Every electrical apprentice in Western Australia works under an electrician's training licence, issued by the Electrical Licensing Board and held in the apprentice's own name. From 1 July 2026 a new licence of that kind is issued with a six-year expiry, following an amendment to the Electricity (Licensing) Regulations 1991. The change was drawn to members' attention by the Electrical and Communications Association of WA on 16 September 2026 and is reflected in the WA Government's own training-licence guidance.
The six-year term matters most to the employer. A licence that outlasts a standard four-year apprenticeship, including a reasonable extension, is one fewer expiry to track against a training contract.
Current-guidance boundary: The six-year term, the 1 July 2026 commencement and the pre-apprentice provision below are confirmed against the ECA WA notice and the WA Government's training-licence guide, which was last updated on 8 July 2026. Neither source states the term that applied to licences issued before 1 July. A question about a specific licence goes to Building and Energy's electrical licensing team.
A six-year term from 1 July 2026
The amendment applies to new applications lodged from 1 July 2026. A licence granted on such an application carries a six-year expiry date. The WA Government's guide states the position without qualification: an electrical training licence is valid for six years.
Licences issued on applications lodged before 1 July keep the expiry they were issued with. They are not lengthened by the amendment.
When an apprentice's licence stops
The training licence is not a fixed six-year entitlement irrespective of what happens to the apprenticeship. ECA WA sets out that an apprentice's licence stays in force from issue until the earliest of four events:
- the apprentice is granted an electrician's licence
- three months pass after the apprenticeship is completed
- the licence reaches its expiry date
- the Electrical Licensing Board cancels it
The three-month window after completion is the operative one for an employer. A newly qualified worker who has finished the apprenticeship but has not yet been granted an electrician's licence remains covered for three months and no longer. The supervision case reported in July shows how directly Building and Energy prosecutes lapses in who is permitted to do what on an energised installation.
Where a training contract is suspended or terminated, the licence is suspended with it, and stays suspended until a new training contract begins.
Pre-apprentices move into an apprenticeship without reapplying
A pre-apprentice holds a training licence of the same kind. From 1 July 2026 a pre-apprentice who completes the course and enters an apprenticeship does not lodge a new application. The existing licence carries into the training contract.
Under the previous arrangement, the WA Government guide records that a pre-apprentice was required to apply for a training licence again on changing to apprentice status. Removing that step takes one application, and one gap in coverage, out of the transition between pre-apprenticeship and the first day on site.
A pre-apprentice's licence has its own end points. It terminates three months after the pre-apprenticeship is completed if no training contract has been entered into, at its expiry date, or on cancellation by the Board. It is suspended if the holder defers the course, until study resumes, and if the holder withdraws, until another course is started.
Extending a licence issued before 1 July
Apprentices whose licence was issued on an application lodged before 1 July 2026, and whose apprenticeship has been extended past the licence expiry, do not lodge a new application either. The apprentice notifies the Department of Training and Workforce Development through the WAAMS portal. The licence is then extended automatically to the new apprenticeship end date and a new card is posted out.
The one condition is timing. The extension must be sought before the current licence expires. An apprenticeship extension approved after the licence has already lapsed does not revive it, and the apprentice is unlicensed for the period in between.
What to check now
For a business employing electrical apprentices, three checks follow from the change.
- Record the expiry date of every current training licence against the end date of the corresponding training contract, and flag any contract that runs past its licence.
- For any apprenticeship extension already in train, confirm the WAAMS notification has been lodged while the existing licence is still current.
- For a newly completed apprentice, treat the three-month window as the deadline for the electrician's licence application.
The same ECA WA issue notes that the College of Electrical Training has first-year apprentice places available for immediate enrolment, and that six places remain on the final 2026 Electrical Contractor Training Program for nominees, a five-day course at the Jandakot campus commencing 21 September 2026.
Sources: ECA WA, "Changes to Electrician's Training Licence", 16 September 2026 (opens in a new tab); Government of Western Australia, "Electrician's training licence", updated 8 July 2026 (opens in a new tab); Government of Western Australia, "Electrical licensing" (opens in a new tab).
