Dris proposal for national licensing of the electrical occupations

Current restricted electrical licences subcategories

The current restricted electrical licence categories issued in each jurisdiction are listed in Table D.7, below.

Table D.7: Current restricted electrical licences – jurisdiction-specific subcategories

Jurisdiction	List of subcategories
New South Wales	Appliances Motors Electric hot water heaters Refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment: Air-conditioning work – associated electrical work endorsement Refrigeration work – associated electrical work endorsement
Victoria	Air-conditioning & refrigeration Instrumentation Electronics Water heaters Electrical appliances Pre-assembled neon signs		Composite equipment Control devices Gas appliances Motors Hazardous area equipment
Queensland	Refrigeration and air-conditioning Instrumentation/process control Electrotechnology systems assembly and servicing Non-qualified assembly and servicing Plumbing/gas: Trade qualified plumber Plumbing/gas: Gas work		Electric motors: Trade-qualified Electric motors: Non trade-qualified Electronics Composite equipment High-voltage electric propulsion
Western Australia	Domestic appliances (includes stoves) Disconnect & reconnect Disconnect & reconnect plus appliances Plumbing worker		Plumbing & gasfitting worker Refrigeration & air-conditioning mechanic Instrument process control technician
South Australia	Refrigeration and air-conditioning Instrumentation and process control Disconnect/reconnect electric hot water heaters Disconnect/reconnect industrial equipment		Disconnect/reconnect commercial equipment Communications and computing equipment Disconnect/reconnect electronics equipment
Tasmania	Refrigeration and air-conditioning Provisional refrigeration and air-conditioning Instrumentation Electronics Water heaters Pre-assembled neon signs		Composite equipment Control devices Gas appliances Motors Explosion protection equipment
Australian Capital Territory	Electrotechnology systems and servicing electrical fitting licence Electrotechnology systems mechanical fitting licence Electrotechnology systems plumbing and gasfitting licence Electrotechnology systems refrigeration and air-conditioning licence Electrotechnology systems Type B gas appliances licence
Northern Territory	Refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment Instrumentation and control equipment Specialised commercial/industrial equipment Pre-assembled neon signs Water plumbing Gas equipment	Self-propelled high-voltage earth-moving equipment Domestic appliances and equipment Disconnection and reconnection (basic) Plug and cord connected equipment Explosion protection equipment

Provisional licences

All jurisdictions currently issue provisional licences or permits, as shown in Table D.8, below.

Table D.8: Current licensing arrangements by jurisdiction – provisional licence

	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT
Provisional licence	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

Attachment E – Policy development process

Under the Intergovernmental Agreement for a National Licensing System for Specified Occupations (the Intergovernmental Agreement) signed by states and territories in April 2009, the COAG National Licensing Steering Committee (the Steering Committee) was given responsibility to oversee the implementation of national licensing in the interim period before the establishment of the National Occupational Licensing Authority (NOLA). Membership of the Steering Committee comprises central agency representatives from each jurisdiction. It reports on progress to the Business, Regulation and Competition Working Group (now the Business Advisory Forum Taskforce, following the cessation of BRCWG on 31 December 2012).

The Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations (SCFFR) has overall responsibility for this reform.

In considering policy issues, the Steering Committee and its advisory mechanisms are bound by the objectives and principles in the Intergovernmental Agreement, including a requirement to comply with COAG’s principles of best practice regulation. These principles include a requirement to establish a case for action; to consider and cost a range of responses, including non-regulatory approaches; and to ensure that the response selected provides the greatest net benefit to the community as a whole. Key stakeholders must be consulted and government action must be ‘effective and proportional’ to the issue being addressed.

The Steering Committee’s primary source of advice for occupational regulations has been the Interim Advisory Committee (IAC) established for each of the occupational areas. Each advisory committee has an associated Regulator Working Group (RWG).

Members of the IAC represent a balance of expertise relevant to an occupational area across the fields of regulation, industry operations and practices (from both a union and employer perspective), safety, consumer advocacy, insurance (where relevant) and training. Each RWG is comprised of regulator members from the relevant jurisdiction.

The IAC has developed policy advice over a period of 18 months. The majority of the advice provided was incorporated into the Steering Committee policy advice for the drafting of the Occupational Licensing National Law Amendment Bill and regulations and is considered in this Decision RIS for the property occupations.

Government representatives from all jurisdictions provided policy advice and are contributing to the drafting instructions for the Amendment Bill and the associated regulations, including representatives from Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, which have not yet passed the National Law. The impact analysis and cost–benefit calculations take into account the current regulatory arrangements in all jurisdictions.

Details of the membership of the Electrical Occupations Interim Advisory Committee (IAC), the Electrical Occupations Regulator Working Group (RWG), the COAG National Licensing Steering Committee (the Steering Committee), and the National Occupational Licensing Authority (NOLA) Board are provided in tables E.1–4.

The IAC and the RWG met throughout 2010 and early 2011 to assist with the development of the following elements of licensing policy:

• 
  licence categories, licence types and prescribed scopes of work
  
• 
  eligibility requirements (skills-based and non-skills-based)
  
• 
  other licence characteristics (exemptions, conditions, restrictions and endorsements)
  
• 
  transitional arrangements.
  

The objectives used in developing the licensing policy are taken from section 3 of the Occupational Licensing National Law Act 2010, as set out below:

The objectives of the national licensing system are as follows –

(a) to ensure that licences issued by the Licensing Authority allow licensees to operate in all participating jurisdictions;

(b) to ensure that licensing arrangements are effective and proportionate to ensure consumer protection and worker and public health and safety while ensuring economic efficiency and equity of access;

(c) to facilitate a consistent skill and knowledge base for licensed occupations;

(d) to ensure effective coordination exists between the Licensing Authority and jurisdictional regulators

(e) to promote national consistency in—

(i) licensing structures and policy across comparable occupations; and

(ii) regulation affecting the requirements relating to the conduct of licensees; and

(iii) the approach to disciplinary arrangements for licensees;

(f) to provide flexibility to deal with issues specific to particular jurisdictions or occupations;

(g) to provide the public with access to information about licensees.

The policy development process, in addition to complying with COAG’s Principles of Best Practice Regulation, followed the principles set out in the Intergovernmental Agreement for a National Licensing System for Specified Occupations, which forms the basis for establishing national licensing:

• 
  The system operates in a transparent, accountable, efficient, effective and fair manner.
  
• 
  Regulatory intervention in the form of licensing is only contemplated where risks arising from market failure or risks to public health and safety warrant corrective action and, of all feasible options, licensing provides the greatest net public benefit.
  
• 
  Licensing arrangements do not duplicate legislative protections contained under other laws, in particular, competition law, consumer protection law or occupational health and safety law.
  
• 
  Licensing arrangements only include requirements needed to address identified consumer protection risks arising from market failure and/or worker and public health and safety risks, without imposing unnecessary costs on consumers and business or substantially lessening competition.
  
• 
  Licensing eligibility requirements are expressed in objective not subjective terms.
  
• 
  The system will not require the extension of licensing to sub-groups of a broad occupational group that are not currently licensed in particular jurisdictions.
  
• 
  Licensing arrangements are subject to an initial review five years after commencement and subsequently at a frequency no less than every ten years.
  

As part of the communications strategy, following each meeting communiqués outlining the progress of work are made available on the national licensing website at www.nola.gov.au.

Table E.1: Membership of the Electrical Occupations Interim Advisory Committee

Name	Organisation
Mr John Ramsay – Chair	Member of the national licensing Expert Working Group
Mr John Ingram	Australian Council of Trade Unions
Mr Peter Tighe	Australian Council of Trade Unions
Mr Brian Kerwood	Australian Industry Group
Mr Rado Starec	Consumers’ Federation of Australia
Mr Don Saunders	EnergySafety Division Department of Commerce, Western Australia
Mr Rod Cruice	Electrical Safety Office Department of Justice & Attorney General, Queensland
Mr Adam Beel	Energy Networks Association
Mr Neil Fraser	Energy Safe Victoria, Victoria
Mr Malcolm Richards	Master Electricians Australia
Mr James Tinslay	National Electrical and Communications Association
Mr Robert Faunt	Office of Technical Regulator, South Australia
Mr Bob Taylor	Energy Skills Australia Industry Skills Council ( E-Oz)

Table E.2: Membership of the Electrical Occupations Regulator Working Group

Name	Department/agency
Mr John Ramsay	Member of the national licensing Expert Working Group
Ms Regina Haertsch	National Reforms, NSW Fair Trading, Department of Finance and Services
Ms Kelly Stalker	Energy Safe Victoria
Mr Rod Cruice	Electrical Safety Office, Department of Justice & Attorney General, Queensland
Mr Don Saunders Alternate: Mr Saj Khan	EnergySafety Division Department of Commerce, Western Australia
Mr Robert Faunt	Office of the Technical Regulator, South Australia
Mr Phillip Gaertner	Consumer and Business Services Division of the Attorney-General’s Department, South Australia
Mr Craig Simmons	Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, Australian Capital Territory
Mr Robert Steedman	Department of Justice, Workplace Standards Tasmania
Ms Nicky D’Antoine	Department of Lands and Planning, Northern Territory
Mr John Sickels (observer)	Department of Building and Housing, New Zealand

Table E.3: Membership of the COAG National Licensing Steering Committee

Jurisdiction	Member	Department
Commonwealth	Mr Robert Griew – Chair	Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education
NSW – joint	Dr Meg Montgomery	Department of Premier and Cabinet
	Mr Scott Wheeler	Department of New South Wales Treasury
Vic	Mr Anthony Rossiter	Department of Treasury and Finance
Qld	Ms Katrina Martin	Queensland Treasury and Trade
WA	Mr Nigel Parkes	Department of Treasury
SA	Mr Peter Maynard	Department of the Premier and Cabinet
Tas	Ms Kerrie Crowder	Department of Justice
ACT	Mr Brett Wilesmith	ACT Treasury
NT	Mr Ian Prince	Department of Business

Table E.4: Membership of the National Occupational Licensing Authority Board

Position	Member
Chair	Ms Elizabeth Crouch
Board member	Mrs Wendy Machin Mr Graham Anderson Mr Albert Koenig Mr John Sutton Ms Miranda Douglas-Crane Mr Tony Arnel Mr David Ford