eCoC South Australia
What an eCoC Is
An Electronic Certificate of Compliance (eCoC) is the digital record a licensed tradesperson submits through the Office of the Technical Regulator (OTR) system for regulated electrical, gasfitting and plumbing work in South Australia. The OTR system has a certificate category for each trade, and records that the work meets the applicable safety standards and was certified by a licensed person.
South Australia doesn't require periodic, calendar-based gas or electrical safety checks for private rental properties (unlike Victoria's two-yearly gas check or New Zealand's Healthy Homes compliance statement). Instead, an eCoC is required for regulated trade work, with the submission deadline depending on the trade.
When Trade Certificates Are Required
Three trade categories use the eCoC system:
Electrical work. A licensed electrician must certify the work before making an installation available for energisation, then submit the eCoC and provide it to the owner or operator within 30 days. The licence is issued under the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Electricians Act 1995, administered by Consumer and Business Services (CBS).
Gasfitting. Regulated gasfitting work — such as pipework or appliance installation — requires a licensed gasfitter to submit a gas eCoC within 30 days of completing the job. This covers both natural gas and LPG installations.
Plumbing and drainage. Regulated sanitary plumbing, water supply and drainage work requires a licensed plumber to submit a plumbing eCoC within seven days. The eCoC is not required for changing tap washers, clearing blocked sanitary drainage pipework no larger than 50 mm, or replacing, altering, repairing, maintaining or disconnecting domestic tapware.
The common thread: regulated work must be done by a licensed tradesperson, who submits the eCoC for that trade to the OTR.
How to Verify a Trade Licence
Before any tradesperson starts work on your rental property, verify their licence is current. The CBS Public Register allows you to search by name, licence number, or trade category. Check that the licence covers the specific trade — an electrical licence doesn't authorise gas work, and vice versa.
Record the contractor's name, licence number, trade category, and the date you verified it. If a dispute later arises about the quality of work, this record shows you exercised due diligence in engaging a qualified tradesperson.
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What Landlords Must Keep
After the work is done, the licensed contractor submits the eCoC to the OTR and provides a copy to the property owner. The landlord must retain it as evidence that the repair or installation was completed to the prescribed safety standards.
Keep eCoCs for at least three years after the tenancy ends — the same retention period that applies to tenancy records generally. In practice, keeping them for the life of the installation makes more sense, because a SACAT dispute or an insurance claim can arise long after a particular tenancy concludes.
Your eCoC file should record:
- Contractor name and licence number
- Trade category (electrical, gas, plumbing)
- Job description and property address
- Date work completed
- eCoC reference number
- Date eCoC lodged with OTR
Why This Matters for Insurance
Landlord insurance policies can exclude claims arising from unlicensed or uncertified trade work. If a gas hot water heater fails and floods the property, an insurer's response to a replacement installed by an unlicensed person will depend on the policy terms and the circumstances. The eCoC trail is evidence that the work was certified by a licensed tradesperson.
The OTR's Role
The Office of the Technical Regulator sits within the Department for Energy and Mining. It doesn't licence tradespeople directly — that's CBS — but it administers the eCoC system, audits compliance, and investigates safety incidents. The OTR can require a tradesperson to re-lodge a certificate, order remedial work, or refer licence breaches to CBS.
For landlords, the OTR is relevant in two situations: confirming that an eCoC was actually lodged (if the contractor claims they submitted it but you haven't received a copy), and reporting work you suspect was done by an unlicensed person.
Connecting eCoCs to Pre-Let Compliance
Trade certification is one layer of a broader compliance framework. Before letting a property, you also need to confirm the minimum housing standards are met (Housing Improvement Regulations 2017), smoke alarms are compliant for the building's era, mandatory disclosures are prepared, and the bond is lodged.
The SA Rental Minimum Standards guide includes a trade certification and eCoC audit log that ties each job to its licence verification, eCoC reference, and the property standard it satisfies — turning scattered trade invoices into a single, auditable compliance record.
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