Protected: Electrical Contractor Licence – 221223C

You need an electrical licence before you can do any electrical wiring work in NSW, regardless of the cost of the work and regardless of whether the work is residential, commercial or industrial.

Electrical wiring work means the actual physical work of installing, repairing, altering, removing or adding to an electrical installation or the supervising of that work.

An electrical installation means any fixed appliances, wires, fittings, meters, apparatus or other electrical equipment used for (or related to) conveying, measuring, controlling and using electricity in a particular place. It does not include:

• any electrical equipment (other than a meter) used, or intended to be used, to generate, transmit or distribute electricity that is:
  • owned or used by an electricity supply authority, or
  • located at a place that is owned or occupied by such an authority
• any electrical article connected to, and extending or situated beyond, any electrical outlet socket
• any electrical equipment in or around a mine
• any electrical equipment operating at not more than 50 volts alternating current or 120 volts ripple-free direct current
• any other electrical equipment, or class of electrical equipment, prescribed by the regulations.

Remember, it is an offence to do electrical wiring work without a licence or certificate. You can be fined $22,000 as an individual or $110,000 as a company for doing unlicensed electrical work.

To learn more about what is considered electrical wiring work or an electrical installation, see the definitions used in NSW laws. For licensing purposes, electrical wiring work is defined in schedule 1 of the Home Building Act 1989 as having the same meaning as it has in the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2017.

Also refer to the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules called AS/NZS 3000:2018, Electrical Installations, published jointly by Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand.