Policies and guidelines

We have developed policies to provide transparent rationale to the Victorian community.

Policies

Licensing

Energy Safe Victoria has developed policies around the licensing of lineworkers and cable jointers, to provide transparent rationale for the issue and renewal of these licence types:

Restricted class “C” electrical lineworker licence – for persons already licensed as a class “D” electrical lineworker

Restricted Class C Lineworker Licence policy - April 2023
PDF 310.26 KB
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Supervised class “R” electrical lineworker licence – known as an R(S) licence

Supervised Class R Electrical Lineworker Licence policy - April 2023
PDF 167.71 KB
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Minimum clearance spaces for electric lines

From 27 June 2022, Energy Safe can issue infringement notices to persons who fail to comply with their responsibilities for ensuring trees are kept clear from electric lines as required by clause 3(1) of the Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance.

Compliance and enforcement of minimum clearance spaces for electric lines

Compliance and enforcement of minimum clearance spaces for electric lines
PDF 464.3 KB
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REFCL operations policy

Our REFCL operations policy sets out our expectations for rapid earth fault current limiters (REFCLs). Particularly, it outlines how distribution businesses should manage and operate REFCLs.

We will consider this policy when assessing safety cases, including Electricity Safety Management Schemes (ESMS) and Bushfire Mitigation Plans (BMP).

Read the REFCL operations policy.


Guidelines

Prosecution Guidelines

Energy Safe's Prosecution Guidelines communicates how we exercise our prosecutorial discretion. These guidelines do not limit our discretion to use any enforcement option deemed appropriate.

Safety case submissions

These guidelines are for major electricity companies (MECs), gas companies, and pipeline licensees (collectively, energy infrastructure companies). They aim to assist in drafting safety case submissions and meeting legislative requirements.

They include the Energy infrastructure safety case guidelines, which apply to all energy infrastructure companies, and other industry-specific guidance. Energy infrastructure companies should review all relevant guidance before submitting a safety case.

Energy infrastructure safety case guidelines

To help energy infrastructure companies understand their safety case obligations and our expectations. They also explain recent legislative changes for reviewing and revising accepted safety cases. These guidelines replace the Energy infrastructure safety management policy.

Energy infrastructure safety case guidelines

Electricity Safety Management Scheme (ESMS) Preparation and Submission Guidelines for MECs

To assist MECs with the preparation and submission of an ESMS.

Electrical Safety Management Schemes

Gas Safety Case Preparation and Submission for Facilities and Pipelines Guidelines

To help gas companies develop and comply with a gas safety case.

Gas and pipeline infrastructure safety

Safety Management Plan Preparation and Submission for Pipelines

To help pipeline licensees develop and comply with a safety management plan.

Gas and pipeline infrastructure safety

Incident and Safety Performance Reporting Guidelines for MECs

To provide MECs with guidance on reporting to Energy Safe in accordance with the Act and Regulations:

Electrical Safety Performance Reporting Guidelines Rev 05072022
PDF 1.42 MB
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More information

For more information about safety cases and the development of policies and guidelines in line with regulatory requirements, email us at info@energysafe.vic.gov.au.

Lineworker licensing

More information about lineworker licensing, contact our Licensing team:

Contact form

Email: licensing@energysafe.vic.gov.au

Call us on 1800 815 721 between the following hours:

  • Monday, Thursday, Friday – 9:00am to 4:00pm
  • Tuesday – 12:30pm to 4:00pm
  • Wednesday – 9:00am to 12:30pm.

Date: 21/12/2024 16:13

Controlled document

The currency and accuracy of this document cannot be guaranteed once printed or saved to a storage device. If in doubt, please check the ESV website for the current version.

Reviewed