Key Takeaways:
- Gas and electrical safety checks are required every two years for Victorian rentals under an agreement entered into after 29 March 2021.
- Smoke alarms are separate and must be tested every year.
- A gas check is only valid if the gasfitter holds a Type A gas appliance servicing endorsement, not just a general gas licence.
- Electrical checks must be done by a licensed electrician (a Registered Electrical Contractor with Energy Safe Victoria).
- You must keep the records and give your renter a copy within 7 days of a written request.
- An unqualified check doesn’t count, even if the work was done well, which leaves you non-compliant.
Two gasfitters can do identical work on the same rental. One safety check is legally valid. The other isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. The only difference is a licence endorsement that a landlord wouldn’t know to ask about.
That’s the trap with gas and electrical safety checks in Victoria. The work can look perfect and still leave you non-compliant. If you manage properties for clients, that gap becomes your reputation problem before it becomes anyone’s safety problem.
Two things decide if you’re actually covered:
- How often are these checks legally required
- Who’s qualified to sign them off
Here’s exactly where you stand.
How Often Are Gas and Electrical Safety Checks Required in Victoria?
In Victoria, gas and electrical safety checks are required every two years. That cycle is set by the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 and applies to any rental home under an agreement entered into after 29 March 2021. If a check hasn’t been done in the past two years when a renter moves in, one needs to be arranged as soon as possible.
Gas safety checks: every 2 years
- Required for any property with gas appliances: heaters, stoves, ovens, or gas hot water systems
- Each appliance is checked, not just the property as a whole
- An annual appliance service doesn’t count unless it also meets the two-year safety check requirement
Electrical safety checks: every 2 years
- Covers all electrical installations, wiring, switchboards, and fittings
- Must be carried out by a licensed electrician
- Runs on the same two-year clock as gas, so the two can be lined up on one visit
Smoke alarms: every year
- Tested annually, on a shorter cycle than gas and electrical
- Cleaned, with batteries replaced as needed
- Often bundled with the other two checks into a single yearly visit
Because smoke alarms run on that yearly cycle, bundling all three onto one annual visit keeps you ahead of every deadline. We cover the smoke alarm rules in full in this blog.
Many landlords choose to bundle all three inspections into one annual visit, helping them stay ahead of every compliance deadline.
Who Can Legally Do a Gas and Electrical Safety Check in Victoria?
This is where good landlords get caught out. Booking “a gasfitter“ or “an electrician“ isn’t enough on its own. Victorian law is specific about the qualifications each check demands, and that specificity is exactly what most people don’t know to ask about.
Gas: why you need a Type A gasfitter licence
A licence to do gasfitting isn’t the same as a licence to sign off on a gas safety check. To issue a valid check, the gasfitter has to be endorsed in the specialised class of Type A gas appliance servicing.
That endorsement is what makes the gas or electricity check compliant. A general plumber, or a gasfitter without the Type A servicing endorsement, cannot issue a valid check. The report might list every appliance and look completely legitimate, but without the right licence behind it, it doesn’t satisfy the regulations.
You’re entitled to check. So, ask to see the card that confirms Type A appliance servicing, or look the practitioner up on the regulator’s find-a-practitioner tool. It takes a minute, and it’s the easiest way to avoid a costly assumption.
Electrical: registered electrician requirements for rentals
Electrical safety checks have their own rule. They must be carried out by a licensed or registered electrician, which in Victoria means a Registered Electrical Contractor with Energy Safe Victoria.
This is a hands-on test of switchboards, wiring, power points, light switches, and safety switches (RCDs), not a walk-through with a clipboard. As with gas, you can confirm an electrician’s registration on their card or through Energy Safe Victoria before any work starts.
What Is Covered In a Gas and Electrical Safety Checks in Victoria?
Once the right person is on site, a proper check goes well beyond a look around. Both are hands-on, and both follow set Australian Standards laid out in the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021.
What a gas safety check covers
- Appliances installed correctly and not leaking gas
- Adequate ventilation for appliances to run safely
- Safe clearances between appliances and combustible surfaces
- Appliances such as cookers restrained from tipping
- Flue and chimney condition
- Each Type A appliance serviced in line with the relevant standard
- A big part of the gas check is guarding against carbon monoxide, a leak you can’t see, smell, or taste.
What an electrical safety check covers
- Switchboards and safety switches (RCDs)
- Accessible wiring and cabling
- Power points and light switches
- Circuit breaker and RCD protection on all outlets and lighting circuits, required since 29 March 2023
- A report prepared to the periodic verification standard
These checks involve thorough testing, and they can’t be rushed, guessed, or handled by someone without the right licence.
What Gas and Electrical Safety Check Records to Keep and Share
Getting the check done is only half the job.
You also have to hold the paperwork and be able to produce it on request.
After each inspection, your provider gives you a safety check record. A valid record needs to include:
- The name and licence or registration number of the gasfitter or electrician who did the check
- The date it was carried out
- The results, including any repairs required and the action taken
- For gas, the servicing record for each Type A appliance checked
From there, 3 responsibilities are yours.
- Keep the most recent gas and electrical safety check records until the next check replaces them.
- Provide a copy to your renter within 7 days of receiving a written request.
- Before signing a new rental agreement, disclose the date of the last checks along with any outstanding recommendations.
When a compliant provider does the work, this part is effortless. You receive one documented report showing the licence number, the inspection date, and the outcome, ready to forward the moment a renter or property manager asks.
Stay Compliant with Landmark Inspections
One detail separates a compliant rental from a liability, and it isn’t the work. It’s the licence held by the person who signed off the check.
That’s the part we take off your plate.
Every Landmark Inspection gas and electrical safety check in Victoria is done by the right trade, correctly licensed for the job, not whoever happened to be free. Our gas team holds the Type A Gas Servicing endorsement, and our electrical checks are run by Registered Electrical Contractors. Meet the team on our about page.
Book a compliant gas and electrical safety check with our team today.
