Find an electrician you can trust

When to call an electrician

Some jobs around the house you can have a crack at yourself. Electrical work is not one of them. The moment you’re dealing with fixed wiring, anything connected behind the wall or in the roof, it’s time to call a licensed sparky.

Call one when you want extra power points, new downlights or a ceiling fan put in. Call one when the lights flicker, the power keeps tripping, or there’s a faint burning smell near a switch (turn it off and ring straight away on that one). And definitely call one when you’re upgrading an old switchboard, adding a safety switch, or wiring in an EV charger for the driveway.

Renovating or extending? You’ll want a sparky involved early to plan circuits, lighting and where everything lands before the walls go up.

What to check before you hire

The single most important thing is a current electrical licence. Every state and territory requires fixed electrical work to be carried out by a licensed electrician, and there are no exceptions to that. You can check a licence through your state regulator, for example Fair Trading in NSW, Energy Safe Victoria, or the Electrical Safety Office in Queensland. The body has a different name in each state, so check the right one for where you live.

Beyond the licence, look for:

• Public liability insurance, so you’re covered if a job goes sideways.
• A certificate of compliance for the finished work. A good sparky provides this as a matter of course.
• An ABN and a clear written quote.
• Real reviews from local jobs.

A quick word on safety switches. These little devices (RCDs) trip the power almost instantly when they sense a fault, and they’re one of the best defences against a deadly shock. If your board still runs on old ceramic fuses with no safety switches, ask your electrician about it. It’s a small upgrade that genuinely protects your family.

And please, never let anyone unlicensed touch your wiring, and never DIY it yourself. It’s illegal, it voids your home insurance, and people die doing it every year. Not worth it.

What it costs

Price comes down to the job. A single extra power point is a short visit. Replacing light fittings or installing a few downlights sits in the middle. A switchboard upgrade, a rewire, or an EV charger install is a bigger investment because there’s more labour, more materials and more compliance involved.

Most sparkies work off a call-out fee plus a rate, or a fixed price once they’ve seen the job. For honest ballpark numbers before you commit, have a read of our price guides. Then get a free quote for your exact situation, because that’s the only way to get a real figure.

How needatradie matches you

We’re not a directory, and we won’t sell your details to five businesses who then hound you. You tell us what you need, and we match you with one local electrician whose licence, insurance, ABN and reviews we’ve already checked.

One good sparky. Not five sales calls. Want to dig deeper first? Browse our guides or learn how tradie licences work in your state.

When you’re ready, get a free quote and we’ll line you up with a licensed local who’ll do it properly.