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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (30 March) . . Page.. 1084 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Mr Speaker, I present the Electricity Amendment Bill Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000, together with its explanatory memorandum.

This Bill meets commitments I made when tabling the Utilities Bill Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 in February. At that time I referred to the need to improve the regulatory environment for associated activities outside the scope of the utility regulation package. This included consumer installations.

I am pleased to now table the first piece of the legislation in this area.

The Electricity Amendment Bill Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 removes ACTEW's formal position as the regulator of electrical activities in the ACT and provides the necessary powers for Urban Services, which is the current regulator.

Until 1995. ACTEW not only supplied electricity but set standards for electrical work within the property boundary, inspected completed electrical work and administered a system under which some kinds of electrical equipment require approval before sale. The legal basis for all of these functions is the Electricity Act 1971. These functions were then transferred to Urban Services. Legislative changes made at the time provided for Urban Services to inspect electrical work but did not deal with the other powers.

The Bill transfers the remaining regulatory powers to Urban Services. This is a routine but essential change. Until it is made, there is, for instance no adequate power to take away the licence of an electrician who carries out dangerous electrical work.

The Bill adds to the regulatory system in one respect. It formalises a system taken over from ACTEW by providing for the investigation of serious electrical accidents. The use of electricity can be dangerous and investigation may identify unsafe work practices. Repeated accidents involving electrical equipment may be evidence that a particular electrical product is unsafe or that the safety standards for a class of equipment need to be reconsidered.

There is currently no legal basis for the investigation of electrical accidents and no legal requirement for anyone to report many kinds of accidents. The Bill provides for both of these.

The Bill also introduces in the ACT a system of minimum safety standards for electrical equipment. The Electricity Act currently requires some kinds of customers' electrical equipment to be tested and registered with an Australian government before they can be sold. Most other electrical equipment is tested and voluntarily registered outside the ACT for commercial reasons.

This leaves a small group of products that are not registered and may not have been tested. They are more likely to be dangerous to users.

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