This on-going debate about the whys and wherefores of people doing their own home wiring actually started in the June 2000 issue when a letter raised the concern that it was illegal for people to build or repair mains-operated kits unless licensed by the Queensland Electrical Licence Board. Since then the issue has developed to embrace the idea that anyone should be able to do electrical wiring in their own home, just as they in New Zealand.

In the 13-plus years of SILICON CHIP’s history, no issue has ever generated as much correspondence and most of it, I have to say, has been well-considered: some for the status quo and some for the idea that homeowners should be allowed to do it.

It has also become clear that one of the reasons why the Queensland Electrical Licensing Board is attempting to be so draconian is that they are concerned with the apparently high number of deaths by electrocution in that state. Whether or not a large proportion of these deaths have come about because of illegal home wiring is not clear However, it is now becoming apparent that in its on-going review of the situation, the Queensland ELB has the intention of instructing licensed electricians to look for and report any instances of "illegal" home wiring that they come upon. Supposedly, the perpetrators would then be fined or otherwise penalised.

When I heard about this I was flabbergasted. Is this really happening in Australia? Surely not! If this is true, it will have exactly opposite the desired effect. Say you want some extra wiring done in your house but maybe you or someone else has added wiring in the past. Say it’s all done by the book but it’s really neat. Now, if you get an electrician in, will he identify the neat wiring as being illegal? Because it’s neat and obviously not done by any normal electrician?

And what’s the likelihood of an electrician identifying any wiring as suspect? Even if it was done by another electrician? Even if you keep receipts, it would not identify particular wiring. And what if a previous electrician has made a mistake or taken a short-cut? How would any householder know if this has happened?

No this whole idea of using licensed electricians to ferret out illegal wiring is crazy. It is more likely to force people to do their own wiring or have it done by someone (unlicensed) on the quiet. It will backfire on the Queensland Electrical Licensing Board.

Their job should be to educate the public (and licensed electricians) and do everything possible to promote a safe electrical distribution system. You don’t achieve that by having electricians report on their own customers. It won’t take long for electricians to figure that out!

The more we think about and discuss this issue, the more we think the regulations should change to allow homeowners to do their own wiring, subject to subsequent inspection (probably by licensed electricians). In fact, we plan to proceed down this path and hope to publish a petition next month to get the politicians moving. Watch for it next month.

Leo Simpson