Appliance repairer or electrician? What NSW rules say

When the washing machine dies, plenty of people wonder whether to call an electrician or an appliance repairer. For most household appliances it is the repairer, and there is actually a legal line in NSW that explains why.

The line NSW draws at the powerpoint

In NSW you need a licence to carry out electrical wiring work, which is the physical work of installing, altering or repairing the fixed wiring of your home. But the rules are specific about where that fixed wiring stops. The legal definition of an electrical installation does not include anything "connected to, and extending or situated beyond, any electrical outlet socket."

In plain terms, once it is plugged in, it is the appliance, not the wiring. Your washing machine, dryer, fridge, dishwasher and microwave all sit beyond the powerpoint, so repairing what is inside them is appliance service work, a trade of its own, not licensed electrical wiring work.

So the split is straightforward. A licensed electrician is who you want for the powerpoint, the circuit, the switchboard or a safety switch that turns out to be a house-wiring fault. An appliance technician is who you want for the machine itself.

The fault is rarely the wiring anyway

Most of what actually goes wrong lives inside the unit: a seized drain pump, a perished door boot seal, a blown thermal fuse, worn drum bearings, a failed control board. An electrician is trained on your home's wiring, not on the internals of a particular washing machine model. An appliance tech is, and can get the right part for that model rather than a rough substitute.

That is the practical difference. Calling a general electrician for an appliance fault often means the diagnosis stops at "the appliance is faulty," which you already knew.

The exception: hardwired ovens and cooktops

There is one place the two trades meet. Some ovens and cooktops are not plugged in. They are hardwired straight into the fixed wiring. Repairing the appliance is still appliance-tech work, but disconnecting and reconnecting fixed electrical equipment from that wiring is licensed work in NSW. A good repairer will tell you when a job crosses that line and needs a licensed person for the disconnection.

Where we fit

Appliance repair is all we do, and have done across the Illawarra and South Coast since the 1980s, on every major brand. We diagnose the fault and give you a quote before any work, with a $125 assessment fee across the Illawarra and $145 further out. If your problem turns out to be the house wiring rather than the appliance, we will say so plainly, and that is when you want a licensed electrician instead.

Not sure which it is? Our guide on what to check before you call helps you narrow it down. Otherwise book a repair or call 02 4229 3777.