ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Site power tools in Australia -- Again

You may remember a thread from some weeks ago in which a British builder was asking about taking British 110V building-site tools down under.

It seems as though this is a recurring problem for escaping British builders:


http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=261678


From the Queensland Electrical Safety Office website, referred to in the thread:
Can one of our Aussie members confirm this?

Does this mean that if I were in Queensland (and maybe some other states) that I'd be breaking the law by telling a homeowner how to wire a lamp?

[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 10-26-2004).]

Paul,
The term "Electrical work" used in that context, refers to Fixed wiring work, as in the installation of TPS wiring and the associated fittings, not the fitting of plugs to appliances and the like.

But what if I just told somebody how to replace, say, a fixed wall light? Would that be classed as "encouraging an unlicensed person" to carry out wiring?

The British Expats forum has been providing some quite interesting electrical threads in the Aussie/NZ section lately, and it's funny you should mention just changing a plug. Have a look at the lengthy argument which developed over just such a query:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=261775

(Yes, PBC_1966 there at the end is me -- I couldn't resist adding my 2 cents! )

LOL Paul,
I just registered myself, as TrumpyNZ.
Seems like a large number of questions there don't have a lot of the right advice.
Also Paul, we have a thing down here called Prescribed Electrical work.
If work isn't prescribed in the Regulations, you don't have to be qualified to do it.
But, on the same side of the coin, let's not make a misnomer of this, all new wiring work is required to be connected to a source of energy, by a registered Electrician or Inspector, as the case may be.

There are numerous questions in there along the lines of "Will my British appliances work in Aus/NZ/US/Canada?" TV equipment causes a lot of confusion, as you might expect.

Queensland Electrical Safety Act 2002 and Queensland Electrical Safety Regulation 2002 can be viewed on the following website.

www.eso.qld.gov.au

It is very interesting reading.

It also defines Electrical Work.

Under this this legislation you have hold a Queensland Electrical Work Licence to perform Electrical Work in Queensland.