BigWallop wrote:


"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
In article ,
R.bartlett wrote:
my understanding is that indeed you should use a qualified
electrican to carry out anything from a plug swap..

however it's also my understanding that if you fit an additional
socket in your house the chances are that you won't be found out...

most trades are covered like this and there's not any of the inter
trade work going on there as there is here

ie if a sparkie got caught plumbing in a sink he's on for a big
fine..you must hold a current licience for the work you're about to
carry out

whilst you may feel this is 'protectionism' it is more a g.tee that
the 'electrician' you hire to fix some sockets is an ELECTRICIAN

I've cross posted this to uk.d-i-y where we were just discussing this:
there are proposed changes to UK building regulations that would make
DIY electrics impracticable and which to most of us seem completely
OTT. Here you can set up in business as an electrician with no
training or qualifications, though as we all know having a piece of
paper doesn't always mean a quality job.

Does the fact that in Australia you have to be a licensed electrician
to do such work give those who are so qualified a licence to print
money? One can see the arguments as to why such rules are applied but
in smaller communities it would seem to be too easy for an unofficial
'agreement' on going rates to be established.

--
Tony Bryer UK



But the Australians aren't stupid and have also set limits on hourly rates
and mark up profits on supplying materials. Or in other words, they are
all the same at doing the job, but if one is more expensive than another,
they don't stay in business very long because they don't get any work to
do.

Sorry, a wee bit late, but I believe that's the crux of the difference
between tradespeople down under and tradespeople here in the UK.

Here (In the UK) you can survive quite nicely by being crap & charging a
fortune, because there's enough people & few enough tradespeople that you
don't need return business in order to make a decent living.
However down under where there appear to be more tradespeople per head of
population and you need the return business to survive they tend to be a
little more professional and a little less cowboy. Of course requiring
certification tends to help a wee bit too.

Having said that in NZ IIRC, you can actually perform the wiring (Legally)
on your own residence. I dont recall clearly whethe ryou need it certified
or not, but I believe you do't have to (Although previously you could, and
just needed it checked by an electrician).

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