Electrical safety in the home and business is your responsibility
Thanks to the high standards of work and testing as well as the licensing and training systems in Australia staying electrically safe in your home or business is not that difficult. However, it does require some effort on the homeowner or business owners part to maintain a safe environment for residents, family, or staff.
5 simple rules of electrical safety
Fair Trading NSW recommend following these 5 simple rules to keep your property electrically safe.
- 1. Carry out regular maintenance – this includes getting electrical repairs done as soon as you notice a problem with an appliance, wiring, fittings, the switchboard or earthing connections.
- 2. Ensure you receive a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work – which shows that the work completed was carried out and tested to the relevant regulations.
- 3. Install a safety switch – actually, we recommend installing a safety switch on all circuits in your home or business to fully protect those using the property from electrical accidents. The safety switch needs to be tested every 3 months to ensure it is working freely and effectively.
- 4. Address electrical problems promptly – if you are renting contact your landlord or property manager. If it is your home or business get the electrician in promptly if you notice an issue.
- 5. Report electrical accidents – in NSW all electrical accidents where medical treatment is required must be reported to your electricity provider or NSW Fair Trading. Employers are required to also report accidents to WorkSafe NSW.
A few extra safety tips from the electrical experts
Our electricians have a few more common sense electrical safety guidelines of our own as well:
- Only use licensed tradespeople – check that your electrician or tradesperson is licensed for the work. You can check that your electrician’s license is current here – fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
- Keep an eye out for product recalls – electrical products and fixtures are constantly being recalled due to various faults. You can check for recalls here productsafety.gov.au/recalls
- Ensure electrical products you buy comply with Australian standards – especially those bought directly from overseas online traders.
- When in doubt, call your electrician – if an electrical system or appliance is not working as you would expect, discontinue use immediately and consult your local electrician for expert advice and testing. This applies to wear and tear or visible damage as well
- Call your electrician after any type of water damage – flooding, a burst pipe near electrical fittings or wiring, etc. Even if it looks fine always get it checked to ensure damage hasn’t occurred out of sight.
- Cover power points if you have small children
- Regular testing and tagging for businesses
- Never carry out electrical work yourself – it can be very dangerous to you and anyone else using the building, as well as any tradesperson working in your building in the future.
- Always follow the manufacturer’s usage and maintenance instructions and when using electrical appliances.
For help with any electrical safety issue throughout Sydney’s northern suburbs contact the team at Captain Cook today.
