If there are overhead power lines across the front of your house, an exterior repaint is not just a painting job. Depending on how close the lines are and whether the work spills onto the footpath or road, you may need a permit from your electricity distributor, a permit from your council, or both. This explains who issues what, and when you actually need it.
The short version
- Working near live overhead lines in Victoria is governed by the No Go Zone rules, enforced by Energy Safe Victoria. The minimum approach distances depend on the voltage of the line, not on how careful you are.
- If any part of the work — a ladder, a roller pole, a person — could enter that zone, the distributor must be involved. That means CitiPower, Powercor, Jemena, AusNet Services or United Energy depending on your address.
- The distributor’s usual options are a trained safety observer on site, insulating covers fitted over the line, or de-energising the line for the duration. Lead time is at least two weeks, and longer in peak season.
- Scaffold, a skip or a work zone on the footpath or road is a separate council permit, and it is issued by your council, not the distributor.
- Cost depends on which measure the distributor requires — an observer on site is charged differently to covers or a shutdown — so it is quoted per job rather than off a rate card. Plan on days added to the schedule, not hours.
Most people find this out halfway through getting quotes, when one painter mentions it and the others do not. That is not a sign the others are cheaper — it usually means they have not looked up, or they intend to work around the lines and hope for the best.
The honest position is that this only applies to some houses. If your lines run underground, or the overhead line is well clear of the wall you are painting, none of it matters. If the line crosses your frontage at gutter height, it matters a great deal, and the cost of getting it wrong is not a fine.
What counts as too close
Victoria’s No Go Zone framework sets a minimum approach distance around live overhead conductors. The distance scales with voltage, so a low-voltage service line to a single house and a high-voltage distribution line down the street have different rules. Energy Safe Victoria publishes the current distances.
The part people misjudge is what counts as approaching. It is not just your body. A metal ladder, an extension pole, scaffold tube, even a long-handled roller can enter the zone while you stay well outside it. The rule applies to the equipment as much as the person holding it.
Who issues what
Your electricity distributor. Handles anything involving the lines themselves — a safety observer, insulating line covers, or a temporary shutdown. Which company depends on your address, not on who you buy electricity from.
Your local council. Handles anything that occupies public land: scaffold on the footpath, a work zone on the road, a skip in the street. Requirements and fees vary between councils.
The contractor. Holds the licences and tickets for working at height and near lines, and is responsible for the traffic management plan if one is needed.
You, the owner. Usually nothing directly, but the permits are tied to your property and someone has to authorise the work. A contractor who arranges everything is doing it on your behalf.
Why there is no single answer
Two houses on the same street can have completely different requirements. A property with underground supply needs nothing. Its neighbour with a low-slung service line across the verandah may need a safety observer for the whole exterior. Nothing about the house tells you which — only the position and voltage of the line does.
Frontage matters too. A single-fronted terrace with no setback puts the work directly over the footpath, which brings the council in. The same job on a house set back behind a garden may not touch public land at all.
What a safety observer does
Worth knowing. A safety observer is not a supervisor and not an electrician. Their single job is to watch the work and stop it if anything approaches the line. They cannot do anything else while they are doing that, which is why they are charged as a separate person on site.
Four ways to reduce the cost
- Ask at quote stage, not at booking. A painter who identifies the requirement early can price it properly. One who finds it on day one has to stop and wait.
- Do the whole exterior at once. If a line measure is needed, the fixed cost of arranging it is the same whether you paint one elevation or four.
- Combine it with other exterior work. Gutters, fascia and window repairs share the same access and the same permits.
- Book outside peak season. Lead times for distributor arrangements stretch when everyone is painting.
Things people do not see coming
The lead time, not the fee. The frustrating part is rarely the cost. Two weeks is the minimum, and it is two weeks before anyone can start. It is that the work cannot start until the distributor’s arrangement is in place, and that date is not negotiable.
Weather rescheduling gets expensive. If a shutdown or observer is booked for specific days and Melbourne does what Melbourne does, rebooking is not always same-week.
Some quotes simply ignore it. A quote that does not mention lines on a property that clearly has them is not a cheaper quote. It is a different scope of work.
Insurance follows the rules. Work done inside the approach distance without the proper arrangement is work done outside the terms most policies are written on.
When to hand it over
Anything that involves the lines is not a homeowner job, and it is not really a judgement call. If a ladder or pole could reach the conductor, the arrangement has to be made through the distributor before the work starts.
Painting a rear elevation with no lines near it, at single-storey height, is ordinary exterior painting. The moment the front of the house and an overhead line are in the same picture, it becomes a job with a paperwork step in front of it.
Get a quote that includes the paperwork
We look up before we quote, tell you at that point whether a line measure or council permit applies to your address, and arrange it if it does. You get one price with the permits inside it rather than a variation later. Call 0403 162 374 or request a quote.
This is general information about permits and safe working distances near overhead power lines in Victoria, not advice for a specific property. Approach distances, permit requirements, lead times and fees vary by line voltage, distributor and council. Energy Safe Victoria sets the No Go Zone rules and WorkSafe Victoria regulates the work itself. Confirm the requirements for your own address before any work begins.
A friend found reviews of this company on a neighbourhood website so I included MCM in my list when I sought quotes for repairing and painting weatherboards on my house.
