Electrical Safety Checks - What Does It Include?

When people hear the phrase “Electrical Safety Check” they have a vague understanding of what it is for and they can imagine approximately what takes place, but in most cases, they are not really sure. 

​Let us break it down:

As the phrase already clarifies, the purpose is to ensure the safety of your premises when it comes to electrical wiring. A certified electrician will perform a series of tasks and checks to ensure that all the wiring and devices on the property are up to the safety standards in the area. 
When finding an electrician to perform the safety inspection, make sure you check that they are certified to perform the task. Doing this will give you more peace of mind when it comes to the safety of your family, or your staff if dealing with a work space.
Organising your safety inspections with a certified professional electrician will also assure that you are covered by your insurance in case of an electrical accident. 

Electrical safety inspection includes:

• Inspection of circuit and wiring as a whole.
• Determining if any of the wiring needs to be upgraded.
• Power point, security and lighting tests
• Smoke alarm tests
• Meter box examination
• Searching and detecting potential hazards such as exposed wires or DIY wiring

Test and Tag - Electrical Appliance Safety Inspection.

Test and tag is a different type of electrical safety inspection, rather than focusing on a home's in-built circuitry, this test is focusing on all the individual appliances. This test is mostly performed in commercial properties to ensure they are being compliant and keeping their staff safe. However, there is no rule that says, this should not be done for a private household. The test itself is quite straightforward, the electrical checks all the devices and electrical equipment one by one. First they perform a visual check, then, using a portable appliance tester, they can confirm that the device's safety functions are fully operational and the current is running through as intended. If everything is working up to the standard, they will attach a small tag around the cable for verification.

Electrical Safety Inspection - When Is It Needed?

For residential rental properties, electrical and gas safety checks need ro be performed every two years by a certified specialist. This is stated and comes into effect in the Residential Tenancies Act as of March 29 2021.

The checks are mandatory, and a report needs to be produced after each check, including the licence details of the specialist who performed the tests. If you own your property or an office space, it is advised to perform these checks after every five years minimum. Additionally, if you spot any faults within the electrical systems or appliances, it may be a good idea to book an additional inspection.
For certain industries, such as mining, demolition and construction, testing and tagging checks are advised to be performed after every three months to ensure the safety of all the appliances that are getting a lot of daily use. It is most important to ensure regular checks are happening. You can schedule routine inspections with your preferred electrical company, so once they have been scheduled for a year, you can pretty much forget about it. 


Electrical Safety Inspections before a real estate purchase
One of the key times to perform an electrical safety inspection is before committing to purchase a property. Residential or commercial, the wiring and the electrical hazards are the same. Hiring a professional to do a thorough inspection of the property will give you peace of mind, as you can be sure there will not be any dangerous or expensive surprises after you have committed to buy.
The above is especially true for older buildings, where previous owners may have attempted some DIY fixes for existing issues, or some parts or the circuitry may simply be outdated and dangerous. This does not mean that new properties should not be checked. Mistakes can happen and a thorough inspection will confirm to you that the wiring is safe and up to the standard. 


Cost of an Electrical Safety Inspection

Each project will need to be quoted up separately as the costs can vary quite a bit due to different sizes of properties, as well as different levels of complexity for the architecture and design. Having verified safe electrical work on your property will help you get good insurance for your property and keep you covered for any electrical accidents. Consider organising pre-paid services for electrical safety inspections on your property.

How to recognise a quality electrical company for your safety checks.

First thing to check for is whether the electrical company is licensed and insured, this means they have earned the required licence to perform electrical safety checks, as well as maintenance and repairs with the benefit of all their work being insured. So if something does go wrong, their insurance will cover the costs of fixing it. 
Using a licensed, insured electrician also means that your own home insurance is covered when it comes to electrical work. Always ask to see proof of licence and insurance as there are some dodgy sparkies out there who are not properly covered, but just like to say they are. Full transparency is quickly becoming the new standard in all industries, electricians should not be any different. It would also be good to ask about their years of experience and qualifications. It wouldn’t hurt to check the Google reviews to see what other clients are saying about the company. After all, you check reviews before buying any other product, right? It’s no different with services.

So there you have it, some information about electrical safety checks and electrical inspections, what they are, when they are needed and how they can benefit you.