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| AUS - being qualified for electrical work |
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| John B:
I'm gathering information on the paths available for becoming a "qualified" electrician in Australia. Let's say hypothetically this would be for personal electrical work on your own property, and not for the purposes of being a contractor or employee. Having a look at the NSW gov site, it is focused around being qualified to advertise yourself as a qualified electrician for the purposes of employment. As such, much of the pathways include >12 months employment in the field. Having a required TAFE course or equivalent is understandable, but I'm not currently seeking work in that field. Does anyone have experience on the matter? Thanks. |
| beanflying:
Importantly it varys State to State so generalist advice from those outside your State may or may not apply. So are you in NSW? In Victoria there is a difference between being an 'Electrician' and then being an 'Electrical Contractor' too and likely in other states. |
| Rerouter:
Generally it involves a 3rd certificate via tafe or university, and a minimum required number of hours work under another qualified electrician, The fastest way through it would be to complete as much of the tafe stuff via prior learning acknowledgement, to this end you might research the curriculum, as you can access that without being enrolled The work under another electrician is the harder part depending on your free time, there is no easy legal way around this AS an alternative fast-path, aim for the disconnect / reconnect license, this can be gained with limited site work, and can be done with prior learning / practical exams / a lot of studying the wiring standards you can get while enrolled for a tafe course through the library. This will let you run and fit out most of the wiring, but prior to any connection to mains you then have an electrician come and give it there mark of approval and perform the final connection Most people who are in this position seem to prefer the second option, calling a sparky for a final verification is generally a much shorter and cheaper option than the sparky doing the fit out (so long as it meets all required standards) |
| Someone:
--- Quote from: John B on May 24, 2020, 04:41:43 am ---Let's say hypothetically this would be for personal electrical work on your own property, and not for the purposes of being a contractor or employee. Having a look at the NSW gov site, it is focused around being qualified to advertise yourself as a qualified electrician for the purposes of employment. --- End quote --- In Australia there is no distinction drawn between electrical work done for yourself and work done for pay, both have to be done to the same standards and by people with the same qualifications. This makes sense when houses/properties are sold without electrical safety certificates. Different rules apply to: "restricted work" applying to a narrow field necessary for a plumbing trade. "plug in" appliances (many commercial lighting/office installs have moved to this model). The only workaround is that electrical work requires supervision and signoff from an approved electrical worker (contractor etc), but someone else can do the actual labor. So it is possible to do the electrical work yourself if you have a working relationship with a qualified person who then takes the responsibility/liability for the job as a whole. If you don't do that you'll risk losing any insurance on the property, and being personally liable for any problems. |
| VK3DRB:
I know a bloke with an electronics engineering degree with several years experience who wanted to become an electrician. He was told by the meatheads in the state government that there are no exemptions - he would have to start as a first year apprentice. He gave the idea away and instead went into earth moving where he is very happy and doing well. And yet there are electricians who have the qualifications but are grossly incompetent. But not as incompetent as many plumbers and not as greedy either. |
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