News & Views

11th December 2020

NSW Government push to improve electrical safety in homes

The National Electrical and Communication Association (NECA) welcomes the launch of the NSW Government’s campaign targeted at educating consumers about the importance of electrical safety in and around the home. NECA will join the NSW Government’s cross industry partnership between government, non-government and industry organisations, which will help reduce risk and potentially save lives.

Of the 4,500 home fires in NSW each year 40% are caused by electrical faults and appliances. These fires could have been prevented by a licensed electrician checking electrical wiring and installing safety switches.

As part of the partnership, NECA will work with local electricians to support outreach to homeowners about electrical safety, highlighting the importance of checking and installing safety switches, and smoke alarms.

NECA Spokesperson Oliver Judd said“As an industry it’s our responsibility to ensure consumers are educated about the potential risks of electrical issues in the home. We fully support the NSW Government’s campaign which will save lives and NECA will be working closely with members so they can get involved.  

“Downloading our ‘Is your home safe?’ brochure from our website is a great way for people to start to think about where potential risks lie and how to address them.

“In many cases the simplest safety precaution is to ensure a safety switch is installed in the house, to help minimise the risk of housefires caused by electrical faults.  Homeowners should speak to their local licensed electrician to complete a safety audit and should never attempt electrical work themselves.”

The NSW Government campaign will focus on promoting actions homeowners can take such as having the home checked by a licensed electrician, having safety switches professionally installed and testing them regularly, as well as ensuring all electrical work done is accompanied by a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW).

“Especially around this time of year when people are putting up the Christmas lights, which can often be quite old, there is the added risk electrical faults may occur. A safety switch is a critical tool to help identify this.” Mr. Judd added.

NECA’s ‘Is your home safe’ brochure can be downloaded from here.

To check a tradesperson license use the NSW Government online licence check tool here.

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