Electricity Safety (General) Regulations 2019

In these Regulations—

accessories has the same meaning as "accessory" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

active conductor has the same meaning as "active" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

aerial bundled cable means an insulated conductor manufactured in accordance with the specifications set out in any of the following—

aerial line means a conductor placed above the ground or water and in open air;

alternative design solution means a design and installation method adopted under regulation 204;

alternative supply has the same meaning as "supply, alternative" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

apprentice means a person deemed to be licensed under section 39 of the Act;

AS 1074 means AS 1074 Steel tubes and tubulars for ordinary service, as published or amended from time to time;

AS 2067 means AS 2067 Substations and high voltage installations exceeding 1 kV a.c., as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 2053.2 means AS/NZS 2053.2 Conduits and fittings for electrical installations Part 2: Rigid plain conduits and fittings of insulating material, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 2053.3 means AS/NZS 2053.3 Conduits and fittings for electrical installations Part 3: Rigid plain conduits and fittings of fibre-reinforced concrete material, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 2053.5 means AS/NZS 2053.5 Conduits and fittings for electrical installations Part 5: Corrugated conduits and fittings of insulating material, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 2053.6 means AS/NZS 2053.6 Conduits and fittings for electrical installations Part 6: Profile-wall, smooth-bore conduits and fittings of insulating material, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 3003 means AS/NZS 3003 Electrical installations—Patient areas, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 3007 means AS/NZS 3007 Electrical equipment in mines and quarries—Surface installations and associated processing plant, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 3013 means AS/NZS 3013 Electrical installations—Classification of the fire and mechanical performance of wiring system elements, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 3016 means AS/NZS 3016 Electrical installations—Electric security fences, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 3560.1 means AS/NZS 3560.1 Electric cables—Cross-linked polyethylene insulated—Aerial bundled—For working voltages up to and including 0·6/1(1·2) kV Part 1: Aluminium conductors, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 3560.2 means AS/NZS 3560.2 Electric cables—Cross-linked polyethylene insulated—Aerial bundled—For working voltages up to and including 0·6/1(1·2) kV Part 2: Copper conductors, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 3599.1 means AS/NZS 3599.1 Electric cables—Aerial bundled—Polymeric insulated—Voltages 6.35/11(12) kV and 12.7/22(24) kV Part 1: Metallic screened, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 3599.2 means AS/NZS 3599.2 Electric cables—Aerial bundled—Polymeric insulated—Voltages 6.35/11(12) kV and 12.7/22(24) kV Part 2: Non-metallic screened, as published or amended from time to time;

AS 3600 means AS 3600 Concrete structures, as published or amended from time to time;

AS 3891.1 means AS 3891.1 Air navigation—Cables and their supporting structures—Marking and safety requirements Part 1: Permanent marking of overhead cables and their supporting structures for other than planned low-level flying, as published or amended from time to time;

AS 3891.2 means AS 3891.2 Air navigation—Cables and their supporting structures—Marking and safety requirements Part 2: Low level aviation operations, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 4680 means AS/NZS 4680 Hot-dip galvanized (zinc) coatings on fabricated ferrous articles, as published or amended from time to time;

AS 4702 means AS 4702 Polymeric cable protection covers, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 4792 means AS/NZS 4792 Hot-dip galvanized (zinc) coatings on ferrous hollow sections, applied by a continuous or a specialized process, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 5033 means AS/NZS 5033 Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic (PV) arrays, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 5139 means AS/NZS 5139 Electrical installations—Safety of battery systems for use with power conversion equipment, as published or amended from time to time;

AS/NZS 7000 means AS/NZS 7000 Overhead line design, as published or amended from time to time;

Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules means AS/NZS 3000 Electrical installations, as published or amended from time to time;

bare open wire or bare, in relation to an aerial line, means uninsulated conductors supported by insulators;

battery system means a battery or battery energy storage system that has—

battery energy storage system has the same meaning as "battery energy storage system BESS" has in AS/NZS 5139;

common area means a portion of a multiple occupancy that is not an individual occupier's portion;

common property has the same meaning as it has in the Owners Corporations Act 2006;

communication equipment includes data transfer equipment, security system equipment, intercom and public address system equipment, nurse call system equipment and audio-visual equipment;

compliant heavy duty non-metallic conduit means a heavy duty non-metallic conduit that complies with the specifications set out in any of the following—

conductor has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

conductor cover means a pipe or tube that is applied to a conductor to provide a protective barrier;

conductor spreader means an insulated rod used to maintain the clearances between the bare open wire conductors of a low voltage private aerial line;

consumer billing meter means a device that measures and records the production or consumption of electricity and is used by an electricity supplier to determine the amount of electricity consumed by or supplied by a consumer;

consumer electricity generation system means a generation system that is connected to an electrical installation that is intended to supply electricity, either continually or occasionally, to all or part of that electrical installation, but does not include a generation system with an installed or nameplate capacity of 30 megawatts or more;

consumer's mains has the same meaning as "consumer mains" has in the Australian/ New Zealand Wiring Rules;

consumer's terminals means the connection devices used for the connection of an electrical installation to the supply network of a major electricity company or an interstate electricity supplier;

covered, in relation to an aerial line, means an aerial line (other than an insulated aerial line) comprised of conductors that are fitted with a conductor cover;

Note

Conductor cover is defined in this regulation.

d.c. traction conductor means an overhead tram trolley wire, a train contact wire or a tram or train catenary or traction feeder that operates on direct current but does not include tram and train negative conductors that are installed on or below the ground;

distribution board means a switchboard other than a main switchboard;

distribution network means a supply network (generally at nominal voltage levels of 66 000 volts or below) that is used to distribute electricity to electrical installations;

domestic electrical installation has the same meaning as "Electrical installation, domestic" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

double insulation has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

effective supervision, in relation to electrical work, means—

electrical fault has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

electricity supplier includes distribution companies;

embedded network has the same meaning as it has in the Metering Code;

emergency lift means a lift intended to operate in an emergency;

Essential Services Commission means the Essential Services Commission established under the Essential Services Commission Act 2001;

extra low voltage means a voltage not exceeding—

fire pump means an electrically-driven fire hydrant booster pump, a pump for an automatic sprinkler, water spray, deluge or similar fire extinguishing system and—

grid-connected inverter system means a system containing an inverter that is capable of being connected in parallel with the supply network of an electricity supplier;

hazardous area has the same meaning as "Area, hazardous" has in the Australian/ New Zealand Wiring Rules;

high voltage means a voltage exceeding low voltage;

horizontally constructed, in relation to an aerial line, means a construction method where the individual conductors of an aerial line are supported by insulators mounted on crossarms;

individual occupier's portion means a portion of a multiple electrical installation that is—

installation work responsible person means the person who is responsible for the carrying out of electrical installation work under section 41A of the Act;

interstate electricity supplier means a person who—

insulated, in relation to an aerial line, means an aerial line (other than a covered aerial line) comprised of conductors that are separated from any adjoining conductive material by a permanently affixed protective layer of non‑conducting material;

licensed electrical inspector means a person holding an electrical inspector's licence under Part 3 of the Electricity Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2010^[1];

licensed electrical switchgear worker means a person holding an electrical switchgear worker's licence under Part 3 of the Electricity Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2010;

licensed electrician means an electrical installation worker holding an electrician's licence under Part 3 of the Electricity Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2010;

low voltage means a voltage exceeding extra low voltage but not exceeding—

main earthing conductor has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

main switch has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

main switchboard has the same meaning as "Switchboard, main" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

metering code means the Electricity Customer Metering Code, as published or amended from time to time by the Essential Services Commission;

multiple electrical installation has the same meaning as "electrical installation, multiple" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

multiple occupancy means land that has 2 or more individual occupier's portions;

negative conductor means a conductor in a circuit of a railway that is maintained at approximately the same electrical potential as the train track or tram track;

neutral conductor has the same meaning as "neutral" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

neutral screen cable has the same meaning as "Cable, neutral-screened" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

normal supply has the same meaning as "supply, normal" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

other cable system means—

overhead break-away device means a mechanical device designed to disconnect an overhead electric line from its supporting structure and the electricity supply when the electric line is subjected to an external stress that exceeds the tensile or design strength of the electric line;

patient area has the same meaning as it has in AS/NZS 3003;

photovoltaic array has the same meaning as "PV array" has in AS/NZS 5033;

pole line means an aerial line supported by 2 or more poles or towers;

private aerial line means a private electric line that is an aerial line and includes any pole that supports an electricity supplier's aerial line, but does not include a pole that is part of the supply network of—

Note

Private electric line is defined in section 3 of the Electricity Safety Act 1998.

private pole means a pole or support tower that is part of a private aerial line;

protected aerial line means an aerial line that forms part of protected infrastructure;

protected infrastructure means protected installations and protected supply networks;

protected installation means—

protected supply network means—

protective equipment means equipment that is intended to automatically isolate the active conductors of a circuit if an electrical fault occurs;

public land means—

railway supply network means the supply network of a railway that is used by electric trains;

readily accessible has the same meaning as "Accessible, readily" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

reference code means a unique identifying number or code provided by Energy Safe Victoria under regulation 237;

registered electrical contractor means an electrical contractor registered under Part 2 of the Electricity Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2010;

reinforced insulation has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

related body corporate has the same meaning as it has in section 9 of the Corporations Act;

retailer has the same meaning as it has in the Electricity Industry Act 2000;

safety service has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

service line means the final span or section of a low voltage aerial line or underground line that—

Note

Point of supply is defined in section 3 of the Electricity Safety Act 1998.

service protective device means a fuse, circuit breaker or other protective equipment installed for interrupting the supply to an electrical installation from the supply network of a major electricity company or interstate electricity supplier;

span, in relation to an aerial line or private aerial line, means a section of the aerial line between 2 adjacent supporting structures;

stand-alone power system means a power generation system connected to an electrical installation that is not connected to an electricity supplier's supply network;

subcircuit has the same meaning as "Subcircuit, final" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

submains has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

substantial reconstruction means—

substation has the same meaning as it has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

supplementary supply has the same meaning as "supply, supplementary" has in the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules;

supply isolating device has the meaning set out in regulation 207(4);

SWER means single wire earth return;

the Act means the Electricity Safety Act 1998;

the Blue Book means the Code of Practice on electrical safety for the work on or near high voltage electrical apparatus, as published or amended from time to time by Energy Safe Victoria;

the Orange Book means the Victorian Traction Industry Electrical Safety Rules, as published or amended from time to time by Energy Safe Victoria;

tramway supply network means the supply network of a tramway;

transition pole private electric line means a private electric line that consists of one private pole that—

transitional portion, in relation to an underground line that enters or exits the ground from the surface of the land, means—

measured from the point where the underground line enters or exits the ground;

underground line means a conductor placed under the ground and includes any part of the conductor that is at or above the surface of the ground;

vegetation management rules means the Electrical Safety Rules for Vegetation Management Work Near Overhead Powerlines by Non-Electrical Workers, as published or amended from time to time by Energy Safe Victoria;

vegetation management work means—

vessel has the same meaning as it has in the Marine Safety Act 2010.