On 29 March 2023, the electrical safety rental minimum standard will commence.
The electrical safety standard requires that rental properties must have modern style switchboards, with circuit breakers and electrical safety switches installed. Electrical safety switches are correctly known as residual current devices (RCD, RCCB or RCBO).
Rental providers are responsible for ensuring their rental property complies with the electrical safety standard by engaging a licensed or registered electrician.
Rental providers are encouraged to engage an electrician early to ensure that they are meeting their legislative obligations.
If your rented premises has a circuit breaker type switchboard
The rented premises can meet the new minimum standard if the electrician adds circuit breaker components to the power outlets and lighting circuits, without the need to add to or modify the circuit protection to other circuits (such as fixed cooking equipment, hot water units or air conditioning circuits).
The circuit breaker components include:
- an overcurrent circuit breaker and a residual current device (RCDs), or
- an overcurrent circuit breaker and a residual current operated circuit-breakers without integral overcurrent protection (RCCBs), or
- a residual current operated circuit-breaker with integral overcurrent protection (RCBOs).
If your rented premises does not have a circuit breaker type switchboard
Some properties do not have circuit breaker type switchboards, such as older properties that have a panel and fuse board or a federal fuse board.
With these older type fuse boards, an electrician may not have the option of adding circuit breaker components (such as RCDs, RCCBs or RCBOs) and may have to replace the entire switchboard to ensure the rented premises meets the electrical safety standard. In this case, circuit breaker components will be required for all the circuits at the switchboard, including fixed cooking equipment, hot water units and air-conditioning circuits.