Solar battery installers and designers

Solar battery installers, designers and retailers must meet certain requirements for their systems to be eligible for small-scale technology certificates (STC) under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).

Safety and accreditation 

Only trained, accredited and licensed designers and installers can install solar batteries. The installations must comply with:

• relevant state and territory laws
• Commonwealth regulations
• electrical safety standards.

Designers and installers must be accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA). Accreditation requirements cover design, installation, supervision and system safety for the relevant system type (off-grid, on-grid, solar batteries).

Installations must use products listed by the Clean Energy Council (CEC). If a product does not meet program standards, it may be removed from the approved list.

Installers should also refer to Safe Work Australia’s Guide to managing the risks of rooftop solar installation work. This includes guidance for managing the work health and safety risks associated with solar battery installations. 

Supervision of installations 

The solar battery must be installed by, or under the supervision of, an accredited battery installer. Supervision must be on site and in accordance with SAA rules.

Each installation must comply with:

• jurisdictional electrical safety regulations
• SAA’s installation and supervision rules.

Installer on-site verification photos

As an installer you must take:

1. geotagged and time-stamped photos (‘selfies’) at each phase of installation, including:
   • job setup
   • mid-installation
   • testing and commissioning
2. a final ‘completion’ photo that matches the test date on the electrical certificate of compliance (or equivalent).

The evidence metadata needs to match the installation time from start to finish. You need to explain if your installation took more or less time than expected under normal conditions.

You are not allowed to return to the site after installation to take photos or falsify documents to match photos taken after installation.

If installing a solar battery and solar PV at the same time, you must take separate on-site verification photos for each system.

We may fail an STC claim if your evidence doesn't show the 3 stages of installation. 

The installer must also take geotagged and time-stamped photos showing that the serial numbers on each solar battery and inverter (if new) match the listed numbers in the REC Registry. Where the battery contains individual battery modules within a CEC listed model, please provide photos of the main battery unit as well as the individual modules that make up the unit. 

New photo requirements from 1 March 2026

We’re implementing additional photo requirements for solar battery installations. This is to address common issues with critical labelling.

From 1 March 2026 you’ll be required to take clear, geotagged and timestamped photographs of critical labelling and signage for each solar battery installation. 

We’ll require a photo of the: 

• outside of the meter box(es) including all critical labelling
• switchboard(s) and inside cover(s) including all critical labelling and shutdown procedures
• front and sides of the solar battery showing all critical labelling.

You must provide these photos to us as part of your compliance paperwork. 

These photos will complement existing mandatory on-site verification photos. 

How to prepare

To prepare for this change, you should:

• review your current labelling practices against Australian standards and state or territory requirements
• amend non-compliant critical labelling for any current or previous installations
• prepare your workflow processes to capture photos of all critical labels from early 2026.

We will have detailed guidance on these new requirements by 31 January 2026. 

Solar batteries partially installed before 1 July 2025

Solar batteries roughed-in before 1 July must be tested as capable of storing or discharging energy on or after 1 July 2025, as shown on the certificate of electrical compliance. 

Solar batteries tested before 1 July 2025 won’t be eligible for STCs.

If installation work (e.g. rough-in) started before 1 July 2025, the installer must:

• provide time-stamped attendance photos to confirm work began before 1 July 2025
• make sure photos align with the final testing date on the state or territory certificate of electrical compliance for eligibility verification.

Maximum daily installations

Installers must comply with daily installation limits set by SAA to claim STCs.

Installers can claim no more than 2 installations per day. This may include:

• 2 solar batteries
• 2 solar PV systems or
• 1 solar PV system and 1 solar battery.

See SAA installation requirements for more information about daily installation limits.

Previous SAA transitional arrangements

SAA’s previous transitional period ended on 31 August 2025.  

Installers must now follow the installation limits outlined in the SAA requirements which allow no more than 2 installations per installer in a single day.

There will be no further consideration for ‘ready to commission’ systems and all commissions will count against the installation limit.

Installers can contact SAA to request an exemption to this requirement.

Written statement and documentation

The installer and designer must provide a written compliance statement confirming they have:

• met all accreditation design and installation requirements
• met all local, state and territory requirements
• a copy of the design, and the system installed met or modified the design to meet the accreditation requirements
• had a licensed electrician complete the work and provide their accreditation details
• met on-site attendance requirements and provided evidence
• used approved solar batteries and inverters in the installation.

We encourage you to refer to the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Cheaper Home Batteries Program) Regulations 2025 – Federal Register of Legislation to ensure the written compliance statements meet all of the requirements.

You can use our example designer and installer written statement as a guide.

Installers and retailers must also follow: 

• consumer law
• program conduct guidelines
• warranty standards

Written statements must be true and correct and not contain false or misleading information. Non-compliance may result in the removal of a product or installer from the program, loss of electrical licence, and civil or criminal prosecution.

Information we collect 

We collect information about storage systems installed with small generation units. We share this information with state and territory electrical safety regulators, DNSPs and other electrical and consumer affairs bodies. This allows us to monitor for compliance, including through data matching. 

If scheme requirements are not met and false or misleading information has been provided, we can take compliance action. Read more about our compliance approach.

Distributed Energy Resources register

We also share information with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), which manages the national Distributed Energy Resources (DER) register.

The DER register includes information about energy storage systems installed at homes or businesses. It helps improve:

• safety and security of the electricity grid
• grid operation and planning by AEMO
• safety for consumers, line workers and installers
• the quality of battery data published or shared.