Electrical compliance requirements
Whenever electrical work has been undertaken, electricians in NSW must submit certificates to prove compliance and installation safety inspections have taken place. Penalties apply for non-compliance or unsafe installations.
What is a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW)?
By law, any electrical wiring work must be done by, or under the supervision of a licensed electrician.
Electricians are required to provide a customer with a certificate of compliance for electrical work (CCEW) to show that the work has been tested and complies with the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Regulation 2018, relevant Australian Standards and the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2017 legislation.
A CCEW can assist a customer for warranty purposes for the electrical article that has been installed.
Relevant standards include AS/NZS 3000 Australia/New Zealand Wiring Rules.
When does a CCEW need to be submitted?
The person who carries out the electrical test must submit a CCEW as soon as practical, but no later than seven days after the electrical test has been completed.
How to submit a CCEW
Between 1 December 2025 and 1 March 2026
From 1 December 2025, you can submit your CCEW on the BCNSW eCert portal.
By submitting the CCEW on the eCert portal, the customer will automatically receive the CCEW.
From 1 March 2026
From 1 March 2026, you will only be able to submit a CCEW on the BCNSW eCert portal. The CCEW PDF form, Essentially Energy portal or hard copy (NECA book) forms will no longer be accepted.
Find out more about BCNSW eCert portal
Manual submissions
Download the Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work form.
Licensees can use Building Commission NSW's approved PDF form (above) or an existing approved CCEW form, and email it to the:
- Building Commission NSW at meterccew@customerservice.nsw.gov.au
- customer, and
- energy provider (electricity distributor).
How to use the PDF form
Create a template by downloading and saving the form with your electrical licence details.
Note: This form cannot be used on a mobile device or tablet.
Serial number
As the electrician, it’s your responsibility to apply a unique serial number to their CCEW. Use your electrical licence number followed by a sequential number (e.g. if your licence number is 444444C, your first CCEW will be 444444C001, your second will be 444444C002 and so on).
Who should receive a copy of the CCEW?
It’s the tester’s responsibility to ensure that the CCEW is sent to the correct parties.
- For any electrical work – to the customer.
- For new electrical installations – to the customer, distributor and Building Commission NSW.
- For any alterations or additions to an existing electrical installation that will require additional work to be done in relation to the network connection for the installation – to the customer, distributor and Building Commission NSW.
- For work on a switchboard or associated equipment – to the customer, distributor and Building Commission NSW.
- For electrical installation work for an installation using a stand-alone power system – to the customer and Building Commission NSW.
- For installation, alteration or replacement of an electricity meter – to the customer and Building Commission NSW.
If the BCNSW eCert portal was used to submit the CCEW, a copy will be automatically sent to the relevant parties directly.
What are the penalties for not submitting a CCEW?
Under the legislation, substantial penalties apply, including on the spot fines of up to $1000, for each occasion when a certificate of compliance for electrical work is not supplied to the consumer (or network provider if relevant).
Substantial penalties also apply (up to $550,000) for failure to carry out electrical installation work in accordance with the technical standards set out in the Regulation.
Electrical installation safety inspection prior to remote re-energisation of premises
If an electrical installation has been de-energised for 6 months or more, an electrical installation safety inspection is required by a qualified electrician to ensure, as far as practically possible, the electrical installation is safe to re-energise.
After the safety inspection has been conducted, an Electrical Installation Safety Inspection Certificate (remote re-energisation safety statement), on the approved form, is completed and provided to the customer.
The remote re-energisation safety statement includes details of the minimum checks and tests required prior to issuing the certificate.
The customer will need to provide a copy of the certificate to their electricity retailer when arranging for re-energisation to be undertaken.