Occupation file / Trades
Electrician: assessment, licence, training.
An overseas-trained electrician usually deals with three separate bodies: Trades Recognition Australia for a migration skills assessment, the electrical regulator in the state where the work will be done, and a registered training organisation for any gap training. This guide explains each one and links to its own pages.
Three decisions, three decision makers.
They often run side by side, but none of them replaces another, and none of them is a visa decision.
Skills assessment
Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) runs the Offshore Skills Assessment Program, which TRA says is compulsory for permanent migration as an Electrician (General) or Electrician (Special Class) for applicants holding a passport from a listed country. Assessment is carried out by registered training organisations approved by TRA.
A successful assessment for a licensed occupation gives an Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR). TRA says an OTSR allows you to apply for a provisional licence from a state or territory regulator on arrival, subject to the other licence requirements, so you can work under supervision while you complete the requirements for a full licence.
Decided by: TRA and its approved assessors. TRA program page
Electrical licence
A migration skills assessment is not a licence. Electrical work needs a licence from the regulator in the state or territory where the work is done, and each regulator sets its own licence classes, conditions and steps for overseas-trained applicants.
Decided by: the regulator in the state where you will work. See the table below.
Gap training
Where the regulator finds gaps against the Australian requirements, it sets the training and any final assessment needed for a full licence. This is delivered by a registered training organisation approved to deliver electrotechnology training.
Decided by: the regulator (what is needed) and the training organisation (within its scope).
The Offshore Skills Assessment Program, in figures.
TRA publishes two pathways. Pathway 1 is for applicants without a relevant Australian vocational qualification; Pathway 2 is for applicants who have one, or who hold a current Australian occupational licence without restrictions.
TRA says the approved training organisation emails the outcome approximately 15 weeks after you submit complete documentary evidence, and each step must be completed before the next.
Read on the TRA program page on 22 October 2026. Fees and steps are set by TRA and can change; check the program page before you pay.
| Step | Pathway 1 | Pathway 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Documentary evidence | A$1,120 | A$1,120 |
| Technical interview | A$2,000 | A$900 |
| Practical assessment (if required) | A$2,200 | Not applicable |
| Total | Up to A$5,320 | A$2,020 |
Source: Trades Recognition Australia, read 22 October 2026.
Electrical licensing, state by state.
Start with the regulator's page for overseas-trained applicants. Requirements, fees and timelines are set by each regulator and change, so we do not restate them here.
| State | Regulator or service | Official page |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | NSW Government, building and trade licences | Overseas-trained applicants |
| VIC | Energy Safe Victoria | Electrical licences |
| QLD | Electrical Safety Office | electricalsafety.qld.gov.au |
| WA | Building and Energy | Electrical licence holders |
| SA | Consumer and Business Services | Licences |
| TAS | Tasmanian Government licensed occupations | consumeraffairs.tas.gov.au |
| ACT | Access Canberra | accesscanberra.act.gov.au |
| NT | NT Government | Electrical licences |
Each regulator decides its own licence classes and conditions. Check its current page before you rely on anything here.
Recognition of prior learning, honestly.
Recognition of prior learning (RPL) can lead to an Australian electrical qualification without repeating training you do not need, but only through a registered training organisation that has electrotechnology qualifications on its scope of registration, and only as the regulator allows for licensing.
Electrotechnology qualifications are not on the scope of CAQA RTO 45459, the CAQA group's registered training organisation, so CAQA cannot issue them. You can check any provider's scope on training.gov.au. Where a CAQA qualification suits a later career step, such as work health and safety or project management, see RPL with CAQA.
Timelines and costs beyond the assessment
Each regulator and training organisation publishes its own fees and timelines, and they vary by authority. We publish only figures we have read on the official page.
Support you may be eligible for
WA Skilled Migration Job Connect
The Western Australian Government reimburses up to A$10,000 (raised from A$7,500 on 1 October 2025) for costs such as licensing, registration, skills assessments, licensed-trade gap training and RPL, for eligible onshore WA residents who arrived within 10 years on a working visa and are unemployed or under-employed in their occupation. It also offers free workplace readiness training and mentoring.
Migration WA: Skilled Migration Job Connect
Eligibility is decided by Migration WA. More programs in the support finder.
Who decides
- Skills assessment: Trades Recognition Australia.
- Licence: the state or territory regulator.
- Qualification: a training organisation with it on scope.
- Visa: the Department of Home Affairs. Visa questions are referred to Sukh Sandhu, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 1384130.