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Electrical installation defects

Online defects list for electrical installation work.

Overview

Energy Safe Victoria provides an online defects list to assist the electrical industry to correctly record defects as required by the Electricity Safety (General) Regulations 2019External Link on Certificates of Inspection or audit forms.

The online COES defects listExternal Link can be sorted by:

  • defect ID number
  • instrument and clause
  • defect type
  • keywords used to search the defect description.

Top 10 installation defects from COES audits

This table is updated periodically. Latest update: March 2024.

Prescribed inspections COES defect data

Defect IDInstrumentClauseDescription
1111018Electricity Safety Act 199845ACertificates of Electrical Safety - Certificate of Compliance errors
2641276AS/NZS 5033: 2021 Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.5.6.1Recording of solar system layout - General
3111010Electricity Safety Act 199845(1)Inspection of electrical installation work - inspection prior to energisation
4211205AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations2.10.7SWITCHBOARDS - Fire-protective measures
5211929AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations2.9.3PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE HAZARD DUE TO ARCING FAULTS - Rating
6641272AS/NZS 5033: 2021 Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.5.4Fire and emergency information
7641277AS/NZS 5033: 2021 Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.5.6.1.1Recording of solar system layout - Additional information for PV d.c. systems
8211198AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations2.10.5.1SWITCHBOARDS - Equipment identification - General
9641237AS/NZS 5033: 2021 Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.4.4.7.2.3Wiring systems - Entries/exits of enclosures containing conductor terminations - conduits terminating into enclosures containing disconnection devices
10641194AS/NZS 5033: 2021 Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.4.3.5.2.1Non load break disconnection device - Disconnection point

COES Audits defect data

This table is updated periodically. Latest update: March 2024.

Defect IDInstrumentClauseDescription
1211205AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations2.10.7SWITCHBOARDS - Fire-protective measures
2211404AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations4.4.2.2SOCKET-OUTLETS - Protection of socket-outlets
3121229Electricity Safety (General) Regulations 2019262Details to be accurate and legible - certificate of compliance
4211279AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations3.9.3.3.2INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS - Wiring systems likely to be disturbed - Support and protection
5211199AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations2.10.5.2SWITCHBOARDS - Relationship of electrical equipment
6211937AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations2.6.2.2.2ADDITIONAL PROTECTION BY RESIDUAL CURRENT DEVICES - Types of RCD - Australia Only
7211929AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations2.9.3PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE HAZARD DUE TO ARCING FAULTS - Rating
8212565AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations5.4.6.1EARTHING OF EQUIPMENT - Structural metalwork including conductive building materials - General
9211248AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations3.7.2.5ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS - Retention of stranded conductors
10211635AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 Electrical Installations6.2.4.2BATHS, SHOWERS AND OTHER FIXED WATER CONTAINERS - Selection and installation of electrical equipment - Socket-outlets

Application

Where the electrical installation work being inspected or audited does not comply with the minimum requirements of the relevant section of the Act, Regulation or clause of the Standards, the defect number allocated to that particular section, Regulation or clause must be identified on the Certificate of Inspection or the Audit Form.

Defect review

Where a Licensed Electrical Inspector has added defects to a Certificate of Inspection and the Licensed Electrical Worker or Responsible Person wish to appeal these defects, please contact Energy Safe's Head of COES for consideration, including all evidence to support your appeal.

Energy Safe can delete a defect from a Certificate of Inspection if the certificate has been returned to the LEW for rectification.

Note: Defects cannot be removed from completed COES and Energy Safe does not cancel COES that have defects identified on the Certificate of Inspection.

Electrical installations work defects

The following criteria is used to allocate the selection of ‘Unsafe’ defects in the defect list.

  • Immediately unsafethe ability for a person to make contact with exposed metal that may be live or may become live when energised where only one action is required by a person or animal to come into contact with those live parts

    and
  • Any requirements of the legislation and or Standards intended to protect persons and livestock from electric shock hazards that may arise from the normal use of an electrical installation.

An electrical installation or electrical installation work deemed unsafe by an Electrical Inspector or Electrical Auditor must be isolated from supply, or the individual circuit disconnected and made safe.

Defect documentation requirements

The item being defected, the location of the item and the description of each defect documented by an LEI during inspection or Auditor during an audit must be accurate, legible and in plain English.

LEIs preparing a valid defect description should always use the text from the relevant clause or section of the Act, Regulation or clause of the Standard they are using to identify the installation as defective.

Examples of defect documentation

DefectExample description
211205 – AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 – 2.10.7 – SWITCHBOARDS – Fire-protective measures – TechnicalWiring systems associated with the Main Switchboard in the meter box not arranged to mitigate the spread of fire.
211929 – AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 – 4.1.2 – Electrical equipment – Selection and installation – TechnicalElectrical equipment [enter item] located [enter location] not installed as required or to the additional requirements of the manufacturer’s instructions
212565 – AS/NZS 3000:2018 +A1+A2 – 5.4.6.1 – EARTHING OF EQUIPMENT – Structural metalwork including conductive building materials – General – Unsafe

Structural metalwork or conductive building materials not earthed as required

Data collection

Data collected from defects identified on the Certificate of Inspection and completed audits will be used for future targeted education and training.

Note: Energy Safe no longer provides descriptive content to each defect identified in the COES defect recording system.

Date: 19/03/2024 2:58

Controlled document

The currency and accuracy of this document cannot be guaranteed once printed or saved to a storage device. If in doubt, please check the ESV website for the current version.

Reviewed 06 March 2024

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