In short: in Western Australia, a home must have at least two RCDs (safety switches) protecting all power point and lighting circuits before it can be sold, rented or hired out. Sellers must have them fitted before the title transfers. Landlords must have them fitted before a tenant moves in. If your switchboard has ceramic fuses or only one safety switch, it won't pass.
RCD requirements in WA catch a lot of people at the worst time, usually a week before settlement or the day a property manager does a pre-lease inspection. Here's what the rules actually say and how to check your own board.
What the WA rules say
The WA Government's electrical safety guidance is direct about it: a home needs "at least two of these life-saving safety switches fitted" before it's sold or rented, and they must protect "all circuits supplying power points and lights."
Broken down by situation:
- Selling. RCDs must be properly installed before the land title is transferred. It's the seller's responsibility, not the buyer's.
- Renting. Landlords must ensure RCDs are installed at the switchboard before a tenant moves in. Property managers check this.
- Short-term rental (Airbnb and similar). The owner must install them before guests stay.
The reason for two rather than one is simple. If one RCD covers the whole house and it trips, you lose everything including the fridge and the lights. Two or more means a fault on one circuit doesn't black out the home, and it spreads the load so nuisance tripping is less likely.
How to check your own switchboard in two minutes
Open the switchboard and count the switches with a small "test" or "T" button on them. Those are your RCDs.
- Two or more with test buttons, and they cover all your power and lighting circuits: you're likely compliant.
- One with a test button: not compliant for sale or rental.
- None, and you can see porcelain fuse holders: you have a ceramic fuse board and need a switchboard upgrade, not just an RCD added. We've explained why in our post on ceramic fuses and old fuse boards.
If you're not sure what you're looking at, send us a photo of the open board. That's usually enough for us to tell you where you stand.
Testing your RCDs
The WA Government's advice is to press the test button on each RCD as stated in the manufacturer's instructions or every three months, whichever is more frequent. The switch should trip immediately. Reset it afterwards.
If it doesn't trip when you press test, it's failed and needs replacing. That's an RCD that would not protect anyone in a real fault.
A formal RCD test by an electrician measures how fast the switch trips, in milliseconds, against the standard. Property managers and strata bodies often ask for this on a schedule.
What RCD installation involves
It depends on what's already there:
- Modern board, breakers on every circuit, just short on RCDs. Adding RCDs is a straightforward job, often done in a couple of hours.
- Older board with limited space. Sometimes there's no room for extra devices and the board needs to be replaced.
- Ceramic fuse board. Full switchboard upgrade. This is the most common outcome on pre-1990 homes in Balcatta, Osborne Park, Scarborough and the surrounding suburbs.
The Switchboard Upgrade Perth page covers what's included and the job usually takes between 4 and 10 hours depending on the board.
Don't forget the smoke alarms
The same sale and rental rules that require RCDs also require compliant mains-powered smoke alarms. Most people find out about both at once. We've written up the WA smoke alarm rules separately, and we can do both in one visit.
Nexus Electrical Co | Safety Switch Installation Perth
Nexus Electrical Co is a licensed and insured electrician Perth sellers, landlords and property managers have relied on for 6000+ jobs, based in Balcatta. Fixed price before we start, 100+ Google 5-star reviews, same-day call-back on every booking. Call (08) 9245 1362.
