Certification documentation for Prescribed Electrical Work

The Electrical Workers Registration Board (the Board) can discipline electrical workers for false or misleading certification, or certification not supplied in a given timeframe. These are disciplinary offences under section 143(f) of the Electricity Act 1992. 

Regulation 74A: Electrical Safety Certificates (ESCs)

The Electricity (Safety) Regulations (ESR) 2010 has details on certification and when you need to provide it.

Regulation 74A covers Electrical Safety Certificates (ESCs) and applies to Prescribed Electrical Work (PEW) on an installation, a part installation, or any fittings that supply an installation or a part installation with electricity.

If you complete any PEW under this regulation, you must issue an ESC. The work must be safe to use and not affect any other part of the installation.

Regulation 74C says that the ESC must be produced as soon as possible after the PEW is connected to a power supply. The ESC must be produced within 20 working days.

Regulation 74A(3)(f)(ii): A trainee cannot complete an ESC without their supervisor

A trainee cannot complete an ESC by themselves. Regulation 74A(3)(f)(ii) says that if the trainee is acting under supervision, the supervisor must date and sign the ESC.

Regulation 74A(3)(g)(iii) also specifies that the registration number of the supervisor is to be included on the ESC for the trainee acting under supervision.

Certificate of compliance (CoC)

Regulation 65 of ESR 2010 says that a certificate of compliance (CoC) must to be issued for all general-risk and high-risk PEW.

You must issue a record of inspection (RoI) and CoC for high-risk PEW before the PEW can be considered complete. No general risk PEW may be treated as complete until a CoC is issued for it. If the completion of general-risk work includes the connection of a circuit to be livened, the CoC must be issued in addition to an ESC in accordance with regulation 74A(2):

"If an installation or part installation was disconnected from a power supply while the prescribed electrical work was done, the work is complete only once the installation or part installation is connected or reconnected to a power supply."