Safety switches protect you

Safety switches cut the electricity supply to protect you from serious electric shock, injury or death and help prevent electrical fires in your home.  

homeonwer and electrican at circuit board

 

About 40 per cent of the 4,500 house fires in NSW each year are caused by electrical faults and appliances. These fires could have been prevented by a licensed electrician checking the electrical wiring and installing safety switches.

Safety switches turn off the power immediately if an electrical fault is detected – preventing the risk of electric shock, death and fire. 

To be fully protected, you need to:

  • have safety switches installed on all your circuits by a licensed electrician
  • do a quick and simple test at least every six months to ensure your safety switches are working properly.

How to test your safety switches 

Checking your safety switches takes minutes and could save your life. Watch our video or follow the steps below:

 

1:02

Safety Switches Save Lives

 

  1. Inform everyone at home you’re about to test the safety switches, and that this will cut the electricity supply (during the test only). 
  2. Press the ‘T’ or ‘Test’ buttons on the safety switch you’re testing. The power will be cut and switch to the ‘off’ position. This should happen without undue delay.  
  3. Check inside – there shouldn’t be power to lights, appliances and power switches on the circuit being tested.  
  4. Reset the safety switch you’ve tested by lifting or turning the switch back to the ‘on’ position. 

Remember, for the safety of everyone in your home, always use a licensed electrician for all electrical work and ask for a uniquely numbered Certified of Compliance for Electrical Work once the job is done. 

Find out more about electrical safety in the home:

Electrical safety campaign 

A joint campaign between NSW Fair Trading, SafeWork NSW and industry, government and non-government organisations ran from November 2020 – April 2021. It urged homeowners to have safety switches installed in their homes. The industry partners included:  

  • Ausgrid 
  • Bunnings Warehouse
  • Choice
  • Endeavour Energy
  • Energy Australia
  • Essential Energy
  • ETU NSW Branch (Electrical Trades Union)
  • Fire and Rescue NSW
  • Electrical Inspectors Association 
  • NSW Utilities & Electrotechnology ITAB (Industry Training Advisory Body)
  • Master Electricians Australia
  • NECA (National Electrical and Communications Association)
  • Origin Energy
  • Plus ES
  • Red Energy
  • REINSW (Real Estate Institute of NSW)
  • Simply Energy
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