What is a Certificate of Electrical Safety and when do you need one in Victoria?

A Certificate of Electrical Safety — almost everyone calls it a COES — is the document that proves the electrical work on your property has been carried out by a licensed electrician and meets Victorian standards. It's a legal requirement under the Electricity Safety Act 1998 for most electrical work in Victoria, and you should be receiving one every time an electrician finishes a job at your property.

In practice, a lot of people have never heard of it. That's a problem, because if something goes wrong electrically and your insurer asks for the COES, "we never got one" is a difficult conversation.

This is a plain-English explanation of what a COES is, when it's mandatory, who issues it, and what to do if you've had electrical work done without one.

What is the COES?

A Certificate of Electrical Safety is a document issued by a Victorian Registered Electrical Contractor (REC) certifying that:

1. The electrical work was carried out by a licensed person
2. The installation has been tested for safety (insulation resistance, polarity, earth continuity, RCD operation as applicable)
3. The work complies with the Wiring Rules (AS/NZS 3000) and any other applicable standards
4. The installation is safe to be energised and used

The COES is then lodged with Energy Safe Victoria — the state regulator. A copy is provided to the customer (you), and Energy Safe holds the official record.

It's not a letter or a piece of advice. It's a regulated, traceable document with a unique number, the contractor's REC number, and the inspecting REC's signature.

When is a COES legally required?

The short answer: for most jobs that involve fixed wiring or a meaningful change to the installation.

The long answer is more nuanced because Victoria distinguishes between prescribed and non-prescribed electrical work:

Prescribed electrical work — COES required AND independent inspection

A subset of work — known as prescribed work — requires not just a COES but also an independent inspection by a separate licensed electrical inspector. This includes:

• Installation of new consumer mains
• Installation of a new switchboard
• New sub-mains (the cable from the main switchboard to a sub-board)
• Any work that changes the earthing system
• Increasing the supply capacity (e.g. single-phase to three-phase)

For prescribed work, the cost of the inspector is typically built into the quote, and the inspection happens before the installation is energised. You receive both the COES and the inspector's report.

Non-prescribed electrical work — COES still required

For all other electrical work involving fixed wiring — power point installations, light fittings, hardwired appliance circuits, ceiling fan installs — a COES is still required. It just doesn't need the independent inspector. The REC self-certifies and lodges with Energy Safe Victoria.

What doesn't need a COES?

A small number of things genuinely don't require a COES:

• Replacing a light bulb (you don't need a COES — but you're allowed to do it without being licensed)
• Plug-in appliance use (no fixed wiring change)
• Repairing a flexible cord on a portable appliance (technically allowed in some contexts, but in practice you'd want this done by an electrician)

Almost any other "real" electrical work needs the COES.

Why the COES matters — beyond compliance

Three concrete reasons it matters to you:

1. Insurance

Most home insurance policies require electrical work to have been carried out by a licensed person and certified compliant. If a fire or fault is traced back to electrical work you can't certify, the insurer can refuse the claim.

We've seen this play out — a homeowner has had a switchboard upgrade done by an unlicensed friend or a "handyman", and 18 months later there's a fire. The insurer asks for the COES. There isn't one. The claim is denied. The repair bill — sometimes the rebuild bill — comes out of pocket.

2. Property sale

When you sell your home in Victoria, Section 32 of the Sale of Land Act requires you to disclose certain information. The COES isn't always explicitly required, but conveyancers increasingly ask about it for any major recent electrical work, and a buyer's building inspector will flag any work that lacks documentation.

A clean COES record on a recent switchboard upgrade or rewire makes a sale smoother. The absence of one creates a question.

3. Rentals (mandatory under Residential Tenancies Regulations)

If you're a landlord, the 2-yearly rental electrical safety check is mandatory under the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021. Each check produces a COES that must be lodged with Energy Safe Victoria, with a copy available to the renter on request. Without that record, you're in breach of the regulations.

What if I've had work done and never received a COES?

Three scenarios, increasing in seriousness:

Scenario 1: Recent legitimate work, but you don't remember getting the COES

This happens often — the COES was emailed and went into a never-checked inbox. Contact the electrician who did the work and ask for a copy. They're required to keep the record for 5 years. If they're a legitimate REC, they'll have it.

Scenario 2: Older work where you can't reach the original electrician

Energy Safe Victoria holds the record. You can contact ESV and request a copy of the COES for your property by address. If a COES was lodged, ESV will have it. If no COES was lodged, ESV won't have one — and that tells you something about the original work.

Scenario 3: Work was done but no COES exists anywhere

This is the concerning case. It means either the work was done by someone who didn't lodge — possibly because they weren't a REC, or because they dropped a step — or no certification was ever made.

In this scenario you have two options:

• Get an inspection done now. A licensed electrician can inspect the existing installation and issue a "verification" COES if the work meets standards. This becomes your record going forward.
• Have the work redone if it doesn't pass inspection. Sometimes the inspection turns up genuine non-compliance — undersized cable, missing RCD protection, dodgy connections — that needs rectification before any COES can be issued.

The second outcome isn't fun. But it's better than discovering it after a fire or during a sale.

What to look for in a COES

A real Victorian COES has all of:

• A COES number (unique identifier)
• The Victorian REC number of the contracting business (e.g. REC-22849)
• The licence number of the individual electrician who did the work
• The address where the work was carried out
• A description of the work
• Test results (insulation resistance, polarity, earth continuity, RCD operation)
• The date completed
• The signature of the REC

If any of these are missing, ask for a replacement. If the document looks unprofessional or lacks the REC number, you may have been given a fake — at which point the original work itself is suspect.

How we handle it

For every prescribed and non-prescribed job we complete at Millar Electrics, we lodge the COES with Energy Safe Victoria the same day, email a copy to the customer, and retain our own record. For prescribed work we engage the independent inspector ourselves and provide both documents.

It's not optional and it's not extra. It's the legal documentation that proves the work was done properly — for your safety, your insurance, and your property record.

If you've recently had electrical work done and don't have a COES, don't have time to chase it, and want a fresh inspection on your installation — book a safety inspection and we'll document everything from current state forward. We're a Victorian REC (REC-22849), based in Nunawading, serving Melbourne's eastern suburbs.