With the support of the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, we conducted an integrity review of the Australian rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) sector in 2020.
The review looked at the sector's unprecedented growth and evaluated past consumer complaints. These included:
- defective installations
- misuse of installer accreditation details
- safety and quality concerns.
The review found the current scheme was largely effective with scope for improvement. The Australian Government accepted 12 out of 13 recommendations we made. Our recommendations covered:
- tightening Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme eligibility requirements for installers, solar panels and inverters
- promoting better consumer outcomes, including new legal obligations for solar retailers.
The government committed $19.2 million to carry out our recommendations.
Find out more about the government's response to the review.
Changes to the scheme
Phase one
The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and Other Measures) Regulations 2021 became law on 17 December 2021. The amendments:
- streamline reporting requirements for installers, solar retailers and manufacturers
- give us a more direct role in setting requirements for approved solar PV components
- improve other aspects of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.
We started putting in place the amendments during 2022 and will complete them in 2024.
We changed the solar PV requirements in April 2022 for each participant under the scheme. This included:
- new and updated installer and designer written statements
- new requirements for solar retailer written statements
- changes to the eligibility of components.
Read about the current requirements for each participant:
We can now declare non-compliant industry participants ineligible to take part in the scheme. This helps:
- ensure the integrity of the scheme
- maintain the integrity of the rooftop solar PV sector
- provide benefits to participants doing the right thing.
Phase 2
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has been nominated as the product listing body for solar panels and inverters under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).
This decision is a result of multiple consultations with industry and careful review of applications, to make sure the new PLB service meets the needs of the industry.
Read more on our consultation page.
After an application round, we announced Solar Accreditation Australia as the new accreditation scheme operator in February 2024.
Accredited designers and installers had 3 months to transfer to the new operator which ended on 29 May 2024.
To ensure solar panels meet Australian standards, we introduced a solar panel testing program in 2022. The program aims to improve the quality of solar panels by checking:
- for any visual indications of fault or damage
- their power output performance in a ‘standard’ test environment
- for microcracks, finger interruptions, non-uniform cells and shunts using infrared photography
- for any moisture penetration when panels are submerged in water
- their performance in high temperatures and humidity.
We publish the results of each testing round we undertake.