On 4 March 2026, an electrical contracting business was sentenced in the Warwick Magistrates Court for breaching section 192(2) of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) (‘the Act’), offence to give false or misleading information.

On Christmas Eve 2023, a 31-year-old male died when he was electrocuted at his mother’s home.

An investigation revealed that the defendant attended and conducted electrical work at the house in April 2020. In particular, the defendant performed electrical work on 24 and 27 April 2020 that related to issues with the House’s Residual Current Device (aka a ‘Safety Switch’) (“the RCD”).

As part of the investigation, the defendant was compelled to provide information about the electrical work carried out at the house. In response to a notice issued by the Regulator on 14 March 2024, the defendant provided answers to questions as well as corresponding documents.

The defendant provided an invoice to the Regulator along with a certificate of testing dated 27 April 2020 (“the Certificate”). The Certificate was misleading in that it purported to have been issued on the date the work to which it related was carried out, namely 27 April 2020. However, the Certificate was created between 14 and 20 March 2024.

In sentencing, Magistrate Crawford took into account the timely plea of guilty. Her Honour acknowledged the maximum penalty for the charge. Given safety standards, there is an expectation that licensed electrical contractors will comply with investigations. The documents sought were critical to the investigation. The false or misleading certificate was not an inconsequential document. As such, the defendant’s conduct would have hampered the investigation.

Her Honour acknowledged that the defendant’s director was experiencing personal issues such that he was unable to access the original certificate. Instead, he downloaded the form from a computer system, which he accessed remotely. This system re-issued a computer-generated certificate.

Taking into account all matters, her Honour imposed a fine of $5,000 and exercised her discretion to not record a conviction.

OWHSP contact: enquiries@owhsp.qld.gov.au