Private power poles and lines on rural blocks

If your farm or lifestyle block has its own poles, the line from the first pole on your property to the house is usually yours to look after, not AusNet’s. AusNet calls this a private aerial line, and says owners are responsible for keeping it in safe working condition under the Electricity Safety Act 1998. That means a yearly visual check, keeping trees clear, and using a registered electrician for any repair.

Where does AusNet’s responsibility stop?

AusNet’s page on private electric lines says a private aerial line begins at the first pole on your property and includes the lines, the poles and the electrical equipment on them. Some private lines are underground, but most on farms are overhead.

Part of the supply	Who usually looks after it
Street poles and wires along the road	AusNet, as the network operator
The first pole on your property and everything beyond it, including lines, poles and equipment	The property owner
Regular safety inspections of the private line	AusNet inspects on a cycle, and the owner checks it every year
The line after it connects to the house, shed or another building (poles excepted)	Not inspected by AusNet; the owner’s electrician covers it
Trees on your land that affect the street lines	AusNet manages them, and may pass on the cost
Repairs to private poles and lines	A registered electrician engaged by the owner

If you are not sure where your line changes hands, ask the electrician to mark it on a sketch of the property when they visit.

What does an owner have to do?

AusNet asks owners to:

• inspect the private line and the insulated service line to the house at least once a year
• use binoculars to look at the lines, cross arms and poles from the ground
• work through AusNet’s maintenance checklist for private lines
• keep trees and other vegetation clear of the line
• think about how a new tree will grow before planting it near a line
• get any repairs done by a registered electrician

The yearly check does not involve climbing anything. You are looking from the ground for problems you can see, then getting a professional to deal with them.

A sensible time for that walk is late winter or early spring, before the grass dries off and before summer storms. Take the checklist, a phone camera and the binoculars, and walk the full length of the line from the first pole to the house and out to each shed or pump. Photograph every pole from two sides so you can compare year to year. Note the date in the farm diary. If something has changed since last year, such as a pole that now leans or a branch that has grown into the line, that is the photo to send the electrician.

How often does AusNet inspect, and what happens after?

The Electricity Safety Act 1998 requires AusNet to inspect private lines. How often depends on where the property sits: a block in a high bushfire risk area is visited every 3 years, and one in a low risk area every 5. Owners are told before an inspection takes place. Any defect found leads to a letter to the owner setting out the maintenance needed. Keep the letter, because the electrician you engage will want to quote against each item on it.

AusNet’s inspection does not replace your own. Between visits a storm can bring a branch down on a line or loosen a cross arm, and the yearly owner check is meant to catch that.

What are the warning signs on a private pole or line?

The Quote Yard’s Gippsland electrical guide lists the problems that create a fire and electric shock risk, especially in summer:

• a pole rotting at the base or leaning
• a line that sags lower than it used to
• branches touching or growing towards the wires

It also warns that overhead lines crossing paddocks can be struck by farm machinery. Mark them clearly and check the clearance before you move a header, a hay elevator or a raised tipper underneath. If anything on the line looks wrong, keep people and stock away and get an electrician who works on private lines to look at it. You can ask for a private line inspection through this site.

What happens if a pole or line is damaged?

After accidental damage, AusNet advises contacting a registered electrical contractor as soon as possible. The contractor can inspect the installation, explain the options, quote the work and manage it for you. Some damaged lines cannot be repaired or replaced like for like, and AusNet notes you may need an underground line before power is reconnected. Once a pole has been repaired or removed, AusNet has a private line rectification form to complete so its records match what is on the ground.

Faults that trip power to the house or a shed, but leave the line itself intact, are a different job. The fault finding page covers how an electrician tracks those down.

Can you put the line underground?

Yes, you can ask AusNet to replace a private aerial line with an underground one. If the request is approved, some of the costs may be shared. AusNet lists how that usually splits:

Typically paid by the owner	AusNet may cover one of these
The high-voltage extension, including a substation pole if one is needed	Establishing the substation, including the transformer for a high-voltage extension if needed
Tree clearing	Or all underground low-voltage service cables in the road reserve
Easements
Low-voltage underground mains on your property

Undergrounding takes a line out of the way of branches and machinery, which suits owners who have had repeated storm damage. The trenching and cable on your side are usually priced after a site visit, so ask the contractor for a written scope.

Who pays for trees near the line?

Keeping your private line clear of trees is the owner’s job. AusNet also runs its own year-round vegetation work near its lines, and that includes trees on private land that affect the street network. AusNet says that if it has to clear trees from your property, it may pass the cost on to you. Never trim trees near power lines yourself: the Quote Yard guide says only qualified workers should go near them.

Why does this matter so much around Maffra, Longford and Heyfield?

Wellington Shire mixes country towns with dairy farms and irrigated land. Around Maffra and Heyfield the Macalister Irrigation District keeps electricians busy with pump, shed and dairy wiring. The same guide notes that many rural properties run private poles and overhead lines from the boundary or the network pole to the house, sheds and pumps. The Maffra area page and the Longford area page cover the local work in each town.

Long outages after storms have also made generators common on farms where pumps, dairies and refrigeration cannot sit idle. If you are planning backup power for a property with private lines, the generator changeover switches page explains how a generator connects safely.

What should you ask an electrician about private lines?

When you contact an electrician about a private line, ask:

1. whether they work on private overhead lines and poles
2. whether they can respond to AusNet’s defect letter item by item
3. what they will check on the poles, cross arms, insulators and line clearances
4. whether a pole replacement or undergrounding would suit your property better
5. how vegetation near the line will be dealt with, and by whom
6. whether a Certificate of Electrical Safety will be issued for the work

Check the business on Energy Safe Victoria’s registered electrical contractor register before you agree to anything. Independent electrical businesses take the enquiries sent through this site and quote under their own names; the about page has the detail.

Next step

Tell the electrician the property address, how many private poles there are and roughly how long the line runs, and whether you have received a defect letter from AusNet. Photos of each pole from the ground, and of any trees near the line, help them quote before visiting. Then send a private power pole enquiry with those details attached.

Send a job enquiry