Page 1727 - Week 06 - Thursday, 19 May 1994
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There has been agreement at national level by Ministers for labour that a class of restricted electrical licence should be introduced for tradespersons who are not electricians but who need to do limited electrical work as part of their trade and who have also undergone appropriate training to permit them safely to carry out this incidental electrical work. An example of this might be a plumber called upon to repair a hot-water service. If he or she has had the appropriate training and also holds the restricted electrical licence provided for by this amendment, they will be able to disconnect the electrical wiring from the hot-water appliance and then reconnect it after the plumbing work has been completed. However, a plumber holding a restricted electrical licence will not be permitted to carry out electrical wiring work such as the initial connection of electricity to a new hot-water service. The overall objective is that, within the limits of the additional training provided to them, members of trades other than the electrical trade will be able efficiently and safely to undertake incidental electrical wiring work. This will support micro-economic reform and will hold down costs across Australia, and to the community in the ACT.
The Bill also provides for the establishment of an Electrical Licensing Board. At present the ACT Electricity and Water Authority administers electrical licensing and inspects electrical wiring work carried out by electrical contractors. A problem with this arrangement is that unions and industry have had no clear role in electrical licensing and discipline, where this is necessary, and have had no legal right to be involved in the development of policy concerning electrical regulations.
In the course of developing this Bill, the Government ensured that there was extensive consultation with electrical contactors and the unions and with persons responsible for trades education. Those involved in the electricity industry pressed for an electrical licensing board, or its equivalent, similar to those provided by other jurisdictions in Australia. The Government agreed, and this Bill provides for the establishment of an Electrical Licensing Board. It will have responsibility for electrical licensing and for any necessary disciplinary action in respect of electrical tradespersons. The board will consist of five members, who will be appointed by the Minister for Urban Services. It will include a representative of the union, the electrical contractors, the Canberra Institute of Technology and ACTEW, and one other person, whom I intend to be a consumer representative. Support staff for the board will be provided by the ACT Electricity and Water Authority. Costs will be modest and will be absorbed by ACTEW. The Bill provides a right to review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of any licensing or disciplinary decision.
In addition to the matters I have discussed, there are a number of other changes made by the Bill that are of a machinery nature or that tidy up some minor difficulties of the previous legislation. An example is a provision to ensure that persons holding a licence maintain $1m worth of insurance cover against claims for personal injury and property damage arising out of the work carried out by or on behalf of the licence holder. The Bill also amends the Electricity Act 1971 to make it clear that, consistent with the Mutual Recognition Act, a person holding the appropriate licence in a State or another Territory is entitled to be licensed or to hold a permit as relevant under the Electricity Act 1971 in the ACT.
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