Electrician fined for apprentice's electric shock while working for Ballantyne Commercial Property Services

An electrician has been fined $3000 after his apprentice was “incredibly fortunate” to escape without serious injury after receiving an electric shock at work. Electrical worker Michael Georgiou appeared in Armadale Magistrates Court on July 4 where he plead guilty to failing to properly supervise the apprentice’s electrical work. Georgiou and the apprentice were employed by Mandurah-based electrical contractor Ballantyne Commercial Property Services at the time of the incident which occurred while they were working with another electrician at a property in Beckenham on February 21, 2022. Ballantyne Commercial Property Services was fined $12,000 on February 9 at Armadale Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to not immediately reporting an electrical accident to the network operator, Western Power, which is required under WA’s electrical licensing regulations. The incident was not reported to Western Power until April 11, six weeks after the incident and ten days after a Ballantyne Commercial Property Services employee contacted Building and Energy because it hadn’t been reported. During that hearing, the court heard Ballantyne Commercial Property Services had been contracted to undertake electrical work at the Beckenham property and a third-year apprentice working on the job received an electric shock while disconnecting cables in the ceiling space when he touched live wires. On July 4, the court was told Georgiou was the leading hand on the project and was near the apprentice but not directly supervising him when he was shocked. Under the State regulations, supervising electricians are required to make sure apprentices do not work on or near live electrical installations. The court heard Georgiou had previously de-energised the electrical circuits in the work area, but had not verified that the electrical supply to the circuits the apprentice was working on were still isolated on the day of the incident. WA Director of Energy Safety Saj Abdoolakhan said the apprentice was “incredibly fortunate to have avoided a serious or even fatal injury”. “The regulations explicitly state that effective supervision of electrical work is required to prevent danger to life and property,” he said. “This case should remind industry to always check the electrical installation is de-energised and safe to be worked on prior to starting work and to ensure that electrical work, particularly by apprentices, is effectively supervised.” Georgiou was fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $553.80 in costs.