national Technical update

The year is moving fast and we are already at the mid-point of 2022. The ever-lingering issue of COVID-19 is impacting every state in varying ways, from the availability of staff to the supply of products from overseas and across the country. nationally there is always a lot happening and our states’ technical teams are across the important local issues affecting our members.

Australian Standards play a big part in what we do and how we do it. neCA and our members play an important role in developing the standards that members and the industry use on a daily basis. neCA is represented across 25 different standards, with 28 staff and members sitting on these committees. It is these people that we rely on to drive positive change to standards to improve both safety and installation requirements of many facets of both the electrical and communications industries.

We are always looking for new members with a passion for compliance and who want to help drive the next change, to nominate for an existing committee or a new committee that they are interested in. Please contact me at paul.brownlee@neca.asn.au if you are that person.

The draft AS/nZS 4386 Safe working on or near low voltage electrical installations and equipment was released on 30 March for public comment and closed on 1 June 2022. It is important to note that working live is never the first option in any job, no matter how big or small. It is always possible to de-energise the supply to allow you to work safely and this must always be carefully considered before any working live alternatives are implemented. When neCA saw the draft standard, we immediately noticed some important changes that had the potential to impact our members. We convened a webinar to inform members and had over 300 people register to attend. Members were encouraged to provide comments directly back to Standards Australia. neCA’s technical experts across the country also carried out a detailed analysis of the draft, and provided members with our findings to better aid their understanding of the impacts. The document is considerably longer (54%), now 94 pages where the old document was 61 pages. Some of the major changes in the draft included: ½ removal of the Safety Observer section from the 2011 version and introduction of a new section titled Supervision; ½ the addition of extra low voltage into the scope of the document, to cover battery type installations; ½ additional non-electrically related hazards like asbestos and PCBs have been added; ½ additional requirements and increased protections against arc flash and arc blast have been included. This has increased the level of PPe required for daily tasks like fault finding, meter reading and inspections; ½ a lot more emphasis on managing all risks associated with working on or near live low voltage; ½ more informative appendixes to assist in the development of robust risk assessments.

A number of standards have been amended or released in 2022. The list below reflects the changes that apply to our members the most.

AS 3015:2022 electrical installations - extra-low voltage power supplies and service earthing within telecommunications networks AS/NZS IEC 60479.1:2022 effects of current on human beings and livestock, Part 1: General aspects

General requirements for arc fault detection devices (IeC 62606:2013 AMD1:2017 CSV (eD. 1.1) MOD)

explosive atmospheres, Part 29.1: Gas detectors - Performance requirements of detectors for flammable gases AS/NZS IEC 60079.25:2022 explosive atmospheres, Part 25: Intrinsically safe electrical systems

AS/NZS IEC 60079.32.2:2022 explosive atmospheres, Part 32.2: electrostatics hazards and tests

AS/NZS ISO/IEC 80079.34:2022 explosive atmospheres, Part 34: Application of quality management systems for ex Product manufacture SA/SNZ TS IEC 60079.42:2022 explosive atmospheres, Part 42: electrical safety devices for the control of potential ignition sources for ex-equipment SA/SNZ TS IEC 60079.47:2022 explosive atmospheres, Part 47: equipment protection by 2-wire intrinsically safe ethernet concept (2-WISe)

Reeling, trailing and feeder cables used for mining - Repair, testing and fitting of accessories

Adjustable speed electrical power drive systems, Part 5.1: Safety requirements - electrical, thermal and energy

Alarm and electronic security systems, Part 2: Monitoring centres

In December 2021, neCA teamed up with other industry bodies to lobby state and federal governments requesting that the December implementation of the new testing requirements for DC isolators be extended until 30 June 2022. This deadline is almost upon us and it’s a timely reminder to installers of solar and DC isolators to check that their products are compliant. From 1 July 2022, all DC isolator products must comply with the requirements of AS/nZS 4777.2 and have the appropriate Statement of Conformity to confirm this.

After five years of power of choice the Australian energy Market Commission (AeMC) is in the process of reviewing the rules and requirements around contestable metering. neCA has two representatives on this review and there are a number of concerns we have raised. These include:

½ too many administrative checkpoints that inhibit the work being done in a timely and efficient manner; ½ long-standing issues around multitenanted dwellings with multiple metering providers involved. There is no clear workable solution provided in any state and regulators are hesitant to allow electricians to make good conscious decisions that both keep the lights on and allow the retailer’s metering provider time to attend; ½ extensive delays in the procurement of metering services; ½ lack of cooperation between retailers and metering providers to allow electricians to install meters for multiple parties.

We continue to push for automatic mutual recognition across state borders. The federal government released the new JobPass App, which helps workers with individual licences work across state borders and reduces some of the administration burden and fees. While this is a step in the right direction, there is still more to be done particularly around companies and businesses.

At a state level we have been actively supporting our state branches regarding:

½ feedback to local nSW media on housefires being caused by faulty and poorly installed renewable energy systems; ½ the nSW and QLD flood emergency, providing support and coordination where requested; ½ supporting digital licensing in nSW; ½ lobbying key government ministers at both state and federal level by preparing submissions on: ½ supervision concerns; ½ digitising forms; and ½ lobbying for fair terms on contracts.

The national team is always here to help and support our state-based teams and all members. If you have an issue you would like to see raised or followed up with your local member for parliament, regulator, distributor or at a national level, we are here to assist. Please contact us by scanning this QR code.

NECA National Policy & Technical Director