Older wiring: when Energy Safe Victoria says to have it checked

Two moments to have it checked

Energy Safe’s household wiring page opens with a warning: “Beware old household wiring – don’t let a renovator’s dream turn into a nightmare!” Then come the two triggers, in its words:

• Buying

  “When buying a home built before the 1980s it is imperative the wiring is checked by a licensed electrical inspector or registered electrical contractor prior to moving in.”

• Owning

  “If your house was built more than 30 years ago, the wiring should be checked”.

Why: fire, and contact

“Fire brigades respond to more than 300 domestic electrical fires each year. Many of these fires are caused by old wiring that has degraded or is unable to cope with the demands of modern electrical equipment.” And: “In addition to the risk of fire, contact with degraded wiring can be fatal.”

CitiPower makes a related point: electrical fires can start from wiring that was put in wrongly, or from faulty appliances.

Signs CitiPower says to act on

CitiPower’s home safety page names two.

Fuses blowing, or safety switches tripping, often

If that keeps happening, CitiPower says the wiring and the appliances should be inspected.

A shock or tingle

CitiPower says a shock or tingle could mean a wiring problem in or near the home that might lead to something more dangerous, and that poor internal wiring and faulty appliances are the main causes of electric shock. For a shock or tingle from a tap or showerhead, its instruction is not to touch or go into that area again, and to call straight away to report it. Where CitiPower is your distributor (the Victorian Government lists it for the city and inner suburbs), CitiPower’s page gives this number for the report: CitiPower 13 12 80. If you are not sure which distributor serves your address, the Victorian Government’s find your energy distributor page lists them. After that, CitiPower says, a registered electrical contractor needs to investigate.

Who does the check

Energy Safe names two kinds of people: a licensed electrical inspector or a registered electrical contractor. An inspector’s licence, it says, is for experienced licence holders, or people with equivalent qualifications or experience, who inspect installations for safety or compliance. Both can be found on Energy Safe’s public register.

Questions worth bringing to the check

Not sure whether the house has safety switches at all? Energy Safe’s answer is to ask: “If you are unsure if a safety switch is installed at your property, contact a registered electrical contractor.” The same visit can cover the other signs on this page: fuses that blow or switches that trip often, and any shock or tingle.

CitiPower’s electrical safety around the home page also says what to do if an electrical fire starts.

What a check measures against

Energy Safe’s answers to electricians about periodic safety checks show the yardstick. It says a periodic check under Section 4 of that standard (AS/NZS 3019, Periodic assessment) “should provide evidence that the installation complies with the relevant requirements at the time of construction of the installation and is in a safe condition for continued use.” That section is “primarily visual inspection and limited testing”.

On repairs, the Electricity Safety (General) Regulations 2019 let an existing installation be repaired or maintained using methods that meet Part 1 of the Wiring Rules, with one clause excepted.

If the check leads to work

Electrical installation work that follows goes through a Registered Electrical Contractor, who sends a licensed electrician. In a home, Energy Safe says, prescribed work “covers all work done on wiring and equipment where the electricity cannot be switched off. This generally means work on wires up to the switchboard and may include the wiring from the street to the house/building and the electricity meter.” Prescribed work is inspected by a qualified inspector, arranged by your contractor, and an inspector must not inspect prescribed work they helped install.

When a renovation goes further

Two rules attach to bigger work. CitiPower says that in Victoria safety switches are mandatory in new premises and where major renovations happen. Energy Safe tells electricians that if a switchboard has to be replaced, AS/NZS 3000 requires RCDs on all final sub-circuits. Energy Safe also notes what a safety switch cannot do: safety switches “may not protect all wiring and electrical appliances and will not prevent all electric shocks.”

Buying or renovating an older house? A licensed electrical inspector or registered electrical contractor can check the wiring before you move in or start work, and tell you what it needs.