Going out on your own as an electrician in VIC
Checked against Energy Safe Victoria on 8 August 2026.
To take jobs in your own name
Registered Electrical Contractor (REC)
This is the registration that lets you take the job in your own name. You need the A Grade licence as well.
And underneath it, to do the work
Electrician's licence (A Grade)
Energy Safe Victoria says it in as many words: an A Grade licence "does not allow you to contract for electrical installation work for profit or reward".
This is the one people get wrong: the licence that lets you DO the work and the one that lets you CONTRACT for it are different. Working for a boss you only need the first. Going out on your own you need both.
- What you need before you apply
- An A Grade electrician's licence, then the REC registration on top. ESV assesses both.
- What it costs
- ESV published fees for 2026-27: electrician's licence (A) application $471.50, renewal $235.70. REC application $734.30.
- How long it takes
- ESV says a straightforward application with everything supplied correctly moves faster; it does not publish a firm figure.
- Who issues it
- Energy Safe Victoria
Where this came from
Read off Energy Safe Victoria on 8 August 2026. Fees and processing times usually change on 1 July, so check before you budget.
Once you are up and running, we also have a page on what ONARA Ops does for electricians.
When you are ready to take the first job
Once the licence is sorted, you need to look like you have been doing this for years: a website people can book from, and quotes and invoices with your logo that go out the same day you finish. That part is us.
We are not accountants, lawyers or insurance brokers, and none of this is advice. It is what the regulators and the ATO publish, gathered in one place with links to the source, so you know what to go and ask about. Rules and fees change, so check with the authority before you act on anything here. Government fees shown are for the 2026-27 year and are indexed every 1 July.