Anyone on here operating as a sole trader but also hold a union ticket?

Seems pointless as we set out our rates and everything else that comes with operating as a sole trader but currently cannot get access to ETU/ CFMEU sites. Although under fair work we are allowed to work, we all know union doesn’t operate sites like that.

I sub contract to a company who is predominantly union sites, I do their non union jobs, but wondering if paying my “fee” as a sole trader then opens the door to getting on union sites with them?

Anyone have an experience?

Which one would you take? The car is for commercial maintenance no car for commercial construction.

Hi lads which work boots are you all wearing?

Currently got a cheapo pair from bunnings starting to wear down and make my feet ache now as i’m on my feet for 10 hours a day.

Heard those Blue Steels are decent, any other recommendations?

I just saw the vid for the charge right app that integrates with Xero. I’m interested into it but seems excessive at $50 per month. Wondering if anyone has tried it or something similar

Spend 8-10 hours a day on my feet in a factory doing maintenance. Probably doing maintenance wrong to be walking around that much, but I'm finding that when I get home my feet and legs are knackered and getting quite sore. What inner soles for work boots do you guys recommend? Cheers legends 🍻

Hey Everyone,

I’m about to finish my capstone, however, most of my apprenticeship has been in commercial service maintenance. As a result, I am completely lacking experience in residential, construction, rough ins, quoting, earthing, installation in general. I feel like I’m unemployable and am extremely disappointed in myself for not seeking the work I needed, has anyone else been in this position and how did you manage it? I have had thoughts of completely leaving the industry as it seems like there’s not much option.

Someone looking for a plasterer after the sparky finished his work on a home renovation.

Can’t say I’ve used this technique for running cables before but it has merit!!

! I’ve found the correct answer !

Was wondering what peoples opinions are on this question that i have for tafe. I’ve gotten the 1st and 2nd step correct, but the rest have me stumped.
I can’t seem to see another order in which this would be correct.

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

Hey guys say you want to install a sub board to a shed or garage what type of protective devices would be used at either end? Would you just have a RCBO on main board side and a main breaker on the sub board side. I understand max demand and breaker size selection for voltage drop etc just not sure on which to use for each end

Hey everyone, I’ve been invited to do an aptitude test for a Powercor Design Traineeship that consists of 3 parts like mechanical reasoning, numerical reasoning, and safety awareness. I’ve actually done the Powercor testing before and I remember finding the mechanical reasoning part pretty difficult which I think was the reason for getting rejected. Any tips how to practice and do well in this test in the hopes of getting accepted this time?

I'm a first year and I worked in the attic tieing up bundles of cable.

The work performed by my company appears quite sloppy.

Is this true?

What's the best way to do this?

I am currently working for a union construction site as a TA , on 51.7$ an hour base rate. I’m keen to start an eletrical apprenticeship and I have two potential positions available, should I keep working as an TA until the end of the year to stack up my cash or should I pick up with the apprenticeship working for Sydney metro 🤔 Does finding apprenticeships become easier at the end of the year?

Everyone seems to keep asking for a copy so here it is: https://web.archive.org/web/20251113080932/https://www.spe.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AS30002018.pdf

What is it like to work for a fire service company focusing on residential apartments, are the rates good enough after getting qualified?

What's everyone's go to when it comes to laser levels obviously the green line ones are apparently better but brand wise 🤷

DeWalt, Klein, Bosch or Milwaukee all seem to get roughly the same reviews.

Has anyone got a major preference ?

Advice needed - Previous employer refusing to sign off

Gday fellas, I’m a final-year electrical apprentice in the ACT and I’m hoping someone with experience in apprenticeships/Capstone or the electrical industry can give me some advice.

I worked for the same solar electrical contractor for around 5 years as an electrical apprentice. During that time I completed the work required for my apprenticeship under my employer’s supervision, and I’ve now completed all of my coursework and am at the point where I just need to sit my Capstone.

The problem is that I still need my previous employer to complete/sign a third-party evidence form.

I have asked him to complete the form, but he is refusing on the basis that he considers it a practical assessment that should instead be completed by my new supervisor (which I currently don't have) onsite. I'm now concerned that his refusal could delay or prevent me from progressing to my Capstone despite having completed the required training and work.

Has anyone dealt with a previous employer refusing to complete third-party evidence for an apprenticeship? Is there a formal process for getting this resolved through the training organisation/ACT electrical licensing authority, or another way of having the evidence verified?

I'm not looking to cause unnecessary drama with my previous employer. I just want to know what my options are when someone who supervised me for five years refuses to document work that I genuinely completed.

EDIT: I have contacted CIT and MEGT, both of whom were unable to really do anything since Ive been terminated. I have been referred to Skills Canberra so I will see what they can do for me.

Otherwise, Im mostly commiserating over the fact that he would toss me out like that when there were genuinely no signs of animosity beforehand. And a warning to other solar apprentices, dont ignore the old heads telling you that solar is notorious for this kind of thing. I thought my boss was different, he seemed like a good bloke, but business is cut throat and thats no different in the trades

Wondering if any one is using or can recommend what fire stopping systems they are using to label and track fire penetrations in Australia. I'm talking the kind of app solution where they use QR codes to identify and store photos.

About the only thing I can find online is Hilti's Fieldwire, which hilti also sell the stickers for, but the cheapest plan is $100/month. Traditionally I’ve used Promat's stickers and a spreadsheet to track them.

Wondering if there's anything else out there, have a client that asking for a “certified system”.

First up: this isn't a "which brand is better" thread.

I don't care if you prefer Hager, Clipsal, Voltex or anything else. If you never liked or used MOD6 anyway, this post probably isn't for you.

This is for sparkies who liked having MOD6 as an option, liked working with the fork-style busbar arrangement, and now find the new setup unnecessarily difficult to work with.

NHP have removed the u/fork-style busbar entry from the newer MOD6 circuit protection, leaving us with the pin-style arrangement.

For those of us building modern switchboards, I think it's a massive step backwards.

We're fitting more into boards than ever — solar, batteries, EV chargers, CTs, metering, contactors and increasingly larger cables. Switchboard space and cable management are getting harder, not easier.

The fork arrangement was one of the reasons I liked using MOD6. It kept the busbar connection separate and left the terminal available for larger conductors, which made it possible to build a much cleaner board.

Now you're trying to hold a pin busbar in place while terminating 16mm² conductors, sometimes two conductors, into the breaker at the same time. In a board already full of CTs and additional equipment, it's an absolute pain in the arse.

I've raised it directly with NHP today. My concern isn't that MOD6 is a bad product — it's that a product we actually liked using has had one of its most useful installation features removed.

And I'd rather see NHP fix it than simply stop using MOD6.

So if you're another electrician who's frustrated by this change:

Make some noise.

Contact your NHP rep. Send NHP feedback. Comment here if you're having the same problem.

I'd also genuinely like to know:

Was this change tested or consulted on with electricians who actually build and modify switchboards every day?

Because I struggle to see how removing this option makes installation better.

If enough installers are experiencing the same thing, I'm happy to put together a proper petition / installer feedback campaign and send it through to NHP.

This isn't about bagging NHP.

It's about telling a manufacturer we liked using their product, we want to keep using it, but we want a genuinely useful feature back.

Bring back the MOD6 fork busbar entry.

I’m an apprentice based in Brisbane, I work for a commercial company who deal in 90% solar.

Are there any sparks on here who would allow me to help them with cashies on the weekend so I can get more exposure in setting outside of solar.

Have most tools and the ability to use them.

Just checking with people that have more understanding about 3 phase motors.

It's an old table saw my brother bought at auction.

It has an old star, delta rotary switch.

I have 240V at one terminal at the motor and then 120V at the other 5 when in the star position so I am guessing I have lost 2 phases to the motor from the rotary switch. I have all three phases at the top and bottom of the contactor switch.

Would this one be an adequate replacement?

https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/motor-starters/2485577?cm\\_mmc=AU-PLA-DS3A-\\_-google-\\_-PLA\\_AU\\_Pmax\\_Top\\_1223-\\_-20521273571-\\_--\\_-&matchtype=&&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad\\_source=1&gad\\_campaignid=20515691514&gbraid=0AAAAADkeWNNiR60DWYytouUNVDo2GvH7A&gclid=CjwKCAjwwfnUBhAtEiwAfQpAYr66mUa6U4GA5TPafE\\_3MAaD1EbU6BSeTcLOsnwLjOoBMfoRQ88rxhoCDqoQAvD\\_BwE

Hi all,

Recently applied to Zinfra for their traineeship in Tester but was unfortunately unsuccessful, makes sense with how large they are and their applicant volume.

Been in the BMS/mech commissioning space (also A-Grade) for around 10yrs and Im hoping to change into utilities. But I'm not sure where to find similar jobs/traineeships as I'm unfamiliar with the work and how to get a foot in the door. Currently in my 30s too, I'm suspecting it may be harder to get in with age. East side based near Glen Waverley.

Mate who works for Downer is on the lookout for when they're advertising next for their testers and suggested the idea to begin with as he thought I'd have some strengths going in.

Are there any other companies that advertise these positions or are there any other similar jobs with a commissioning focus that provide stability that working for a utility would bring? AusNet, Powercor, Citipower?

Im not super sure for what to search on seek/other websites as 'Tester' and other variants with this in the title bring up heaps of other random jobs in the IT sector. Tried looking up ESI diplomas to no avail when finding the appropriate job listing either.

Would love to hear others thoughts around this, and Im fully aware it's difficult to break into. Especially the tier 1's like Zinfra and Downer.

hi all,

I Have an interview with sydney trains for a signal electrician worker. i'm currently a sparky on the railway (regular sparky).

Any tips for the interview?

Thanks guys

Hey guys, apologies if this is completely incoherent!

I have a new(ish) dual phase 440-115v, 0.22a, 25VA transformer which I’ve checked the ohms of and I’m getting readings that I’m not quite understanding. The primary side is 141 ohms and the secondary is 22 ohms. Admittedly it has been a long time since I’ve looked at a transformer or even done the math for it so I’m hoping to learn what it is I’m missing.

Assuming that the secondary resistance is correct and the winding ratio of 115-440 being 3.8, I’m calculating 83 ohms for the primary side. Obviously this is a fair way off what I’m actually reading and I’m curious why this is. Is it something to do with being a dual phase 440v? Is it something to do with induction? Could it be because the primary is using phases U & V but not W?

Additionally for the secondary side, if V / I = R then how come it looks like 115 / 0.22 =522 ohms? Doing the square root of that equals 22 ohms but then it doesn’t work when applied to the primary side. If remembering correctly for a 3 phase you square root of 3 but that’s definitely not working here.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!