Dris proposal for national licensing of the electrical occupations

82.1Communication strategy for national licensing

Consultation about national licensing has been ongoing with a range of stakeholders including state and territory governments, industry, employer and employee representatives and internal working groups.

As with any change to regulations, a communication awareness campaign will be needed to ensure licensees, consumers and other stakeholder are informed of changes that may affect them once the new system is implemented.

There should be two levels of an awareness campaign for national licensing: one at a jurisdictional level and one at a national level.

A jurisdictional campaign could include the following activities:

• 
  direct communications (letters/emails)
  

• 
  metropolitan and regional meetings with licensees
  
• 
  website content and social media
  
• 
  temporary call centre staffing
  
• 
  public information campaign
  
• 
  industry and public campaign management.
  

An estimated cost drawing of a state based campaign of a similar scale to that suggested above is approximately $300,000 to $350,000, and is based on approximately 22,000 licensees. The impact analysis contained in this Decision RIS includes a qualitative estimate of the communication costs for governments during the transition period.

At a national level, NOLA would assist with the communication process by ensuring consistency of messaging through the www.nola.gov.au website, media releases and other avenues, including social media. NOLA’s board and the chief executive officer could be expected to consult with:

• 
  ministers and governments
  
• 
  business and industries
  
• 
  other peak bodies, which would include employee and employer associations.
  

82.2Review

The SCFFR will initiate an independent public review of the operation of the national licensing system, including the legislation establishing the system, in accordance with the IGA.

It is envisaged that the effectiveness of the national licensing reforms will be measured in a number of ways. These include assessment of the impact of national licensing on:

• 
  labour mobility for nationally licensed occupations
  
• 
  administrative burdens on national licence holders
  
• 
  the consistency in regulatory requirements between jurisdictions for the national licensing occupations
  
• 
  deregulatory benefits for businesses and consumers.
  

The review will take place no earlier than five years from the commencement of the national licensing system and every ten years thereafter.

Attachment A – Key changes to existing arrangements

Table A.1 compares the current state and territory licensing eligibility arrangements and the proposed national licensing eligibility arrangements. A tick indicates a licensed activity, a blank cell means not required or licensed and a shaded cell denotes a licence category.

Table A.1: Key changes to existing arrangements

Licence category (shaded) and eligibility requirements Licence and requirements categories (purpose of some licences or an explanation of some requirements is shown in brackets)	Current situation Existing licensing requirements applying in each of the jurisdictions ( indicates a licensed activity; blank cell means not required or licensed; shaded area denotes a licence category)								National licensing	Summary of impact Impact of moving from current situation to national licensing
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	ACT	NT
Apprentice licensing/registration or training permit (allows apprentices and trainees to perform electrical work under supervision)								^1			Not requiring these licences reduces regulation in four jurisdictions ^1 Apprentices are not subject to licensing requirements per se in the Northern Territory but the Licensing Board keeps a register of apprentices.
Tradesperson certificate/supervised licences											Not requiring these licences reduces regulation in two jurisdictions.
Plug and cord restricted electrical licences (RELs)											Not requiring this licence reduces regulation in two jurisdictions.
High-voltage propulsion equipment RELs											Not requiring this licence reduces regulation in two jurisdictions.
Electrical Inspector licence (certification of electrical installation prior to connection to electricity supply)											Victoria has advised that the inspector will continue to be licensed under separate Victorian legislation.
Occupier’s licence/In-house electrical installing work licence											Not requiring these licences reduces regulation in two jurisdictions.
Contractor licences for REL holders											Not requiring these licences reduces regulation in three jurisdictions.
Electrical contractor licence category (allows a person or business to contract with the public for electrical work)											There is overall reduction in regulation for electrical contractors through: Drastic reduction in conditioned licences has occurred in some jurisdictions. No mutual recognition processes reduces regulation and administrative burdens. No business skills training reduces regulation in five jurisdictions. No evidence of experience reduces regulation in six jurisdictions. No insurance requirement reduces regulation in six jurisdictions. No health checks (includes colour blindness, mental capacity ) reduces regulation in five jurisdictions. A nominee requirement will increase regulation only in SA. There will be an increase in regulation in the ACT for individual electrical contractor licences not currently required to apply for an additional licence category to carry on a business or contract with the public. The ACT has not determined whether additional contractor licences will be required. There will be an increase in regulation in all jurisdictions from requiring a primary jurisdiction check. Increase in jurisdictions that only require a self-declaration for criminal history (ACT).
Primary jurisdiction check									
Business & safety training requirements								
Financial probity checks:
payment of fines or penalties									
bankruptcy/insolvency checks									
undischarged bankruptcy period	3 yrs		5 yrs	5 yrs			3 yrs	3 yrs	5 yrs
provisions of financial statements or evidence of financial status				
Personal probity checks:
criminal history check (or declaration)									
Other requirements:
nominee requirement									
fitness or health check						
mental capacity	
evidence of experience (requirement for X years’ work experience)								
age requirement (minimum age)		
insurance requirement (professional indemnity insurance)								
nominee (technically skilled person employed by business)									
licence duration	3 yrs	5 yrs	1 yr	1 yr	5 yrs	1 yr	up to 3 yrs	1 yr	1, 3 or 5 yrs
Electrician										There is overall reduction in regulation for electricians through: Drastic reduction in conditioned licences has occurred in most jurisdictions. No mutual recognition processes reduces regulation and administrative burdens. No probity check (disqualification of licence) reduces regulation in all jurisdictions. No criminal history checks reduces regulation in seven jurisdictions. No health checks (includes colour blindness, mental capacity ) reduces regulation in five jurisdictions. No experience requirement reduces regulation in five jurisdictions. No mandatory or annual skills maintenance reduces regulation in seven jurisdictions. Inclusion of financial probity checks (in relation to payment of fines and penalties) may increase regulation in five jurisdictions – but some checks are already done administratively.
Qualification – Certificate III									
Financial probity checks:
payment of fines or penalties									
bankruptcy/insolvency checks	
adequate resource checks							
Personal probity checks:
general probity check (disqualification of licence)									
criminal history check								
Other requirements:
fitness or health check						
mental capacity	
colour blindness								
evidence of experience (requirement for X years’ work experience)								
age requirement (minimum age)	