Gaining a WA A Grade Electrical Licence

[Don Logan]

Hi,

 

I'm a UK electrician with a PR Subclass 175 Visa with my wife as the main applicant, so no VETASSESS for me. We're planning on moving to Perth in the next year.

 

Could anyone give me up to date info regarding gaining a WA A Grade Electrical Licence?

 

I am hearing different things, my understanding was the below:

 

Apply for ARTC

Give it to Energy Safety and get authorisation to attend 2 week course at TAFE/ RTO

Complete course

Apply for full unrestricted licence

 

 

I have read a few thing regarding people having to do all of the above and then find work for a year as a Trades Assistant while filling in a logbook and getting it signed off.

 

Is this the case? I really don't want to move out there to have to support as family on an apprentice wage (assuming i can even get a job) for 12 months. If so, i might as well stay in the UK and retrain in something else before moving out there!

 

Thanks.

[derren7]

Hi,

 

I'm a UK electrician with a PR Subclass 175 Visa with my wife as the main applicant, so no VETASSESS for me. We're planning on moving to Perth in the next year.

 

Could anyone give me up to date info regarding gaining a WA A Grade Electrical Licence?

Hi Don,

I live in Brisbane so I can't say for sure

 

I am hearing different things, my understanding was the below:

 

Apply for ARTC

Give it to Energy Safety and get authorisation to attend 2 week course at TAFE/ RTO

Complete course

Apply for full unrestricted licence

 

 

I have read a few thing regarding people having to do all of the above and then find work for a year as a Trades Assistant while filling in a logbook and getting it signed off.

 

Is this the case? I really don't want to move out there to have to support as family on an apprentice wage (assuming i can even get a job) for 12 months. If so, i might as well stay in the UK and retrain in something else before moving out there!

 

Thanks.

Hi Don,

I live in Brisbane, so I can't speak with authority on the situation in WA. I don't think anyone can as the goal posts are forever changing and you'll probably need to speak directly to Energy Safety to clarify the situation. My understanding of the situation in WA is this: Up until a couple of years ago, maybe less, all sparks, whether they had an OTSR or an ARTC could do the two week course and then apply for a full licence. Then the rules were changed so that OTSR applicants had to do 12 months on the job gap training. A few months later the rules were changed again, so that ARTC applicants also had to the 12 months on the job gap training. Each state has their own requirements. Heck, NSW doesn't recognise the ARTC anymore even though it's nationally recognised document issued by an Australian Government institution. The national licensing scheme, designed to eliminate state licences, has been mothballed after years of consultation. The whole system is an inconsistent mess.

The only solution I can offer is that you contact www.peer.com.au As far as I know at the moment, in South Australia, with an ARTC you can do a correspondence course from the UK, or go to Adelaide and attend classes if you prefer, and once you successfully completed the course you can apply for a South Australian licence. This can then be used to apply for an a full WA licence under the terms of the Mutual Recognition Act. If you do the correspondence course, you will have to, at some point, actually go to Adelaide to sit the exam and apply for the licence. I would contact PEER as they appear to be approachable and know the ins and outs of the forever changing state of affairs.

Best of luck.

Kind Regards

Derren

[Don Logan]

Cheers Derren. They really are horrid bunch of tossers aren't they? I could understand if i was an electrician from Nicaragua, Cambodia or somewhere else where standards and qualifications for electrical work are not up to our standards, but to make fully qualified British electricians go and do another one year apprenticeship is ridiculous. I could accept doing it if it weren't for the fact that it's so hard to get work on a restricted licence...

 

The PEER/ South Australia route might be worth looking into, I did however read this:

 

http://www.licensinglinenews.com/Newsletter/Edition-70-August-2009/WA-statement-on-electrical-licence-recognition.aspx

 

...and it sounds as though WA will not accept licences from SA to be transferred. They seem to be saying that they'd only give the WA licence after the applicant completes a 'competency assessment' and if this is failed, then twelve months of 'on the job experience' and then completing an ETL course. Does anyone know what the competency assessment would entail?

 

I've contacted Energy Safety in WA and also PEER and am waiting to hear back from them.

 

Thanks again.

[AJ]

That article is referring to gaining an ARTC as an electrical fitter. You should be ok if you get Electrical mechanic(thats the one you want)

[derren7]

Cheers Derren. They really are horrid bunch of tossers aren't they? I could understand if i was an electrician from Nicaragua, Cambodia or somewhere else where standards and qualifications for electrical work are not up to our standards, but to make fully qualified British electricians go and do another one year apprenticeship is ridiculous. I could accept doing it if it weren't for the fact that it's so hard to get work on a restricted licence...

 

The PEER/ South Australia route might be worth looking into, I did however read this:

 

http://www.licensinglinenews.com/Newsletter/Edition-70-August-2009/WA-statement-on-electrical-licence-recognition.aspx

 

...and it sounds as though WA will not accept licences from SA to be transferred. They seem to be saying that they'd only give the WA licence after the applicant completes a 'competency assessment' and if this is failed, then twelve months of 'on the job experience' and then completing an ETL course. Does anyone know what the competency assessment would entail?

 

I've contacted Energy Safety in WA and also PEER and am waiting to hear back from them.

 

Thanks again.

Yeah, what AJ stated. In SA, they don't make a distinction between a fitter and a mechanic as opposed to QLD and WA. Don't know how the other states operate. If you're not already aware,basically, a fitter is a maintenance spark and a mechanic is an installation spark. Another thing worth pointing out, although it's not pertinent to your situation, but might be to others reading this, is that there have been problems obtaining a Victorian and Queensland licence via this route. This is a clear violation of the Mutual Recognition Act, and I believe that the Queensland ESO have had to back down and issue licences when this has been pointed out to them. They're probably well aware that they would have lost any cases taken to a tribunal. Another thing worth pointing out is that an OTSR applicant has to do 12 months gap training in SA.

Again, best of luck.

Kind Regards,

Derren

[Don Logan]

Thanks for your help Derren.

 

Where does it say on that link that they are only referring to electricians with OTSR? It does say:

 

In most such cases, the applicant is from overseas and presents initially with an Australian Recognised Trade Certificate issued by Trade Recognition Australia stating they are qualified as an electrical fitter only. Clearly such applicants will not have the required twelve months practical installing experience required to gain a full WA licence.

 

 

 

I'd imagine that SA/ PEER would be best for me. Still an inconvenience, but I have a family to support and don't want to being trying to live on low wages and considering myself lucky that i've even found a T/A job in the first place. So as far as you're aware, this Mutual Recognition (SA to WA) still stands? I'm still waiting to hear back from PEER.

 

I actually work as a hospital maintenance engineer with electrical bias now. I'd like to carry on this kind of work when in WA, although i'm sure that most maintenance engineers will need a full trade licence of some kind anyway. I did also consider doing something else, although any other than electrical installation work wouldn't give me the required on the job 'training' to complete a portfolio. I do a lot of management of contractors, health and safety, machine breakdown and PPM type work at the moment, is that kind of work possible to walk into without more licencing and bureaucracy?

 

Thanks again.

[Don Logan]

And what's involved in getting the ARTC apart from sending off certs, etc.? I thought it was just a recognition of your status as a qualified tradesman by way of checking certificates and references, etc. I read on BE that someone had to go for a technical interview and answer questions on motors, etc. He failed.

[derren7]

And what's involved in getting the ARTC apart from sending off certs, etc.? I thought it was just a recognition of your status as a qualified tradesman by way of checking certificates and references, etc. I read on BE that someone had to go for a technical interview and answer questions on motors, etc. He failed.

 

Hi Don,

You need to provide as much evidence as possible. Think of it along the lines of the TRA thinking that you're a chancer who is not a spark at all. You need to prove to them that you are. Alongside all trade certificates you must provide detailed references which must have a company letterhead, and describe the kind of work that you did, the tools that you used and the environments you worked in. It can't just say "Mr Logan worked as an electrician and was great worker blah, blah, blah.

If you can't get a reference from your past employers then you 'll need to write a Statutory Declaration explaining why you can't get one and explaining yourself, the kind of work that you did. The most crucial aspect of your application is proving that you served an apprenticeship, otherwise you'll have to prove at least 7 years experience.

I had to provide 5 Stat Decs . My apprenticeship employer couldn't provide one as their records didn't go back far enough. Luckily, as my apprenticeship was overseen by the JIB, I requested a letter stating that I had served a formal apprenticeship, which cost me 15 pounds. If you do submit Stat Decs then you'll need to try to back them up with supporting documentation such as pay slips, p60. I sent in copies to a couple of college reports from my apprenticeship. Here's a LINK showing various layouts of references and stat decs that were used for successful ARTC applications. Don't send originals of anything. Everything must be photocopied and certified as true copies. This can be done free by a Justice of the Peace.

If the TRA are not satisfied with the amount of evidence you provide then they may do one of a few things, straight out rejection, assess you with a technical interview, ask you to perform a practical trade test or refer you to a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), to assess and retrain you.

Don't get too worried about this. As long as you send in all your trade certs and detailed references I'm sure you'll be fine.

I got assessed as an electrical mechanic because of my install experience. I don't know what your background is, but if you have both install and maintenance experience then you can apply for both fitter and mechanic for your ARTC. I'd also be wary of using the term engineer. In Australia, to be classed as an engineer, you must have a degree and they might refer you to Engineers Australia, who assess oversea engineers, and if you haven't got a degree then you'll get rejected by them and then you'll be in limbo.

As for the line of work you're in now, to be honest, I'm not 100% sure. Australian employers love their tickets and licences. I think you'll need to consider applying for a fitters accreditation for the machine breakdown and PPM aspects. As for the management and H&S aspects, well, there will be tickets for those but I guess you could tailor your Resume(CV) to address those criteria, and look on seek.com.au to see what jobs are available and see what the selection criteria are for differing companies.

You will need to, at some point, obtain a construction induction (commonly known as a white card or blue card). This is a must , you won't get any jobs without it. It can be done online for under $100 and is a perpetual card in that it has no expiry date. You will need to get CPR/LVR. This is a must for all electricians. This has to be face to face, can be done for under $100 but must be renewed every 6 months (well in QLD it does).

As for the WA/SA recognition. I can't be 100% sure, but I've seen nothing to suggest that you can't. Unless the staff at PEER have changed recently they should be able to advise. However, each state clearly states that they are bound by the Mutual Recognition Act to recognise other state licences.

Mate, when I went through this process, I was literally pulling my hair out. I'm just glad that I didn't have to do the Vetassess stuff. You have to do all the stuff for the ARTC plus practical and theoretical assessments and have no choice but to do 'on the job' training.

For now, and I know it's important to consider your job prospects and all the other sh1t you're going to have to deal with, I would focus on getting your ARTC. Without this you're stumped and nothing else will matter.

It took me several months to compile my application. The reasons for this were, that I had loads of time to do and just chipped away at it, I had several employers and I had to ring around, some could supply references, some could not, for various reasons.

Again, best of luck. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you like. That's what this site is here for and God knows where I would be without other peoples guidance on this site and others.

Regards Derren

[Timebombtom]

Hi mate just wondering do you have any info on the 2 week course for the wa a grade