WA electricians are reminded to only take on work within their capabilities after an electrician carried out and certified switchboard work at a Mount Barker property where dangerous defects involving a battery storage system were later found.
At Albany Magistrates Court, Danielle Myriam Mazoue (EW127478 / EC7348) was fined $9,000 after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Electricity (Licensing) Regulations following prosecution by the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Building and Energy division.
The court was told Ms Mazoue submitted a notice of completion in July 2024 that declared her electrical work, including rewiring a site main switchboard, was complete, compliant and safe.
A Western Power inspection later identified several defects, including the risk of electricity back-feeding from a battery storage system to the grid, which could put network personnel in danger of receiving an electric shock.
Ms Mazoue breached the law by carrying out electrical work that did not comply with the wiring rules and incorrectly certifying, through the notice of completion, that the electrical work was completed in accordance with the regulations.
Ms Mazoue told the court she was working under pressure and was not adequately trained for the type of installation at the Mount Barker property.
During sentencing on 29 July 2026, Magistrate Rosemarie Myers acknowledged Ms Mazoue’s early guilty plea and lack of prior electrical offences, while noting the electrocution risks and the serious nature of the conduct because consumers “expect that you knew and understood what you were doing”.
Her Honour added that the person signing off on a notice of completion is expected to give correct information as electrical hazards and offences can be difficult to detect.
WA’s Director of Energy Safety, Dan Kearney, said it was fortunate no one was injured.
“People working on the network during an outage would expect this equipment to be de-energised when it could actually be receiving hazardous voltages,” Mr Kearney said.
“Electricians must always comply with the wiring rules and carry out mandatory checks and tests to ensure their work is safe, which should be accurately reflected in the notice of completion.
“They should also only undertake work within their training and experience, particularly as new types of installations emerge.”
The Building and Energy website has a suite of resources on battery storage systems.
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Media contact: BEmedia@lgirs.wa.gov.au
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