After posing as a licensed electrical contractor and doing illegal and dangerous electrical work, a Gold Coast handyman was found guilty of seven charges under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 in the Southport Magistrates Court recently.
As a result, the man was fined a total of $60,000 for performing unlicensed electrical work; conducting a business that included the performance of electrical work without holding an electrical contractor's licence; and as a person conducting a business who had an electrical safety duty, failed to ensure that the business was conducted in a way that was electrically safe and that failure exposed individuals to a risk of death or serious injury.
Between 21 March 2019 and 20 October 2019, the former policeman provided general handyman services, which included electrical work. At no time did he hold an electrical work licence or electrical contractor licence.
The defendant promoted his services and obtained business via Airtasker and on 20 March 2019 he accepted a job advertised by a Southport homeowner to disconnect a stove and install a new one. He falsely claimed to have a valid Queensland electrical licence and completed the work
An inspection revealed protective external sheathing to the electric cable used in the oven had been incorrectly removed. This increased the risk of breaks or nicks to the single insulated cable which would result in the stove becoming live, exposing any individual who came into contact with it to the risk of serious injury or death.
Six months later, the defendant accepted a job in Currumbin Waters to install six ceiling fans, and replace existing ceiling lights, a power point and a roof aerial. Inspection of that work found one of the fans was incorrectly earthed, which, in the event of a fault, could have caused the conductive surfaces of the fan/light to become live, exposing anyone who contacted it to a risk of serious injury or death. There was also no Residual Current Device or safety switch installed for the ceiling fans, which, in the event of an insulation breakdown, could have resulted in an electrical shock.
