Undertaking the Licensed Electrician's Assessment

Overview

The Licensed Electricians Assessment (LEA) is a series of three assessments all electrical workers must pass to be granted an electricians licence to work in Victoria. The three assessments are the Licensed Electricians Theory (LET), the Licensed Electricians Practice (LEP) and the Safe Working Practice (SWP).

LEP

The LEP assessment is offered by Future Energy Skills and Melbourne Polytechnic.

LET and SWP

The LET and SWP assessments are offered by various assessment bodies approved by ESV in Victoria.

There are optional preparation course to undertake the Licensed Electrician’s Assessment (LEA) offered by some training centres, which will assist your preparation for these assessments.

Authorisation to sit the LEA

Applicants must provide evidence to the assessment body that they are authorised to sit the LEA assessment(s).

Apprentices or former apprentices who have never obtained a licence, should speak to their RTO about obtaining LEA authorisation.

Existing licence holders are able to undertake the LEA without first informing ESV. Provide details of your current licence to the assessment body as authorisation.

If your licence has expired, ESV must provide approval for you to sit the assessments.
To apply for LEA authorisation, email a copy of your trade certificate and expired licence details to licensing@energysafe.vic.gov.au and include information on why you are making the request.

Overseas qualifications

If you have qualifications from overseas, you must first be assessed for and issued an Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR), and have been issued a Supervised Workers licence. ESV recommends you complete the required gap training after being issued your OTSR and before attempting the LEA.

Read more about working in Victoria with overseas qualifications.

Provide details of your current Supervised Workers Licence to the assessment body as authorisation.

The OTSR replaced the Australian Recognised Trades Certificate (ARTC) on 30 September 2014. If you were issued an ARTC prior to this date, provide a copy of the ARTC to the assessment body as authorisation.

Special consideration

Applicants with exceptional circumstances can apply to ESV for Special Consideration for electrical licence assessments. Special consideration can be provided for medical and other extenuating circumstances to provide extra time or special conditions to assist you to complete your assessments.

Early release of apprentices

The Electricity Safety (Licensing and Registration) Regulations 2020 requires an apprenticeship to be a four-year contract of training.

A student may request competency-based early release from their apprenticeship after completing a minimum of 42 months’ training provided that:

1. The apprentice has been awarded Certificate III Electrotechnology Electrician, and
2. The apprentice is fully signed out by the VRQA (7Skills Victoria) to a COMPLETED status on the EPSILON system, as well as the LEA and all profiling requirements, and
3. They have a detailed letter from their employer supporting the application and that the applicant has completed 12 months’ wiring and installation work experience.

Regardless of any reduction applied by the VRQA (Skills Victoria), ESV will only consider a maximum six-month reduction in the duration of the training contract for an Electrician’s Licence.

If the VRQA grant a reduction in time to less than 42-months, applicants will be required to hold a Supervised Worker’s Licence for the shortfall period.