, means a training contract, as defined in the Vocational Education and Training Act 1996 section 60A —

            (a)         that is registered under section 60F of that Act; and

            (b)         the completion of which by the apprentice would fulfil the requirements of regulation 22(1);

        servicing , in relation to an electrical appliance, portable sub‑distribution board or residual current device, means —

            (a)         identifying a faulty component of the appliance, board or device and replacing it with a component having an equal or substantially similar engineering specification; or

            (b)         affixing a flexible cord to the appliance, board or device.

        (1)         Subject to this regulation, a person who carries out any electrical work commits an offence unless the carrying out of that work by that person is authorised by a licence or permit.

        (2)         Subregulation (1) does not apply — 

            (a)         to work carried out on a communications or computer system, or a radio or television transmitter or receiver but does apply to an electricity supply circuit thereto having a nominal pressure exceeding 50 volts alternating current or 120 volts ripple free direct current; or

            (b)         to — 

                  (i)         the mechanical assembly or winding of armatures, stators, rotors, field coils or other like equipment; or

                  (ii)         the manufacture or assembly, at the place of manufacture, of equipment, or parts thereof, on a repetitive basis,

                except to the extent that the work involves the final testing of the equipment or the connection of the equipment to an installation; or

            (c)         to work carried out for, and as authorised by, a major network operator on poles, towers and overhead lines including the final connection and testing of circuits by persons trained in electrical linework; or

            (d)         to work carried out in jointing and capping underground cables of all kinds by persons trained in electrical cable jointing work; or

            (e)         to work carried out by a person authorised by the relevant network operator on —

                  (i)         any service apparatus the property of a major network operator; or

                  (ii)         any service apparatus the property of a consumer and connected to the network of a major network operator;

                or

            (f)         to the installation of poles, towers and overhead lines not involving the final connection or testing of circuits; or

            (g)         to the underground installation of under ground cables, cable ducts, conduits and cable support systems (excluding the final connection or testing of circuits); or

            (h)         to the affixing of a plug, electrical appliance plug or cord extension socket to a flexible cord used or intended to be used to connect an electrical appliance, portable sub‑distribution board or residual current device to a plug socket outlet through which electricity is supplied or to be supplied at a nominal pressure not exceeding 1 000 volts alternating current or 1 500 volts direct current; or

            (ia)         to the testing and servicing of —

                  (i)         an electrical appliance; or

                  (ii)         a portable sub‑distribution board; or

                  (iii)         a residual current device,

                connected, or to be connected, by means of a plug and flexible cord to a plug socket outlet through which electricity is supplied or to be supplied at a nominal pressure not exceeding 1 000 volts alternating current or 1 500 volts direct current; or

                  (i)         to work done in the course of training for a restricted licence if the work is done under the supervision of a person who holds an electrician’s licence or a restricted licence that authorises the holder of the licence to carry out electrical work of the kind to be done by the person under supervision; or

            (j)         to electrical work (excluding permanent installation work) performed as part of an educational or training course in a trade or technical school, college, university or other training institution, if performed by or under the supervision of a person who, in the opinion of the person at the institution responsible for the educational or training course, is competent to perform or supervise that electrical work; or

            (k)         to such other kinds of electrical work as the Director after consultation with the Board declares, by order published in the Gazette , to be work that may be carried out by persons not holding a licence or permit; or

            (l)         to the installation of electric fences for security or stock control purposes (but does apply to the installation of an electricity supply circuit, having a nominal pressure exceeding 50 volts alternating current or 120 volts ripple free direct current, to such a fence); or

            (m)         to electrical work carried out for law enforcement purposes according to a safety management plan approved by the Director; or

            (n)         to —

                  (i)         the detailed inspection of an electrical installation, including switchboards and equipment; or

                  (ii)         the measurement of electrical parameters (such as voltage, current or energy) at any part of an electrical installation; or

                  (iii)         the commissioning of, or the finding of faults in, an electrical installation (including any required disconnection or reconnection of electrical components and equipment),

                carried out by a professionally qualified electrical engineer with experience relating to electrical installing work; or

            (o)         to the installation of a modular wiring system to be attached to, or included in, office furniture or partitioning if —

                  (i)         the system has been —

                        (I)         approved for installation by the Director or by a person recognised by the Director to be a competent authority for the purpose of giving that approval; or

        (II)         certified as suitable for installation by an authority constituted under the laws of another State or a Territory with functions relating to the regulation of electrical work;

                and

                  (ii)         the person who carries out the installation ensures that the modular wiring system is checked and tested for safety by an electrician before the system is energised for the first time after its installation;

                or

            (p)         to the removal of wiring or electrical equipment from premises if —

                  (i)         a demolition permit, as defined in the Building Act 2011 section 3, is in effect for demolition work on the premises; and

                  (ii)         the person who carries out the removal ensures that all supplies of electricity are removed, or permanently disconnected, from the premises;

                or

            (q)         to electrical work performed by an apprentice who is under a relevant training contract if —

                  (i)         the electrical work being performed by the apprentice is being supervised by a person who holds an electrician’s licence that authorises the supervisor to carry out the electrical work unsupervised; and

                  (ii)         the Board has not issued an electrician’s training licence to the apprentice; and

                  (iii)         the Board has not notified the apprentice that their application for an electrician’s training licence has been refused; and

                  (iv)         less than 60 days has passed since the relevant training contract was registered under the Vocational Education and Training Act 1996 section 60F.

        (2a)         A person who — 

            (a)         is not the holder of an electrical contractor’s licence or an in‑house electrical installing work licence; and

            (b)         carries out any electrical work referred to in subregulation (2)(f) or (g) on an electrical installation of a consumer,

                shall ensure that, when the electrical work is completed, the electrical installation is checked, tested, and certified as complying with these regulations by a person who is the holder of such a licence.

        (3)         The Director may, by order published in the Gazette , vary or revoke an order under subregulation (2)(k).

        [Regulation 19 amended: Gazette 23 Dec 1994 p. 7134 and 7135; 6 Sep 1996 p. 4412; 31 Dec 2007 p. 6497‑500, 6537 and 6539; 17 May 2011 p. 1814‑15; 2 May 2017 p. 2294; 14 Nov 2017 p. 5599; 2 Oct 2018 p. 3793; SL 2022/36 r. 11.]