Choosing a solar installer in Melbourne: what to check before you sign

What separates a good solar installer from a bad one?

A good installer is one you can check. The rules that decide whether your system earns STCs, the federal discount on solar panels, also decide who may install it and which products may go on your roof. Most checks take a few minutes on a public register.

How Top End Solar measures up

Check the people: accreditation and an electrical licence

The person who designs and installs the system must be accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) and hold an unrestricted electrical licence in Victoria. Without that, the system cannot earn STCs, so the rebate on your quote depends on it.

Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) is the scheme the Clean Energy Regulator appointed in February 2024 to accredit installers and designers. Its accreditation check is the list of accredited solar installers to search by name or accreditation number. If a website says “CEC accredited”, check the person on SAA’s register anyway, and ask for the numbers of both the designer and the installer.

For a battery

The federal battery rebate needs a battery installed by a Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) accredited installer with battery endorsement. SAA lists battery work as its own accreditation class, Grid Connected Battery Storage, so check that the installer holds it as well as solar accreditation.

Who qualifies for the battery rebate

The electrical licence

Energy Safe Victoria’s advice is to engage a registered electrical contractor, ask to see the electrician’s licence and get a Certificate of Electrical Safety. Look the business up on Energy Safe’s public register. Electrical work is for licensed electricians only: never open the switchboard, inverter or battery yourself.

Check the company: approved seller and authorised retailer

The New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NETCC) is a voluntary code authorised by the ACCC that covers how solar is sold, installed and supported afterwards. Its Approved Sellers are listed on the NETCC website. To check that a company is a NETCC approved solar retailer, look it up with the NETCC’s Find an Approved Seller search and make sure the business listed is the one named on your quote. What the code promises.

Solar Victoria’s authorised retailers

To get the Solar Homes panel rebate (up to $1,400) or its loan, you must buy from a retailer on Solar Victoria’s authorised retailer list, whose installations are also subject to safety and quality checks. Solar Victoria also suggests asking neighbours who installed recently about their experience, and its consumer protection page adds looking the business up on an ASIC register.

How the Solar Homes rebate works

The safety certificate (COES)

A solar system is prescribed electrical work in Victoria, Energy Safe Victoria says: an independent Licensed Electrical Inspector must inspect it, and it can’t be turned on until then. The inspection should happen within 8 business days of the work being finished, and the contractor must give you a copy of the Certificate of Electrical Safety within 4 days of completing it. A contractor can’t hold the certificate back over a payment or contract dispute.

What is the NETCC (New Energy Tech Consumer Code)?

The NETCC is a voluntary code for sellers of solar, batteries and other new energy tech, first authorised by the ACCC on 5 December 2019 and administered by the Clean Energy Council (NETCC). Sellers who sign it become New Energy Tech Approved Sellers, and a retailer must sign it to offer Solar Victoria’s solar panel rebate. Its four standards:

• Sales and marketing: Honest, accurate, clear and fair sales practices. No pressure-selling.
• Quotes and contracts: Clear, comprehensive quotes and contracts that meet your needs with no hidden costs.
• Delivery and installation: Services delivered safely, on time and with clear information on activation and use.
• Warranties and support: Complaints dealt with promptly, issues fixed and warranties honoured.

What the code administrator can and can’t do

The Administrator audits Approved Sellers and investigates complaints. It can make a seller that broke the code fix the problem behind the breach, train its staff or pay for an external audit. It can also publish the breach with the seller’s name and, in serious cases, seek its suspension or expulsion from the code. It can’t settle your dispute, or order a refund, repair or compensation.

What changes on 1 December 2026

The ACCC has authorised an updated code. The main changes:

• The promise not to make false or misleading claims covers every statement, not only advertising.
• A quote for a bespoke design, or design work done as the first step of a contract, must state the fee and when it is refunded.
• Some non-refundable fees set out in the quote or contract may be taken off a refund.

Check the products: are they on the approved lists?

For a system to earn STCs, the Clean Energy Regulator requires the panels and the inverter to be on the Clean Energy Council’s approved lists, and the battery rebate needs a battery included on the Clean Energy Council (CEC) approved battery list. Listings expire too. In the regulator’s words: “Components must be fully installed and commissioned before their listed expiry date.” So check the exact model numbers on your quote, not just the brand, on the lists themselves:

• CEC approved panels (modules)
• CEC approved inverters
• CEC approved batteries

Solar Victoria’s rebate and loan also need products on its own lists, so ask the retailer to confirm them.

What “Tier 1” means

Tier 1 is a BloombergNEF list of panel manufacturers whose panels banks have financed in large solar projects. It measures how bankable the maker is, not how good a particular panel is, so check the panel’s own warranties as well.

Compare solar panels

How do you compare solar quotes?

Solar Victoria recommends at least 3 quotes from authorised retailers for a similar size system, and at least one onsite inspection. Consumer Affairs Victoria adds: compare quotes for the same type of system and features. A low solar system price can leave out a switchboard upgrade, a meter change, safety equipment for a steep or two-storey roof, or export limits set by your network. Compare quotes line by line, not just on the total.

Get a written quote from us

Check the STC line

Most households assign their STCs to the installer, who takes their value off the price. The Clean Energy Regulator says agents usually pay $33 to $38 per certificate, and the clearing house price is $40 excluding GST. The quote should show the number of STCs and the dollars per STC; compare the total you pay, not the size of the rebate line.

How to check a quote’s STCs

Warranties to get in writing

Check four warranties: the panel product warranty, the panel performance warranty, the inverter warranty and the installer’s workmanship warranty, and that each has someone in Australia to claim against. Solar Victoria says the retailer should also give you an installation warranty.

Solar warranties explained

Battery warranties compared

Questions to ask a solar installer before you sign

Ask every installer the same questions, and get the answers in writing.

An Approved Seller answers under the code for the contractors and installers it engages.

Door-to-door and phone sales: your rights in Victoria

Solar Victoria banned door-to-door sales for its Solar Homes Program in 2021 and telemarketing from 1 May 2024, including sales outsourced to contractors or marketing companies. Victorian Energy Upgrades providers can’t cold-call you (since 1 May 2024) or knock on your door (since 1 August 2024) unless you have agreed to it. So nobody should turn up or call uninvited to sell you a Solar Victoria rebate or loan. If someone does, email their details to Solar Victoria at enquiries@team.solar.vic.gov.au.

The cooling-off rules for any unsolicited sale

Other sellers can still knock or call. Then the Australian Consumer Law’s unsolicited sales rules apply, as Consumer Affairs Victoria explains them, when the seller approached you uninvited, away from their business, and the deal is worth more than $100.

• A door-to-door salesperson must say why they’re there, show identification and leave when you ask, then can’t contact you about it for 30 days. A “Do not knock” sticker must be respected.
• If the seller visited outside the hours, hid the purpose, showed no identification or didn’t leave, you can cancel for up to 3 months. If they didn’t tell you about the cooling-off rights, or took payment or supplied the goods or services during them, up to 6 months.
• You can cancel by phone, in person or in writing. The date you give or send the notice counts.

If you invited the seller, the law gives no cooling-off period, though Solar Victoria’s rules give 10 full business days for any agreement under its program.

Victorian Energy Upgrades

Red flags and rebate scams

Slow down, or walk away, when you see any of these:

• “Free solar”, “$0” or bargain battery offers. Rebates are discounts, not the whole price: the federal battery discount aims at around 30% of the cost, and Solar Victoria’s panel rebate is at most $1,400. Get the total you will pay in writing, and don’t rely on a rebate promise unless Solar Victoria confirms it.
• Someone saying they’re from the government. Solar Victoria’s authorised retailers must not claim endorsement or affiliation with government and public figures, and Victorian Government agencies will never ask for banking details over the phone. Consumer Affairs Victoria warns of scammers posing as Solar Victoria. Don’t rely on caller ID.
• “Sign today before the rebate drops.” The Clean Energy Regulator says battery rebates are determined by the installation date, not when a contract is signed, so signing today doesn’t lock in today’s rebate. Solar Victoria’s advice is to avoid businesses that use pressure or a sense of urgency.
• A big deposit, or any payment at the door. Consumer Affairs Victoria says deposits are usually 10%, and no payment can be taken during an unsolicited sale’s cooling-off period.
• A price far below the other quotes. In Solar Victoria’s words, “An unusually low price is generally a trade-off for a low-quality product that may not last.” Check the models against the approved lists and that every extra is priced in. What cheap solar leaves out.
• An STC discount that doesn’t add up, or no STC count at all. See how to check the STC line.
• No site visit and no model numbers. A quote without exact models can’t be checked against the lists, and Solar Victoria recommends at least one onsite inspection before you choose.
• Glowing reviews and nothing else. It is against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews, or to arrange for others to create them. The ACCC’s warning signs include a spike in highly positive or negative reviews over a short period and generic reviews without specific detail about the business or product. Read the one- and two-star reviews and how the business replied, then weigh them against the public records below.

Lists of the “worst solar companies” are opinions. The public records tell you more: Consumer Affairs Victoria publishes public warnings and court outcomes about named traders, and the registers above show whether a company is still an Approved Seller or an authorised retailer.

When the battery rebate drops

Where to complain in Victoria

Start with the business, in writing: Consumer Affairs Victoria expects you to try to resolve the problem yourself first. If that fails, go to the body that covers the problem:

EWOV, the energy ombudsman, says it can’t investigate complaints about solar retailers and installation companies, so a dispute about the installer goes to Consumer Affairs Victoria. If you paid by credit card and can no longer contact the business, Consumer Affairs Victoria suggests asking your card provider for a chargeback.

If an Approved Seller breaks the code

Complain to the seller in writing first: under the code it should reply within 15 business days, give a final answer within 25 and then tell you where to escalate. If that fails, complain to the NETCC Administrator with your evidence. It can’t get your money back, so for a refund, repair or compensation go to Consumer Affairs Victoria, then the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Choosing a solar installer: your questions