Registered Electrical Contractors

You must

As a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC), you must:

• sign your REC card when you get it
• notify Energy Safe within 10 business days if you change your name, contact or address details
• have public liability insurance with a minimum of $5 million cover when:
  • carrying out electrical contracting work
  • offering to carry out electrical contracting work
• ensure your REC registration number is on all promotional materials, including:
  • advertisements
  • notices
  • statements.

As a Registered Electrical Contractor working alone or with others, you must:

• only employ licensed electrical workers to carry out electrical installation work
  Note: This includes any electrical apprentice who is deemed to be licensed when under effective supervision during a 4 year electrical apprenticeship, or within 3 months of completing their training contract
• keep a register of all licensed electrical workers you have employed, including apprentices – this register must be available for inspection at all reasonable times
• ensure the effective supervision of electrical installation work carried out by the business – don't direct or permit anyone to carry out any work that does not follow the Act and relevant Regulations
  Note: this may be by either:
  • a REC that holds an A Grade electrician’s licence
  • a nominated Technical Supervisor that holds an A Grade electrician’s licence
• ensure all electrical circuits are correctly isolated from supply. or adequate precautions are taken to prevent shock or injury
  Note: guidance on safe work on low voltage is detailed in AS/NZS 4836. You must also comply with the requirements and procedures set out in Regulations 508 to 511 of the Electricity Safety (General) Regulations 2019 whenever you or your workers are working on energised electrical equipment.
• ensure any employed apprentices are properly supervised – see Effective supervision of apprentice electricians(opens in a new window) guidelines
• ensure that the quality of the materials, fittings and apparatus used – including methods followed – follow all Regulations and Standards, including AS/NZS 3000 (the Wiring Rules)
• ensure the appropriate Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES) is completed within the required times for the work undertaken
• ensure prescribed electrical installation work is inspected by a Licensed Electrical Inspector (LEI) either:
  • before energisation of the installation
  • before the work is first used after it is completed if not disconnected from electricity supply
• ensure distribution of all copies of the COES as required (one copy to your customer and one copy to Energy Safe)
• ensure you maintain a nominated person with the appropriate qualifications as:
  • a Business Supervisor who's responsible for the management and administration of the business
  • a Technical Supervisor to supervise the electrical installation work carried out by the REC ^[1]
• notify us within 10 business days of any change to the Business or Technical Supervisor and provide updated details.

Electrical incident notification

You must notify us ^[2] if you become aware of a serious electrical incident related to work being carried out by your business or one of your workers. If this happens, call 1800 000 922 as soon as practical.

A serious electrical incident causes, or has the potential to cause:

• the death of or injury to a person
• significant damage to property
• a serious risk to public safety.

You must submit an Electrical Incident Report form after an incident. The form is due within 20 business days of the incident.

Electrical Incident Report form
Electrical_incident_report_form-2018 DOCX 98.5 KB(opens in a new window)

For any electric shock related to your work – or at the work's location – submit an Electrical Incident Report form within 20 business days.

Send the written report ^[2] by post:
Electrical Incidents
Energy Safe Victoria
PO Box 262
Collins Street West VIC 8007

or

Email: info@energysafe.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window)

You must not

You must not carry out electrical contracting work unless your registration and insurance are current. It's your responsibility to know your registration expiry date.

You should

As a Registered Electrical Contractor, you should:

• maintain knowledge of the following documents, including updates to the:
  • Electricity Safety Act (in particular Part 3)
  • Electricity Safety (General) Regulations
  • Electricity Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations
  • AS/NZS 3000 Wiring Rules
  • other Standards applicable to your work – including referenced sections of the Building Code of Australia
  • Victorian Electricity Distributors Service and Installation Rules.
• undertake regular education and training
• understand your OH&S responsibilities
• wear appropriate protective clothing and equipment.

You should also understand that we may:

• direct you to rectify non-compliant electrical work – at no additional cost to the customer – if you're responsible for that work
• take disciplinary action if you fail to comply with the Act or Regulations, including:
  • suspending your licence
  • cancelling your licence
  • issuing infringement notices
  • prosecution.

Notes

The information presented here is for general use only. It's not a definitive guide to the law. You should read the Act and relevant Regulations.

Also note the use of these words:

• ‘must’ indicates that legal requirements exist, which you must comply with
• ‘should’ indicates a recommended course of action
• ‘may’ indicates an optional course of action.

^[1] You may need to nominate a number of technical nominees to ensure that all work carried out by your business is effectively supervised.

^[2] You are not required to notify or provide written reports to us if you have confirmed your employee, a manager or controller of the incident workplace or the relevant MEC has notified us.