ECA WA has joined MADDA as an Industry Partner, building on a long-standing relationship that began when MADDA was known as Reflections. Through the support of organisations across WA’s electrical industry, including the Electrotechnology Training Institute (ETI), ECA WA has supported our work since those early days and continued that support through our transition to MADDA.
ETI sponsored the Electrical Runway at our first Steeltoes & Stilettos event in 2019 and has supported every event since as Electrical Runway sponsor. This flagship fundraising event raises vital funds and awareness of asbestos and its impact on tradespeople across WA’s construction industry.
ECA WA’s commitment to supporting a safe and sustainable electrical industry makes it a natural Industry Partner for MADDA and provides an opportunity to further strengthen awareness initiatives across the sector.
This partnership also formalises and extends a relationship that has developed over many years through the support of WA’s electrical industry.
Why asbestos awareness matters for electricians
ECA WA represents and supports Western Australia’s electrical contracting industry through advocacy, industry leadership, workforce development and member services. Together with organisations such as ETI and the College of Electrical Training, ECA WA plays an important role in supporting the development and safety of the industry’s workforce.
Safety education remains a core focus across the electrical industry. Asbestos was widely used in electrical insulation, switchboards and meter boards, meaning electricians can still encounter it on work sites today. Exposure can occur directly when drilling or cutting asbestos-containing materials, or indirectly when working alongside other trades that disturb asbestos during their work.
The risk is well documented. In a Safe Work Australia study, 94% of electricians reported working with asbestos backing on electrical switchboards, and electricians were the trade most likely to work with asbestos every day.
Research published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that electricians face a substantially higher risk of asbestos-related disease, and are almost 16 times more likely to develop mesothelioma than the general population. This highlights why asbestos awareness remains critical across the sector.
Asbestos was banned in Australia in 2003, but it remains in buildings and infrastructure across WA, particularly properties built before 1990. Mesothelioma can take decades to develop, so exposure on the job today may not present as illness until much later in life. For electrical workers, knowing how to identify asbestos and arrange testing before work begins is essential to assessing risk and working safely.
Asbestos safety from electrical apprentice to contractor
For apprentices, understanding workplace hazards is part of learning to work safely from day one. For experienced workers, contractors and businesses, awareness of asbestos and harmful dust remains just as important when working on older buildings and infrastructure.
Through the partnership, ECA WA and MADDA will collaborate on awareness initiatives, including campaigns focused on asbestos and dust exposure and the promotion of safe work practices across the electrical industry.
For MADDA, the partnership creates a direct connection with electrical contractors, businesses and workers through one of the industry’s leading representative organisations.
How industry collaboration improves asbestos safety in WA
Industry partnerships are central to MADDA’s approach to awareness and advocacy.
The long-standing support received from WA’s electrical industry demonstrates the value of sustained industry involvement, from supporting fundraising and awareness initiatives to now formally joining our growing Industry Partner network through ECA WA.
Together, MADDA and ECA WA will help keep asbestos and harmful dusts on the agenda and provide workers and businesses with the information they need to recognise and manage potential risks.
MADDA works with government, industry leaders and medical experts to raise awareness of asbestos and harmful dusts, advocate for safer practices, and support people affected by mesothelioma.
We welcome ECA WA as a MADDA Industry Partner and look forward to working together to bring this important message to more people across Western Australia’s electrical industry.
Interested in becoming a MADDA Industry Partner?
Find out how your business can support asbestos awareness and safer workplaces across Western Australia. Get in touch by emailing our Managing Director, Cate Harman: ca**@*******rg.au
