On 1 September 2025 new requirements for the effective supervision of apprentice electricians came into effect under section 39 of the Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic) and Regulation 507 of the Electricity Safety (General) Regulations 2019 (Vic).
Employer responsibility for apprentice requires appropriate arrangements to be in place that ensure the quality of apprentice training, and safety and supervision. An employer of an apprentice is also responsible for continuously monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of those arrangements and making adjustments as necessary to deliver those intended outcomes. Energy Safe Victoria has published the requirements to assist employers to understand their effective supervision duties and to enable apprentices to know what they should expect.
The Energy Safe Victoria document ‘Requirements for the effective supervision of apprentice electricians Effective from 1 September 2025’ – linked below – clearly defines the levels of supervision for general and specified types of electrical work and what that look like, the required ratios of supervisors to apprentices for the various supervision levels, the conditions for carrying out isolation procedures and fault finding.
Employers must appoint a supervisor who is responsible for providing effective supervision of the apprentice when they are carrying out electrical installation work. Appointed supervisors must –
- hold the current relevant electrical licence
- be competent in the electrical installation work being performed by the apprentice they are supervising
- be competent and have the capacity to supervise the apprentice work
- agree to supervise the apprentice
- be aware of their responsibilities and the requirements of supervision
- have a copy of the Energy Safe Victoria document ‘Requirements for the effective supervision of apprentice electricians Effective from 1 September 2025’
‘Effective supervision’ in relation to electrical installation work means:
- being present at the site of the electrical installation work to the extent necessary to ensure that the work is being correctly performed and carried out in accordance with the Electricity Safety Act and the Electricity Safety (General) Regulations, and
- being aware of the details of the electrical installation work being performed and giving detailed instructions and directions with respect to the work.
Read more: Requirements for the effective supervision of apprentice electricians | Energy Safe Victoria