ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades New Country wide Licensing OZ

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 ?