How to Choose an Electrician in Australia: Licence Checks, Quotes and Safety Certificates

Choosing an electrician in Australia comes down to one non-negotiable and a few sensible habits. The non-negotiable is a current electrical licence, checked on your state regulator's public register before anyone touches a wire. Electrical work is licensed in every state and territory, and doing it yourself, or paying an unlicensed handyman to do it, is illegal. The habits are asking for a written quote rather than a verbal estimate, knowing what the call-out fee covers, and not paying the balance until you have the safety certificate in your hand.

TL;DR

Every electrician in Australia must hold a licence issued by their state or territory regulator, and in most states you can check it free online. Ask for the licence number, look it up, and match the name on the register to the person who turns up. Get a written quote that separates labour, materials and any call-out fee. When the job is done you should receive a certificate confirming the work was tested and complies with the wiring rules. Anyone who says they do not do certificates, or wants cash only with no invoice, is not someone you want in your switchboard.

Why the licence check matters more than the reviews

A five-star rating tells you the electrician was polite and turned up on time. It does not tell you the work is safe. A poorly terminated join in a ceiling can sit quietly for years before it starts a fire.

That is what the licensing system is for. A licensed electrician has finished an apprenticeship, passed the regulator's assessment, and can be disciplined or struck off if their work fails an audit. An unlicensed operator has none of that behind them, and if their work causes a fire your insurer will want to know who did it.

Our broader guide on how to choose a tradie in Australia covers the general vetting steps. The difference with electricians is that there is no "small job" exemption anywhere in the country. Replacing a light switch, moving a power point, installing a ceiling fan: all licensed work.

How to check an electrical licence in each state

Ask for the licence number up front. A genuine electrician gives it without hesitation. Then check it on the register.

• New South Wales: NSW Fair Trading licenses electricians. Use the Verify a licence search, which also covers builders and other trades.
• Victoria: Energy Safe Victoria runs the public register of licensed electrical workers and registered electrical contractors. An electrical worker can do the work, but only a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC) can contract with you and issue the certificate.
• Queensland: the Electrical Safety Office, part of Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, runs the electrical licence search on worksafe.qld.gov.au. Queensland issues both worker and contractor licences, and the business charging you needs the contractor licence.
• Western Australia: Building and Energy runs the licence and registration search.
• South Australia: Consumer and Business Services (CBS) keeps the occupational licence public register.
• Tasmania: Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) licenses electricians and publishes a register.
• Australian Capital Territory: Access Canberra handles electrical licensing and register searches.
• Northern Territory: NT WorkSafe issues electrical worker licences, and the Electrical Workers and Contractors Licensing Board covers contractors.

Match the name on the register to the name on the quote and the person who turns up. A contractor sending an apprentice is fine if a licensed worker is supervising.

The certificate you should receive when the job is done

This is the part most homeowners do not know about, and it is the part that protects you. After electrical installation work, the electrician must test it and give you a document confirming it complies with the Australian wiring rules. The name depends on where you live:

• Victoria calls it a Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES). Energy Safe Victoria's consumer page on certificates says a Registered Electrical Contractor cannot refuse to issue one, and you can lodge a complaint if work done within the last three years was never certified.
• Queensland uses a certificate of test.
• New South Wales uses a Certificate of Compliance Electrical Work (CCEW), which the contractor also lodges with the electricity network.
• Western Australia gives the customer an electrical safety certificate and lodges a notice of completion with the network operator.
• South Australia uses an electronic Certificate of Compliance (eCoC).

Ask about it before you book. "Will I get a certificate for this?" sorts licensed contractors from everyone else in two seconds. Keep it with your house documents for the day you sell, claim on insurance, or another electrician needs to know what was done.

Safety switches, and why you want them checked

A safety switch, or residual current device (RCD), cuts the power in a fraction of a second when it detects current leaking to earth, which is what happens when a person becomes part of the circuit. It is not the same as a circuit breaker, which protects the wiring from overload and does nothing to protect you from a shock.

Older homes often have safety switches on some circuits and not others, or none at all. Whenever an electrician is on site, ask them to check the switchboard and tell you which circuits are protected. Adding RCDs is routine work and one of the cheapest safety upgrades a house can get. Press the test button every few months too. If the power does not trip, the switch is not working.

Quote or estimate: know which one you are holding

An estimate is a guess. A quote is an offer. A verbal ballpark over the phone is useful for deciding whether to proceed, but it is not what you should be agreeing to.

Ask for the quote in writing, with the licence number on it, and check that it covers:

• the work being done, in plain language
• labour, materials and any call-out or travel fee as separate lines
• whether the certificate is included in the price (in Victoria some contractors list the certificate fee separately, others build it in)
• what happens if they open the wall and find something unexpected
• whether the total includes GST

Call-out fees are normal in the trade. What you want to know is whether the fee is charged on top of the first hour or absorbed into it, and whether it applies if the electrician arrives and cannot do the job. We are not printing figures because they change with the suburb, the time of day and the state of the market.

What to have ready before they arrive

• Write down what is not working, when it started, and whether anything happened at the same time (a storm, a new appliance, a tripped switch).
• Photograph the inside of your switchboard with the cover open and send it with your enquiry. An electrician can read the age of the board, the presence of safety switches and any old ceramic fuses from that one photo.
• Note the number and location of any new points, lights or fans you want.

Red flags that should end the conversation

• No licence number on the van, the quote or the invoice.
• "We don't do certificates" or "you don't need one for a job this small." You do, and they are required to issue one.
• Cash only, no invoice.
• A refusal to put the quote in writing.
• Pressure to decide today, especially on switchboard upgrades or rewiring.
• A quote far below the others. Electrical materials have a floor price, and someone bidding under it is either cutting corners or planning to find extra work once the wall is open.

Solar and EV chargers need more than a standard licence

An electrical licence lets someone wire your house. It does not by itself qualify them to install rooftop solar or claim the federal rebate on your behalf. Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs), which provide the upfront discount on residential solar, are only available when the system is installed by an accredited installer.

Accreditation used to be run by the Clean Energy Council. It has since moved to Solar Accreditation Australia, and the handover is complete. Use the Solar Accreditation Australia installer search to confirm the person signing off your system is accredited. The Clean Energy Council still runs the Approved Solar Retailer program, worth checking if you are buying through a retailer rather than directly from an installer.

EV charger installation is licensed electrical work like any other, and the certificate rules apply. Ask whether the electrician has installed that charger brand before, and have them check your switchboard capacity before quoting. The solar installers on The Local List are a reasonable place to start comparing.

If the finished work looks wrong

Trust your eyes. Exposed conductors, a power point sitting loose in the wall, a fitting that flickers, scorch marks around a breaker: none of that is normal. Do not use the circuit, and do not pay the balance.

Contact the electrician first and give them the chance to fix it. Licensed contractors usually will, because a complaint to the regulator is a real risk to their licence. If they refuse or disappear, lodge a complaint with your state regulator from the list above, quoting the licence number on the invoice. In Victoria, Energy Safe audits certificates and will investigate work that was never certified. Your state's fair trading body can help with the money side.

Find a licensed electrician near you

The Local List checks every listed business against the Australian Business Register, and electricians on the site show contact details, hours and customer reviews in one place. Browse electricians across Australia, or narrow it by state, for example electricians in New South Wales. When a few look right, ask each for their licence number, run it through your state register, and get the quote in writing.

Ready to book? Search by suburb and start with the electricians closest to you.