May 15, 2026

Certificate of Electrical Safety (CES) — Complete Guide for Victorian Electricians (2026)

The Certificate of Electrical Safety (CES) is one of the most important compliance obligations for electrical contractors working in Victoria. Yet it’s also one of the most commonly misunderstood — particularly around when it’s required, who can issue it, and the consequences of getting it wrong.

Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) has been increasing its compliance activity in 2025 and 2026, with a particular focus on solar and battery installation compliance. The combination of CES failures, notification requirement breaches, and AS/NZS 5033 non-compliance is creating significant enforcement action against Victorian electrical contractors.

This guide covers the CES requirements comprehensively — when it applies, what it must include, how to issue it, and how to build CES compliance into your job workflow so nothing slips through the cracks.

What Is a Certificate of Electrical Safety?

A Certificate of Electrical Safety is a document that:

Confirms that electrical installation work was completed by a licensed electrical contractor
Certifies that the work complies with the relevant Australian Standards and the Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic)
Notifies Energy Safe Victoria that the work was done and provides a compliance record

The CES system is administered under the Electricity Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2020 (Vic) and the Electricity Safety (Installations) Regulations 2009 (Vic).

Key principle: The CES is not just a paper formality. It’s a legal certification that the work is safe. Issuing a CES for work that doesn’t comply with AS/NZS 3000 or the relevant installation standards is a serious offence under Victorian electrical safety legislation.

When Is a CES Required?

A CES is required for all notifiable electrical installation work in Victoria. Notifiable work is defined in the Electricity Safety (Installations) Regulations and broadly includes:

Installation or alteration of electrical wiring in a building
Connection of electrical equipment to fixed wiring
Installation, replacement, or alteration of switchboards or switchgear
Solar PV system installation (including all grid-connect and battery installations)
EV charger installation (as a fixed electrical installation)
Air conditioning installation
Swimming pool electrical installation

Maintenance work that involves like-for-like replacement of components (e.g., replacing a failed circuit breaker with an identical unit on an otherwise compliant board) may not require a CES in all cases. However, if in doubt, err on the side of issuing one — the consequences of failing to issue a required CES are significantly worse than the minor additional cost of issuing one that wasn’t strictly required.

Who Can Issue a CES?

Only a licensed electrical inspector (LEI) or a registered electrical contractor who holds a current electrical inspector’s licence can issue a CES in Victoria.

For most sole trader or small electrical contracting businesses, the electrical contractor (who holds both a Registered Electrical Contractor licence and an individual licence to perform electrical work) can issue the CES for work they performed.

Important distinction: A licensed electrician who is an employee of a contractor cannot issue a CES for work they performed — that’s the responsibility of the registered electrical contractor who engaged them. The CES must be issued by the REC.

For solar installation businesses with multiple crews, this creates an important compliance consideration: every installation requires the REC to issue a CES, not just perform the work. If your REC is not on-site for every installation, they must review the installation records and be satisfied the work complies before issuing the certificate.

Timeframe for Issuing a CES

Under Victorian regulations, a CES must be issued within 28 days of completing the notifiable electrical installation work.

In practice, best practice is to issue the CES much sooner — ideally the same day or within 48 hours of completion. Waiting until day 27 creates risk: if you have a busy period, multiple jobs, or an admin backlog, you can miss the 28-day window.

For solar installations, the CES should be issued after:

The system installation is complete
The system has been inspected and tested
The installer is satisfied the system complies with AS/NZS 3000 and AS/NZS 5033
The inverter has been commissioned and the system is operational

For battery installations, add: compliance with AS/NZS 5139 (battery energy storage systems).

What Must the CES Include?

A valid Victorian CES must include:

Contractor details:

Name and business name of the registered electrical contractor
REC registration number
Address

Work details:

Address where the work was performed
Description of the work performed (sufficient detail to identify the work)
Date the work was completed
Statement that the work complies with the relevant regulations and standards

Certificate details:

Date of issue
Unique certificate reference number (for your records)
Signature of the REC or authorised electrical inspector

Equipment details (for solar/battery):

For solar PV: panel brand, model, quantity, inverter brand/model, system capacity
For battery: battery brand, model, capacity, installation location

The more detail, the better. Vague descriptions like “electrical installation” don’t adequately describe the work and may not satisfy Energy Safe Victoria requirements in an audit or investigation.

The Network Notification Requirement

For solar installations, the CES obligation exists alongside (but separate from) the network notification requirement — the obligation to notify the relevant distribution network service provider (DNSP) of the new solar installation.

The network notification must be made using the relevant DNSP’s process. In Victoria, this is typically via the DNSP’s online portal (AusNet Services, Jemena, United Energy, CitiPower, Powercor depending on the area).

Common mistake: Thinking the CES satisfies the notification requirement. It doesn’t — they are separate obligations to separate bodies. You need to:

Issue the CES to Energy Safe Victoria’s portal (ESV Connect) within 28 days
Notify the DNSP separately (typically before or at time of connection)

How to Issue a CES in Victoria

Energy Safe Victoria has an online portal — ESV Connect — where CES must be lodged. The process:

Log in to ESV Connect (register if not already registered)
Select “Lodge Certificate of Electrical Safety”
Enter the installation address and work details
Enter your REC registration number
Complete all required fields including equipment details for solar/battery
Submit — the certificate is lodged electronically

Keep a copy. After lodging, download and store a copy against the job record. If ESV or a property owner queries the certificate later, you need to be able to retrieve it immediately.

Building CES Compliance Into Your Job Workflow

The most reliable way to ensure every job gets a CES issued within the required timeframe is to build it into your job completion workflow — not treat it as a post-job admin task you remember when you have time.

In ServiceM8, you can set up:

A mandatory checklist item on every solar and electrical job: “CES issued — certificate number entered”
A job follow-up task created automatically when a job is completed, due within 14 days, for CES lodgement confirmation
A notes field for the CES certificate number, stored against the job record

This means the CES is tracked job-by-job, with an audit trail that shows when it was issued, who issued it, and what the certificate reference number is. If ESV queries a specific installation, you can find the CES record in under 60 seconds.

For businesses doing 20+ installations per month, this kind of system discipline is not optional — it’s the only way to avoid compliance failures at scale.

Common CES Mistakes to Avoid

1. Missing the 28-day deadline The most common failure. Set a reminder in your job management system as soon as a job is completed.

2. Issuing the CES before the work is complete A CES must certify completed, compliant work. Issuing it prematurely — to close out paperwork before returning for a punch-list item — is a false certification.

3. Insufficient work description “Solar installation” is not adequate. “Installation of 22x 440W Jinko solar panels, 10kW SolarEdge HD-Wave inverter, 10kWh BYD battery system, connection to existing switchboard” is adequate.

4. Wrong contractor listed The CES must be issued by the REC who engaged the performing electrician — not the electrician themselves (unless they are also the REC).

5. No physical copy retained ESV Connect stores the lodgement but you should retain your own copy as a backup.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Failure to issue a required CES, or issuing an incorrect CES, carries serious consequences:

Infringement notices: ESV can issue infringement notices for compliance failures
Licence suspension: Repeated or serious CES failures can result in REC licence suspension
Insurance implications: Work not covered by a CES may create gaps in your professional indemnity coverage
Homeowner liability: If a non-notified or incorrectly certified installation causes a fire or injury, the liability exposure for the contractor is severe

Don’t let CES compliance slip. It’s one of the most important obligations you have as a Victorian electrical contractor.

NSW Equivalent: CCEW

For electricians working in NSW, the equivalent document is the Certificate of Compliance — Electrical Work (CCEW), administered by SafeWork NSW. The requirements are similar in principle but differ in specifics. See our dedicated CCEW NSW guide for the full details.