The Supervision Practice Standard (SPS) for the electrical industry has been released, covering appropriate supervision requirements, levels and ratios for the supervision of electrical apprentices.

The SPS for licenced electricians supervising apprentices was released through the tutelage of the Building Commission NSW after a lengthy consultation and feedback process undertaken with selected industry stakeholders.

“The new Supervision Practice Standard for electrical apprentices aims to respond to compliance issues and industry needs by clarifying the appropriate levels and ratios of supervision depending on the experience of an apprentice,” the Standard states.

“These guidelines will assist businesses, licence holders and apprentices to understand their rights and obligation and make the necessary arrangements to ensure safety and compliance.”

The Supervision Practice Standard (SPS) acts as a guideline to help businesses, licence holders and apprentices to understand their rights and obligations. It also details the supervision requirements of electrical apprentices to achieve compliant work in a safe manner.

The NSW Government intends the SPS will be mandated as a legal requirement from September 2024. Following this, the SPS will mean only a licensed electrician can supervise electrical apprentices with the SPS detailing varying levels of supervision to be appropriate depending on the experience of an apprentice, Direct, General and Broad.

Currently, the SPS acts as a guideline to help businesses, licence holders and apprentices to understand their rights and obligations under the SPS and make appropriate arrangements to meet the requirements.

Once mandatory, a failure to comply with the SPS will attract enforcement action and penalties.

More information about the standard is available on the Fair Trading website.