End of the line for Melbourne AC cowboy

An unlicensed and unregistered worker who put in air conditioners across Melbourne immediately after promoting his expert services on Facebook Market has been brought to justice.

Keenan Blair Grobler was convicted and fined $10,000 in the Werribee Magistrates’ Court docket on Monday, Might 8 right after currently being found guilty of 10 charges below the Electrical energy Safety Act 1998 and 9 fees below the Making Act 1993.

According to Electrical power Protected Victoria, Grobler, who now lives in Scarborough, Western Australia, carried out works in Wyndham Vale, Berwick, Cobblebank, Tarneit and Clyde North concerning June and November 2020.

In the course of the 6-thirty day period interval, Grobler marketed his products and services on Facebook Market, prior to installing nine split procedure air conditioners across 5 attributes. He also put in two light-weight fittings at 1 property.

An Strength Protected Victoria investigation found the performs did not comply with the pertinent basic safety benchmarks and posed a safety danger to the houses, one of which was a loved ones daycare facility. Fortunately, the functions did not end result in harm.

Energy Harmless Victoria claims the investigation was prompted by problems built to the authority amongst June 2020 and January 2021.

Vitality Safe Victoria CEO Leanne Hughson has urged the local community to make certain that people carrying out get the job done possess the ideal licences and registrations.

“We advise everybody to test that the individuals doing the job on their home are experienced and accredited to have out the operate, ahead of the work commences,” Hughson claims.

Hughson has also encouraged shoppers to be cautious when looking for trades on web-sites such as Facebook Market.

“It is popular for unlicensed and unregistered tradespeople to boost by themselves on these platforms,” she says.

Image by Joseph Hersh on Unsplash