Sleeving the earth wire of twin+e to use as a live

[Tradie]

Electricians — This Needs to Be Said Loud and Clear ⚠️

I’ve seen it too many times on site:
Someone sleeves the earth wire of a twin-and-earth cable and uses it as a live or switched live conductor.

Let’s be crystal clear — this is dangerous, illegal, and totally non-compliant under SANS 10142 (and BS 7671 for those using UK regs).

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Why it’s never acceptable:


⚡ The earth conductor isn’t insulated — sleeving doesn’t change that.
It’s undersized and can overheat under load.
It’s a serious shock and fire hazard.
It fails compliance and CoC testing.
♂️ It endangers the next person who opens that box, expecting an earth — not a live conductor.

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This kind of wiring isn’t just bad practice — it’s reckless.
Using an earth wire as a live conductor should be a criminal offence.

There’s no excuse. If you need another conductor, run it properly:
✅ Use 3-core + earth or
✅ Install a new twin-and-earth.

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We’re professionals — our work represents our trade, our integrity, and people’s safety.
⚙️ Do it right, or don’t do it at all.

[Tradie]

Using an Earth as a Live or Return — This Isn’t a Mistake, It’s Negligence

If you issue a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) on an installation where the earth conductor has been sleeved and used as a live or return, that’s not an error — it’s gross negligence and extremely dangerous.

In such cases, the Department of Labour should be notified immediately, your registration suspended, and you should be required to reapply for your wireman’s license from scratch.

This isn’t about ticking boxes or chasing paperwork. It’s about life safety — protecting people and property from potentially fatal faults.

It’s becoming disturbingly common to see this done on day/night switch circuits. I came across one again today.

The regulations should be updated to make it mandatory that all lighting circuits be connected through an earth leakage device.
There’s no excuse for cutting corners where safety is concerned — this kind of practice can kill someone.

[GCE]

[B]
The regulations should be updated to make it mandatory that all lighting circuits be connected through an earth leakage device.

No NO - Why - It is the same reasoning that they made us put geysers on earth leakage because the plumber leaves earth wire off
or
They reduce the speed limit because to many pedestrians are being run over on the freeway -
The systems needs too be policed not over regulated

[Tradie]

The electrical industry has a serious gap: almost no real policing or enforcement.

Those of us who actually do the work know the truth — the regulators aren’t on site, they aren’t checking compliance, and they aren’t keeping unsafe operators out of the field. So the responsibility falls on business owners and team leaders who actually care about workmanship and safety.

In my company, we’ve taken the stance that if the industry won’t control itself from the top, then we’ll control what happens within our own team:

• Clear safety procedures
• Proper isolation and testing
• Documented job cards
• Traceable work methods
• Consistent installation standards

If we want to protect our teams and deliver work we’re proud of, internal discipline is the only way forward.

Would be interested to hear how other businesses are handling the lack of oversight in their industries — are you building your own internal standards too?