Saw on the news this morning that australia is going to issue licenses that cover the whole country as its done state by state at the moment with different lincensing requirements in each state. Should be interesting (also for plumbers and builders). Anyone have any details of how it will be implemented

Wow,
That sounds pretty ground-breaking!.

Sounds sensible given that the rules are harmonised across the entire country arn't they?

In Qld in 2000 they cancelled all lifetime licenses and now you have to renew it every 5 years. Did that happen nationally?
I'm all for a national license if it means I don't have to bother renewing it anymore.

I once held a Victorian registration in Melbourne and then when I moved to NSW my registration wasn't recognised. Coming from NZ where registration is nationwide I thought that was absurd.

If Australia is going to remedy this then that sounds like a good move. It does mean however that the government will lose some revenue in licensing fees and of course the lost revenue will have to be made up somewhere else ( think licensing fee hikes for sparkies )

As for the implementation of this system; Does Australia have one electricity legislation for the whole country or does each state have its own act ?

SA went to 3 yr licensing in 2000 also being $180 per 3 years for a workers registration or 340 for a contractors license (1 yr). Im hoping for my contractors license fee to drop. Previous to this their was no licensing fee but you still had to renew every 5 yrs. Looks like interesting times!

As for the implementation of this system; Does Australia have one electricity legislation for the whole country or does each state have its own act ?

We have one set of wiring rules (standards also for NZ)but each PoCo has its own requirements to supplement these for Connection to the mains and for transmission.

> As for the implementation of this system; > Does Australia have one electricity
> legislation for the whole country or does > each state have its own act ?

Each state has it's own electrical acts and regulations. In Qld we also have codes of practice.

Lets hope it doesnt all get bogged done with the state regulators all trying to hang on to their empires. Who knows one day the federal government may wake up and demand all states and territorys fall into line with regards to all types of licensing and laws within Australia. Its a nice thought but i dought ill see it in my lifetime!

So if for example you have a contractors license in N.S.W. and you move to W.A. Do you just pay a fee and get your licence swapped over or do you have to sit an exam or pass a course ?

It sounds as if AS 3000 wiring rules are used nationwide but each state has its own electrical legal act and some states have some of their own codes of practise.

Do all states have the same 400V M.E.N. system ?

Also what are the requirements for compliance certificates in Australia ? Is it the same as NZ ?

I beleive some states will recognise some states but others require a test and fees and it differs dependent on where you have your license and where you are going. Wiring rules are all the same here and NZ (AS/NZ 3000) All states have officially have 400v MEN system although we still have 415 in this area.

Can you tell me where the nominal voltage is specified. I assume it is in a standard made enforcable by the National Electricity Rules/Act/Law/Code( insert whichever applicable, there seems to be one of each in existance)?
Is there any legislation making the MEN system mandatory? In Qld it's up to the electricity entity as to what earthing system they use. Some rural areas use the SWER system.

It was my understanding that all states and teritories now operated (officially, not nessesarily in practice as the tolerances still allow them to operate at 240 and 415) with a nominal voltage of 230 and 400v. SA does and this is in the ETSA service rules. I would imagine that the entity responsible for the transmission of power in the relevant states would also have service rules which would state the nominal voltages. ETSA service rules are available online free, dont know about your area.

Article

A NATIONAL licensing system for electricians, carpenters, plumbers and other tradespeople will replace state-based accreditation after federal and state governments reached a historic agreement to combat skills shortages.

Under the biggest restructure of trades accreditation since federation, companies employing apprentices will receive a national licence, replacing the eight state and territory-based qualifications.

The Australian understands the single standard proposed in a Council of Australian Governments working party report will for the first time give tradespeople accredited in one state a licence to practice across the nation. Under the wide-ranging plan, tradespeople will find it easier to work interstate, with fees and accreditation demands eliminated when they move across state borders.

But unions have argued against a recommendation to give skilled migrants who are qualified in their home country automatic licences to practice in Australia.

In a win for immigration authorities, state premiers have given in-principle support to a "one-stop" assessment process in the report prepared by their own departments and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.






Immigration Department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi said yesterday that streamlining qualifications for migrants was "incredibly important" and insisted that Australian standards would not be undermined.

"We need to make sure the skilled migrants we are getting are job-ready and meet Australia's rigorous standards," Mr Rizvi said.

"The standards won't change. There will be one instead of eight, but it will be the Australian standard."

The Electrical Trades Union backed the plan for a national standard, but argued against streamlining accreditation for migrants.

"We want electrical workers to have a very high standard of skill and training, and very high criteria for people to work in our industry," ETU assistant secretary Kevin Harkins said.

"As far as qualifications go, we don't want people coming from overseas who don't meet our standards. It would impact on the quality of work done and have some influence on insurance."

The Government has come under pressure to pull into line its agency charged with recognising overseas qualifications - Trades Recognition Australia - amid allegations of gross inefficiency aired during parliamentary committee hearings chaired by Liberal MP Don Randall.

The plan to scrap the three-tier system of qualifications - a major hurdle for migrant electricians, hairdressers and other trades needed in Australia - will be considered at the COAG meeting in February.

John Howard committed to developing a "genuinely national system" for apprenticeships at the June COAG meeting amid fears of an impending skills crisis. Australia is facing a shortfall of up to 200,000 skilled workers, with numbers expected to worsen in 10 years, according to industry figures.

The Howard Government this year launched a global recruitment drive in Britain, Europe and India after boosting Australia's skilled migration intake by a record 20,000 places.

Research has shown Australia faces a looming skills crisis, with electricians, plumbers and carpenters set to retire, leaving a vacuum in traditional trades.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said his Government had long advocated the need for a national system of accreditation for trades and skills.

"Of course, details will need to be carefully gone through and issues such as health and safety examined," Mr Beattie said.

Victorian Education and Training Minister Lynn Kosky welcomed the recommendations yesterday.

"We have to make the process more streamlined, have a system which ensures that occurs and is consistent, whether that is for domestic people or overseas people," Ms Kosky said.

At the urging of the Victorian Government, the report pushes for secondary schools to be more closely linked to trades training.

In the first step towards mutual recognition of trades, all states have committed to implementing template legislation eliminating paperwork to practise interstate.

The report requires training, immigration and employment guidelines to be rewritten, and outlines a series of steps to be completed by a range of government departments within about five years.

Supposedly all training organisations now use the same national training package for electrical apprentices so in theory there shouldn't be any difference in the qualifications of a new tradesman, regardless of which state he did his apprenticeship in. This would make it easy to change it to a national license for new tradesman. Maybe existing tradesman will be required to sit a test to qualify.

But I doubt we will have a national contractors license. This is a license to run a particular type of business and has much more to do with complying with state legislation.

MEN must be provided according to this

AS/NZS 3000:2000
5.6.4.1 In every electrical installation a main earthingterminal/connection or bar shall be provided at the main switchboard and the following conductors shall be connected to it:
a. main earthing conductor
b. MEN link
c.protective earthing conductors.
d. functional earthing conductors, if required
e. equipotential bonding conductors

I would say using the SWER system if you didnt have the nuetrals connected through the men link nothing would work as you are only supplied with an active conductor using earth as the return path

I found AS60038 specifies nominal voltages so I assume our electicity entities are required to comply with it by a national legislation.

I've never worked on a SWER system. Is it the same as MEN at the customer's installation?

No I havent worked on one either but would be interested to know if it was the same or a piccy from someone would be nice!

The Single Wire Earth Return system supplies one phase to a consumer through one wire and uses the ground as a neutral all the way back to the tranny.

Usually used in isolated rural areas as a cheap alternative to running a neutral. Apparently the SWERs still in use now are a major headache for Telecommunications.