Electrician Brisbane Guide

Learn About Qualifications, Safety and Services

What is an Electrician?

Electricians work with electrical appliances, outlets and wiring. An electrician can install cables and wires that transmit electricity throughout homes, retail stores, and factories. They are also responsible for the replacing and repairing electronic components and machines. A qualified electrician is fast becoming a highly sought after (but difficult) trade.

An electrician begins working on a project by carefully observing the location of circuits and wiring. In a new construction site, they are responsible for drawing the first electrical blueprints and connecting electricity.

History of the Electrician

In the beginning of 1880s, Thomas Edison (Light Bulb inventor) designed the DC generator. This had the potential to be commercially used for delivering electricity. Soon after, many countries began utilising this technology, especially parts of England, Europe, Australia, America, and New Zealand. Electricity was beyond the experimental stage and was now seeing power stations been built for the purpose of supplying electricity to domestic and commercial consumers.

Australia was not left far behind as far as electricity is concerned. Research shows us that Queensland was an electricity pioneer in Australia. The states capital, Brisbane was one of the first cities in the country to get utilize this modern marvel. In 1888, Tamworth took over the role of supplying electricity initially for the purpose of street lighting. Then in the same year, the south-west portion of the New South Wales also received their share of the electric current.

Soon after, the supply reached Penrith, west of Sydney in the year 1889. The next year, in 1980, Broken Hill got their share of supply followed by Newcastle in 1894. The capital cities that followed in the footsteps of Brisbane were Perth and Melbourne in 1894, Adelaide in 1899, Sydney in the year 1904, and Hobart in 1905.

Electrical licenses

Does and electrician need to be licensed?

The short answer is yes. Becoming an electrician requires you to adhere to Queensland licensing requirements. To work as an electrician Brisbane, you must have an electrical work license that would permit you to work individually or under an agency. This rule has been enforced due to the risks associated with electrical work. This ensures only a fully competent and licensed electricians can operate safely.

Licenses in the state of Queensland are issued as a electrical contractor license or worker licence for the following jobs:

 > For electrical contracting work to individuals working as electrical contractors

 > For electrical installing work to people working as electricians

 > For electrical training to those working as trainees and apprentices

 > For registered electrical work to only a few restricted electrical workers

For training and apprenticeship, an aspiring electrician can enroll themselves under agencies that handle licenses. An organisation like TAFE Queensland offers various courses to meet license requirements across a number of job profiles, including electrical. Trade contractor licensing is crucial to ensure you can work in certain areas and in accordance with the state and national requirements.

Master Electricians Australia is also a reputed organisation that offers training programs for electrical contractors. The courses have been developed to meet the requirements of electrical contracting businesses and aims to train them to master new techniques. They offer chances for learning online or in a classroom setting according to the apprentice’s wish.

Click here to view copies of electricians licenses issued by Queensland Workplace Health and Safety.

Electrocutions in Australia

In the year 2009 to 2010, 28 electricity related deaths were recorded in Australia and New Zealand. This is equal to 1.10 deaths per million of the population. This statistic is a steep increase from the year 2008 to 2009 that only recorded 16 deaths. However, the 1.10 per million population deaths for 2009 to 2010 can only be said to be slightly greater than the last recorded 10 year average of 1.0 7 pmp deaths.

The electrical death statistics recorded over 20 years keep on showing a trend in a slight decrease in the number of deaths from the annual average of 49 deaths in the 1990’s to only 25 in the early 2000’s. Out of the 7 deaths related to electricity network, 6 were caused due to accidental contract with electricity supply conductors. 21 deaths came while trying to install customer’s applications, equipment, or appliances.

Among the people were electrocuted, 96% were either general public or non-electrical workers trying to do the job themselves. 46% of the people electrocuted were at their workplace when the accident happened. These are some of the key statistics available that should give you a brief idea why handling electricity by yourself is not advised, unless you are a licensed electrician. Electrical safety is extremely important. Never attempt to install or repair an electrical device yourself.

You can view more statistics from ERAC (Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council).

Electrician Associations in Australia

There are many electrician associations in Australia, operating independently or is funded by the government. The EESA or Electric Energy Society of Australia is a national society that was established to advance electric energy. It is a technical society full of engineers whose primary motive is to provide continuous professional training and development programs to members of the society.

Those who have interest in electrical energy can learn the ropes of transmission, generation, distribution, and consumer use of electric energy through EESA. As per recent records, the total membership number is approaching 850 and there are active chapters in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australian Tasmania, and Western Australia.

NECA or the National Electrical and Communications Association are another industry body that represents the best interests of the communications and electrical contracting industry. Established for the interest of the electricians in Australia, this peak body is run by contractors and for contractors to offer integrated packages that serve all the members needs.

How to Become an Electrician?

In Australia, to become an electrician you must complete an apprenticeship course and only then you can apply for a licence to work unsupervised. Since the line of work of an electrician is highly technical and involves hands on approach, it’s important that they go through rigorous training. Being an electrical contractor is potentially dangerous work. It requires logical thinking and the ability to work safely at all times.

Some of the skills you’ll need as an electrician are:

• Ability to cope with conditions that are physically demanding
• Good eyesight
• Methodical and cautious methods of working
• Precise and detail oriented view of the problem
• Excellent troubleshooting skills

An apprentice electrician must use a specialisation depending on their proficiency and type of environment they work in. The specialisations they can choose between are electrical motor winding tradesperson, electronics technician in the Army, and electronics and communications technician.

Services

Residential (Domestic) electricians:

The job encompasses the following aspects:

• Assembly, installation, testing, maintenance of electronic wiring, appliances, equipment and other power tools.
• Diagnosing malfunctioning components, systems, apparatus, using various test equipment and to locate the exact cause of a breakdown to fix the problem.
• Connecting wires to Transformers, circuit breakers, or other components.
• Inspecting electrical equipment, systems, and components to identify hazards, defects, in order to repair the problem.
• Test electrical appliances, systems, and continuity of circuits in equipment, electrical wiring, and fixtures using various testing devices such as oscilloscopes and voltmeters.
• Provide direction and training to workers in regards to installation, maintenance, preparation of electrical appliances, equipment, fixtures, and wiring.

Commercial electricians

Work in the commercial industry involves the following:

• Planning and drawing diagrams of electrical systems, including conduits of pipe or tubing as required by local electrical codes.
• Working on the blueprint handed out by general contractor in installing electrical appliances, including conduits.
• Provide wire instruments that are responsible for controlling power of lighting and heating units in a building.
• Commercial electrician is also work with many standard tools like screwdrivers, pliers, sawzalls, and knives.
• Give advice on whether it continued operation of an appliance, system, or equipment could be hazardous.

Emergency (24 Hour) electricians

The job description involves following aspects:

• Provide electricity maintenance and repair services during emergency periods, regardless of time or day.
• Defuse electrical fires and fix the cause that is often due to overloaded power boards or power sockets that became faulty.
• Repair blown fuse caused by an overloaded circuit and bring back electricity anytime of the day.
• Fix electrical damage caused by natural calamities like storms or floods.
• Repair or remove spark saw smoke coming from an electrical appliance or a power outlet.

Data cabling

Data cabling is a pivotal component of any office or a business as it enables communication from multiple locations into a single direction or from a single location to multiple directions. When it comes to phones and computers and other raw appliances, data cabling still holds the top position for being user-friendly and effective.

An electrician can help you to install all your components without any hassle and according to the local electrical codes. You need not worry yourself with the details because a certified electrical contractor is perfectly capable of getting this work done.

Home automation

Home automation refers to a setup where every aspect of electricity is personalised to the owner’s tastes and requirements. Be it incorporating home security or installing the perfect lights, the aspects of an automated home are plenty and they require the intervention of professional tradesman.

A certified electrician adept in this field can help you install lighting, audiovisual solutions exceptionally well to create the atmosphere of your desire.

Lighting

This aspect of electricity doesn’t need much introduction because everybody’s home got lighting facilities. However, if your choice of lighting deviate from the ordinary and you wish to install fancy lights or LED-based lighting systems, the services provided by a professional technician can be of great help.

An electrical contractor can help you get started with the lighting choices by professionally recommending what light would suit a particular room. And then, he/she may create the lighting setup that is catered exactly to your needs.

Power Points

In simple terms, power points are the points in your home where you plug in an electrical appliance or equipment. Power points come in various shapes and designs to allow you to insert different chords to run a particular appliance. Apart from setting up power points in your home, malfunctioning points can also be fixed.

Switchboards

The term “switchboard” is itself self-explanatory as it simply refers to a board that contains a collection of switches to turn on and off different electrical appliances. Properly installing a switchboard is not easy, which is why you should only use Government certified electricians.

Solar power

Solar energy can be harvested through solar power plants and other equipment that are built to function on the power of the sun rays. To install a solar power system at your home, you need the expertise of a licensed tradesman who is an expert in this field. Installing a solar power system cannot only help you make savings but also make way for sustainable living.

Electrical installations, repairs, maintenance

These services encompass the three major roles of electrical contractors. People involved in this line of work have to install appliances and systems, carry out repairs for broken or burnt out appliances, as well as perform maintenance duty for those who are in need. Regular maintenance of electronic systems and appliance is the key to their long life.

Dangers of DIY electrical work

Since you’ve read the statistics related to electrical deaths, the dangers are clear. Working with electricity is a hazardous occupation and has the potential to kill if proper safety precautions are not met. From crippling injuries to death, the dangers of DIY electrical work are plenty. But luckily, this is the reason licensing and regulations exist. These rules ensure those working with electricity follow strict health and safety standards.

Conclusion

This concludes our Electrician Brisbane Guide. We’ve explored information on licesnes, services, safety and services.  Hopefully this gives you an understanding of the importance of these tradesman in our society. Whether you want to become an electrical contractor yourself or looking to hire one, we hope this guide has been helpful.

This article wsa published by Jeremy Knowles.