Dris proposal for national licensing of the electrical occupations

Decision Regulation Impact Statement

Proposal for national licensing of the electrical occupations

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© Commonwealth of Australia 2013

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This is the second stage of a two-stage Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) process which includes a Consultation RIS followed by a final Decision RIS.
The purpose of this Decision RIS is to present the costs and benefits of options associated with national occupational licensing reform to assist the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in its decision making on reform paths. This Decision RIS incorporates jurisdictional and stakeholder views on reform paths following a consultation process. Consultants were commissioned by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce to prepare the Decision RIS, and it incorporates views that have been brought to the attention of the consultants. Extensive information has also been provided by jurisdictions on the costs and benefits of policy approaches and the detail of the licensing arrangements in each jurisdiction.

Table of contents

National licensing 5

Automatic mutual recognition 5

Mutual Recognition 8

Option 1 – National licensing 13

Option 2 – Automatic mutual recognition 13

Option 3 – Status quo 13

National licensing option 15

Overview of alternative options to national licensing 31

Automatic Mutual Recognition 31

Status quo 32

1General policy context 34

1.1The Occupational Licensing National Law Act 2010 36

2Options for reform 37

2.1Options considered 38

Option 1: National licensing 38

Option 2: Automatic mutual recognition 38

Option 3: Status quo 38

2.2Preferred option - requirements 39

2.3Option 1 – National licensing 40

2.3.1Conduct requirements 42

2.4Option 2 – Automatic mutual recognition 43

2.5Option 3 – Status quo 46

3Overview of the preferred option 47

3.1Proposed licence categories and regulated work 48

3.1.1Electrician 50

3.1.2Electrical fitter 52

3.1.3Electrical line worker 53

3.1.4Electrical cable jointer 54

3.1.5Electrical contractor 55

3.1.6Restricted electrical licences 56

3.1.7Provisional licences 58

3.2Nominees 59

3.3Exemptions 60

3.4Non-skills-based eligibility requirements 61

3.4.1Relevant person 62

3.4.2Personal probity eligibility requirements 63

3.4.3Financial probity requirements 66

3.5Qualification-based eligibility requirements 68

3.5.1Proposed entry level qualifications for the electrical licences 69

3.5.2Proposed qualifications and non-skill requirements for restricted electrical licences 70

5.1.1Proposed qualifications for provisional licences 73

5.2Experience 74

5.3Age requirement 75

5.4Skills maintenance (continuing professional development) 76

5.5Licence periods 77

5.6Licence fees 78

5.7National licence categories 80

Stakeholder feedback 80

13.1.1Endorsements 111

14.1.1Exemptions 114

15.1.1Nominees 118

15.1.2Non-skills-based eligibility requirements 120

17.1.1Qualification requirements 130

18.1.1Experience 134

20.1.1Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) 137

22.1.1Additional testing 140

27.1.1Age requirement 152

27.1.2Licence periods 153

28.1.1Transitional arrangements 155

35Impact analysis 162

35.1Transition and implementation costs of a national licensing system 163

35.1.1Cost to electrical licensees 164

37.1.1Cost to business and households 167

38.1.1Costs to government 169

41.1Direct costs and benefits of national licensing 175

41.1.1Labour mobility 176

43.1.1Removal of multiple licences held across jurisdictions 180

44.1.1Flexible licence periods 183

44.1.2Reducing the costs of regulatory requirements 185

50.1.1Costs imposed by new requirements 195

52.1.1Business value-add 198

52.1.2National Occupational Licensing Authority – ongoing operational costs 199

52.1.3Potential changes in government revenue 200

52.1.4Potential benefits to governments from simplified administrative arrangements 201

54.1.1Other impacts that have not been quantified 204

58.1Impact on consumer outcomes 209

58.1.1Potential safety impacts 210

58.1.2Consumer protection impacts 211

58.2Comparing the impacts of national licensing on licensees 212

58.3Wider economic impacts on the Australian economy 213

58.3.1The shock to the model 214

58.3.2Key results 215

63.1Sensitivity testing of key assumptions 222

63.1.1Labour mobility assumptions 223

63.1.2Alternative licence periods 224

63.1.3Net present value assumptions 225

65.1.1Cost and benefits of the automatic mutual recognition option 228

Automatic mutual recognition – unharmonised approach 229

65.2Summary of the costs and benefits of national licensing by jurisdiction 233

New South Wales 233

Victoria 233

Queensland 234

Western Australia 234

South Australia 235

Tasmania 236

Australian Capital Territory 237

Northern Territory 238

66Consultation 239

66.1Public information sessions 240

66.2National Occupational Licensing Authority 245

66.3Submissions summary 246

66.4Overview of selected stakeholder positions 247

66.5Other issues 248

66.5.1Conduct requirements 249

67Conclusion and recommendation 250

67.1Recommended option 251

67.2Overview of the preferred national licensing model for the electrical occupations. 252

67.2.1Licence categories for the electrical occupations 253

67.2.2Regulated work, exclusions from the meaning of regulated work and associated definitions 255

74.1.1Nominees 266

74.1.2Exemptions 267

74.1.3Non-skills-based eligibility requirements 268

77.1.1Qualification eligibility requirements 275

80.1.1Experience 281

80.1.2Skills maintenance (continuing professional development) 282

80.1.3Age requirement 283

80.1.4Licence periods 284

80.1.5Licence fees 285

81Implementation 286

81.1Implementation of national licensing 287

81.2Key steps in implementation 289

81.2.1Notification of national licence(s) 290

81.2.2Issuing of new national licence documentation 291

82.1Communication strategy for national licensing 293

82.2Review 294

Distribution 310

Transmission 310

Electricity generation 311

Electricians 332

Electrical fitters 332

Lineworkers and cable jointers 332

Electrical contractors 333

Restricted electrical licences (RELs) 333

Provisional licences 333

Electrician 334

Electrical fitter 334

Electrical lineworkers 334

Electrical cable jointers 335

Electrical contractor 335

Evidence of a need 351

Verification of a trade or calling 351

Calculations used in the cost–benefit analysis 355

Method underlying the computable general equilibrium modelling 371

Inputs and assumptions underlying the analysis 379