Most people find out they have a private power pole the day something goes wrong with it, which is a rough way to learn that the pole in your yard was never the electricity company's problem. If you have just had a defect notice, or you are staring at a leaning pole wondering whose job it is, this guide explains why the pole exists, who owns what, and what your actual obligations are. The service side of it sits on our permanent power poles page.
Why do I have a private power pole?
You have a private power pole because the distributor's network ends at a defined point called the point of attachment, and your switchboard sits too far from that point for the supply to reach it directly. A pole on your land carries the line the rest of the way. Because it stands past the ownership boundary, it is yours.
The common causes are all about distance and layout:
- A long driveway, where the house sits well back from the street
- Acreage or a rural block, where the nearest network pole is a paddock away
- A back lot in a subdivision, with no street frontage of its own
- An older subdivision where the street pole sits on the opposite side of the road
- An underground-to-overhead transition partway along the run
Some properties have two or three, stepping the supply across a long distance. None of that indicates a fault or a mistake at the time the property was connected. It simply means the supply needed help getting to your switchboard.
What is a private power pole?
A private power pole is a pole on private land that carries the electricity supply from the point of attachment to the property's switchboard, owned by the property owner rather than the distributor. It looks much like a street pole, but it carries only your supply, sits inside your boundary, and has no distributor asset tag on it.
What it usually holds: the point of attachment bracket where the service line lands, the line running on to your switchboard, and on many properties a meter box mounted directly on the pole.
The distinguishing feature is not the appearance, it is the ownership. A network pole in the street is an Energex or Ergon Energy asset, tagged, inspected and maintained by them on their schedule. Yours is not on anyone's schedule but your own.
Who is responsible for the power line from pole to house in Australia?
The distributor is responsible for the network up to the point of attachment. The property owner is responsible for everything past it, including the pole itself and the consumer mains running to the switchboard. That boundary is both the ownership line and the maintenance line, and it is the single most useful thing to understand about your connection.
So if the line from your private pole to the house sags, frays or comes down in a storm, that repair is yours to arrange and yours to pay for, and it has to be done by a licensed electrician.
Terminology and the precise boundary detail vary between states and distributors, so confirm the specifics with your own distributor rather than assuming. The principle does not vary.
Who is responsible for the power line from pole to house in QLD?
In Queensland the split is the same, and the two distributors divide the state geographically. Energex covers south east Queensland: Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Moreton Bay, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. Ergon Energy covers the rest of the state, including Toowoomba and everything west and north.
Either way, the distributor owns and maintains up to the point of attachment. You own the private pole, the consumer mains and the fittings past it. Neither distributor will repair or replace your pole for you, and neither will pay for it.
What they will do is inspect the network and issue a defect notice if your pole is unsafe. That is not them taking responsibility for it, it is them telling you to meet yours.
How to tell if the pole on your property is yours
Four checks, and you can do all of them from the ground in about a minute:
- Is it inside your boundary? A pole on your land, past the front fence line, is almost certainly yours.
- Does it carry only your supply? If the line runs from it to your switchboard and nowhere else, it is a private pole. Network poles carry lines that continue on to other properties.
- Does it have a distributor asset tag? Network poles carry a numbered metal tag or stencil. Private poles do not.
- Where does the line from the street stop? The last pole owned by the distributor is the one holding the point of attachment. Anything past it, on your side, is yours.
If two or more of those point to a private pole, treat it as yours until told otherwise. Where a pole sits on a boundary or serves two properties, ownership is usually shared between the owners by agreement, and that is worth settling in writing before any work is needed rather than during it.
What does a power line easement mean?
A power line easement is a registered right over part of your land that lets electricity infrastructure be placed, accessed and maintained there, while the land itself stays yours. In practice a defined strip of your block carries restrictions on what you can build, plant or store, and the easement holder has a legal right of access.
Easements are recorded on the title, so a title search is the reliable way to confirm whether one affects you. Neighbourly memory is not.
For pole work it matters twice: it can dictate where a replacement pole is legally allowed to sit, and it can limit machine access on the day. Our guide on how close you can build to a power pole covers the clearance side of the same question.
How long is a power pole good for?
A hardwood timber pole commonly lasts several decades, and steel and concrete poles last longer again, but the material matters less than what the ground is doing around the base. Timber poles almost always fail at ground level, where moisture and rot attack the part you cannot see, so a pole that looks fine at eye height can be badly compromised below it.
Worth acting on: a lean that has visibly changed, splitting or cracking, a hollow sound when tapped near the base, soft timber at ground level, rust at the base of a steel pole, or any movement when pushed.
Age alone is not the test. Condition is. We do not assess pole condition ourselves, so have a licensed electrician inspect it and tell you whether it needs replacing. Our guide to the signs you need to replace your power pole covers what they will be looking for.
How much does it cost to replace a power pole in QLD?
Replacement is quoted per site, and the cost is built from four things: the pole, the footing, the licensed electrical work and the distributor paperwork. Replacing an existing pole costs more than a new install on a clear block, because the old pole has to be disconnected, pulled and disposed of before the new one goes up.
The things that move the number most are ground conditions, access for a truck, and whether an easement or boundary dictates where the pole can sit. We have written the full breakdown, including what is billed by us and what is billed separately by your concreter and electrician, in our guide to private power pole installation cost.
What to do if you get a defect notice on your pole
A defect notice means the distributor has inspected your pole and found it unsafe. It carries a timeframe, and if you let that run out the supply can be disconnected. Do not ignore it, and do not assume the distributor will fix it.
The practical sequence:
- Read the timeframe. It is usually a matter of weeks, not months.
- Get a licensed electrician to inspect it and confirm whether the pole needs replacing or rectifying.
- Get a quote in writing that states which parts are the pole installer's and which are the electrician's.
- Check the title for easements before anyone commits to a pole position.
- Book it in early, because the paperwork stage usually sets the date rather than the digging.
One timing point that catches people out: the distributor connecting the supply is not the same as the pole being live. Your electricity retailer books the meter installation separately, and that final step sits outside both our control and the distributor's.
If the replacement pole is a steel one, the footing is engineered rather than a hole in the ground, and the certified depths and reinforcement are published on our power pole foundation specification page.
Not sure whether the pole on your block is yours? Send us a photo and the address and we will tell you straight.
Cheers, Doug
Related Service
Temporary Power Pole Hire
View our full range of temporary power poles for Brisbane & SE QLD builders.
