kiwi,
I may be wrong here but I'm not seeing absolute consistency in the fines handed out to electrical workers as detailed in the "Electron" gazette.
I don't actually think that there is an arbitrary "scale" for fines vs. offence.
I think that the Electricity Regulations come into it somewhere along the line.
To a certain extent, I think that Regulations 51 and 100 would be a starting point for any disciplinary actions.
In my own opinion, I reckon that laying to waste the Electrical Codes of Practice that we had only just got used to using here, was a tad short-sighted.
Also, given that the Standards Authority here went into a joint agreement with thier Australian counterparts to develop joint standards between the two countries and then "pulled the plug" (so to speak) half way through the process, due to lack of funding on this side of the Tasman. GRRRR.
Standards are, in my opinion, just far too expensive, when you can have an ECP do the same thing for a fraction of the price.
Often times, the ECP is more helpful, by having been written with Industry consultation, not merely a bunch of legislators, who I doubt some of the time have any idea about what they are regulating against.
Just a note about the COC system kiwi, I've never really been a fan of this system and others around here have more than likely heard me rant and scream about this system before today.
The COC system only punishes the Electricians that use it in the first place.
Filling out and signing a COC, certifies that you have for a start installed all of the work that you have listed on the form
safely and also that you have once finished the work you have
tested the said work to check that it is safe, before it is connected to the Supply.
Now, to not have installed the work safely or not tested it and then blindly filled in the COC, leaves you wide open to all sorts of nasty things, should there be a fault in the installation down the track.
BTW, it has been PoCo policy here for a couple of years now that if an Electrician blows a Pole/Pillar fuse while working in a house, an Inspector is required to be notified by the Faultsman.
Silly yes, but, it has cut down on the number blown fuses by Electricians, using the "230V Megger".
With regard to Refresher Courses, I did mine last year so I don't have to go back until next year.
Mind you, I have 2 of the things to go to, the Line-Mechanic one takes a whole day!.