Felt a tingle, or smell something hot? Start here
A tingle from a tap or appliance is a warning, not a quirk, and so is a burning smell you can't place. Turn off the main switch if it's safe to reach, keep everyone clear, and call 000 if there's smoke, fire or someone's hurt. On Western Power's network in WA, every shock has to be reported to Western Power, even a slight tingle.
Signs the wiring is wearing out
- Rubber or cloth-covered cable in the roof space or under the floor. Old wiring explains the types and why they fail.
- Power points or switches that run warm, look scorched or crackle.
- Lights that dim or flicker when the kettle or heater goes on.
- Fuses that blow, or breakers that trip, more often than they used to.
- Power boards in every room because there aren't enough power points.
- No safety switches protecting the power points and lights.
Full rewire or part rewire?
A full rewire replaces every circuit, from the switchboard out to each power point, switch and light. It makes sense when the old cable has perished right through the house, or when the walls and ceilings are coming open for a renovation anyway.
A part rewire replaces only the circuits that are failing. The decision should come from testing, not guesswork: an insulation resistance test (it shows whether current is leaking through old insulation) tells the electrician which circuits are failing and which still have life in them.
What happens on a rewiring job
After the tests comes a plan for the new circuits. This is the moment to say where you want power points, lights and switches now, rather than where someone put them decades ago.
New cable mostly runs through the roof space and under the floor, then drops down inside the wall cavities. In solid brick walls the electrician may need to cut channels to bury it, which is called chasing, and someone has to patch and paint afterwards. Ask early who looks after that part.
Expect the power to be off in stages. Queensland's rules say a building's power should be switched off before a worker goes into the roof space, where that's reasonably practicable. Most rewires include the switchboard too, because there's little point running new circuits back to old fuses.
What makes a rewire bigger or smaller
Access is the biggest factor. A single-storey house with a roomy roof space and a timber floor you can get under is far simpler than a two-storey home on a concrete slab.
Asbestos can change the plan. Victoria's Asbestos Hub says a home built or renovated before 1990 likely contains asbestos, and that your electrician generally isn't licensed to remove it. If wall sheets, ceilings or the meter board might contain it, say so at the start.
The certificate you should get, state by state
| What it's called | When it's due | |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) | Submitted within 7 days of finishing, with a uniquely numbered copy for you |
| Victoria | Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES) | Depends on whether the work is prescribed, which is inspected first |
| Queensland | Certificate of testing and compliance | As soon as practicable after connection |
| Western Australia | Electrical Safety Certificate | Within 28 days |
| South Australia | Electronic certificate of compliance (eCoC) | Within 30 days |
| ACT | Certificate of electrical safety | Within 14 days of testing |
| Northern Territory | Certificate of compliance | Within 20 business days |
| Tasmania | A record of the work in an approved form | As soon as practicable once it can be energised |
If the house is a rental
Tasmania puts it plainly: an owner can't enter into, extend or renew a tenancy unless the power points and the wiring in the walls and ceiling are safe and supply electricity. Victorian rentals need an electrical safety check every 2 years, and tired wiring is exactly what that check is there to catch. Rental electrical safety checks explains what's involved.
What you can do, and what's licensed work
You can
- Note which points, switches or lights run warm, flicker or crackle, and when.
- Count the power boards in each room. It shows where you're short of points.
- Press the test button on any safety switches you have.
- Find old building reports that mention wiring or asbestos.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Testing the insulation and earthing on each circuit.
- Crawling around old cable in the roof space or under the floor. Brittle insulation and live wires don't mix.
- Every new cable, power point, switch and light.
Questions to ask before you say yes
- Which circuits need replacing, and which test well enough to keep?
- Is the switchboard included, with room for what we add later?
- Who patches the walls and ceilings once the cable is in?
- How will you check for asbestos before cutting or drilling?
- Which certificate will we get, and what's your licence number?
Why a rewiring specialist
Rewiring a house people are living in is its own skill. Electricians who do it regularly know how to feed cable through finished walls with small access holes, and how to stage the job so you can keep living there. That's who we match you with: one licence-checked local who rewires older homes regularly. Not sure you need it yet? A test and an honest opinion is a fine place to begin.
If it were our house
We'd start with testing, not a quote for a full rewire. Ask the electrician to show you which circuits are failing, then choose between a full and a part rewire with the results in front of you. If you're renovating anyway, rewire while the walls and ceilings are open. You won't get a less disruptive time to do it.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.