Licensed & Insured
REC 11275 · Victoria
A-Grade Electricians
All staff fully licensed
WWCC & Police Cleared
Suitable for schools and care facilities
Available 7 Days
24 hour emergency response
Signs You Need an Upgrade
Ceramic fuses and rewireable fuse holders are a sign your switchboard is from a different era. These provide no protection against electric shock and trip slowly compared to modern circuit breakers, meaning faults can cause more damage before the circuit opens.
Other signs include: fuses blowing regularly, circuits tripping without obvious cause, a switchboard with no RCDs or safety switches, insufficient circuits for your current load, or a planned renovation or addition that requires more capacity.
What a Switchboard Upgrade Involves
We replace the existing board with a new switchboard enclosure, install new circuit breakers for each circuit, and fit RCDs (residual current devices) as required under current Australian standards.
All existing circuits are tested and labelled. Where existing wiring is found to be substandard or non-compliant, we advise you before proceeding. The supply is isolated for the duration of the work, typically three to six hours for a standard residential board.
Safety Switches and RCDs
RCDs detect leakage current and disconnect within milliseconds — fast enough to prevent electrocution in most circumstances. Victorian regulations require RCD protection on all circuits in residential properties.
If your existing switchboard has no safety switches, or only one covering the whole board rather than individual circuits, an upgrade brings you into compliance and significantly improves the safety of your home.
Compliance
All switchboard work is carried out to AS/NZS 3000 (Wiring Rules) and relevant Energy Safe Victoria standards. Switchboard upgrades require a Prescribed Certificate of Electrical Safety — a Prescribed COES must be inspected and signed off by a licensed electrical inspector. We manage this process as part of every switchboard upgrade.
Frequently Asked
Most residential switchboard upgrades take between three and six hours. Larger or more complex boards take longer. Power to the property is isolated for the duration of the work.
Yes. The supply must be isolated while the switchboard is replaced. We aim to complete the work in a single visit so the outage is as short as possible.
Not necessarily. We assess your existing board as part of the EV charger quote. If there is sufficient spare capacity and the board is in good condition, a full replacement is not always required, we may only need to add a circuit.
Yes — a switchboard upgrade requires a Prescribed Certificate of Electrical Safety. A Prescribed COES must be inspected by a licensed electrical inspector before it can be issued. We manage this inspection process as part of every switchboard upgrade.
Possibly. Regularly blowing fuses can indicate an overloaded circuit, a fault in the wiring, or a switchboard that is simply undersized for your current load. We diagnose the cause before recommending a solution.
Tell us about the job.
Licensed work across Melbourne. No obligation quote.