Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

Thank you for your letter dated 31 October 2025, responding to my Official Information Act request regarding the Electrical Workers Registration Board's (EWRB) competence programme requirements for Hazardous Areas endorsements.

I am writing to follow up on this matter in light of the recently published Electricity (Safety) Amendment Regulations 2025.

My original query questioned the inclusion of AS/NZS 60079.11 and AS/NZS 60079.18 in the hazardous areas competency programme. I note that your response stated these standards are cited in Schedule 2 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010.

However, the "Updating Energy Safety Standards Citations in Regulations" paper released by Simon Watts, and the subsequent Electricity (Safety) Amendment Regulations 2025, indicate that AS/NZS 60079.11 and AS/NZS 60079.18 have now been moved from Schedule 2 to Schedule 4 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations.

These amendments come into effect on 13 November 2025. Given that these standards are no longer cited in Schedule 2, which you noted as the basis for their inclusion, I would like to ask:

Will AS/NZS 60079.11 and AS/NZS 60079.18 now be removed from the mandatory requirements of the hazardous areas competency programme?

Additionally, I would like to raise a specific query regarding AS/NZS 60079.35.1. Your response noted this standard provides specific requirements for caplights for use in mines.

This standard, which applies to battery-operated devices, only appears in Schedule 2 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations. As AS/NZS 60079.35.1 modifies parts of AS/NZS 60079.0 for this specific equipment, could you please clarify:

Does the EWRB include this standard in the competency programme because it considers work on such battery-operated devices in a hazardous area to be prescribed electrical work (PEW)?

Does the EWRB believe that the three responses to the inclusion of the 60079 standards in the Stepped Framework consultation during September 2021 represent the electrical industry, where there are approximately 1800 Electrical workers in the Hazardous area endorsement?

Finally, your previous response mentioned that my feedback would be retained for consideration when the Competency Programme Notice 2023 is next reviewed. With the legislative backing for the inclusion of some of these standards now changed, I am keen to understand the Board's intended timeframe for this review.

When will the Electricity (Prescribed Requirements for Competence Programmes) Notice 2023 be updated to reflect these changes in the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010?

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew McGregor