Editorial standards

Readers of this journal include people who will be asked, on a stand or in a toolbox meeting, whether they followed the Wiring Rules. We write as if that reader is in the room.

What the pieces are — and are not

Articles are journalism and practical commentary. They are not legal advice, design certification, or a substitute for AS/NZS 3000, AS/NZS 3012, AS/NZS 3008, AS/NZS 3760, AS/NZS 4836, the National Construction Code, or the electrical safety legislation of a state or territory. If a job is live, open the current standard.

Sources

Preference goes to primary instruments: the Wiring Rules and their amendments, regulator guidance from Energy Safe Victoria, the Electrical Safety Office, NSW Fair Trading, Consumer and Business Services, Building and Energy, Consumer, Building and Occupational Services, Access Canberra and NT WorkSafe, and the Clean Energy Council's published accreditation rules. Secondary sources — association bulletins, manufacturer notes — are labelled as such.

We do not invent fee schedules. Where a figure moves every year we say so and point to the agency that publishes the current number.

Independence

Advertisements, if any, are separated from reported copy. Guest essays follow the write-for-us guidelines. A link that exists because of payment, product supply or a barter is published with rel="sponsored". Unmarked paid links are a firing offence.

Corrections

Factual errors get a note on the article and, where the error could affect safety, a line at the top. Send evidence through the contact form. We would rather be embarrassed in the morning than wrong in a switchboard at 4pm.

Voice

Australian English: licence, organisation, metre, practising. We do not write "electrical contractor near me" copy. We do not pretend a Queensland restriction applies in Perth. Slang is allowed when it is the word the trade uses; it is not a substitute for the clause.

Images

Photographs are Creative Commons or public domain, downloaded and stored on this site, and listed on the image credits page. We do not scrape manufacturer catalogues.

The desk that applies these rules is introduced on the about page.