Many of the rules installers now work under, from on-site attendance to written statements to validated panels, trace back to one document: the integrity review of the rooftop solar sector, released by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) in 2021. It was a response to a sector that had grown very quickly and was generating complaints about defective installations, misuse of accreditation details and safety and quality problems. The review concluded that the scheme was largely effective, but that there was scope to improve it.
Understanding the review is not an academic exercise. It explains why the CER asks what it asks, which helps you anticipate what the next audit question will be. This article summarises what the review recommended, how the reforms have shaped day-to-day work, and where the regulator’s focus sits in 2026. For the current-year priorities, read CER solar compliance priorities for 2026-27.
Why the review happened
The Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction asked the CER, supported by the then Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, to look into the rooftop solar sector. The background was a scheme that paid out on millions of small systems. With that scale came problems: installers whose accreditation numbers were used on jobs they never attended, systems with defects that created fire or electrical risk, panels and inverters that did not meet standards, and aggressive selling.
Those issues hurt consumers first, and then the scheme itself, because an STC created for a system that was never properly installed is a certificate without integrity. Retailers pay for those certificates, and ultimately so do electricity customers.
The review’s three themes
The review made 13 recommendations to the Australian Government, and the government accepted 12 of them. They fall into three groups:
| Theme | What it addressed |
|---|---|
| Installer eligibility | Tightening who can claim STCs and what they must do |
| Product eligibility | Tightening requirements for solar panels and inverters |
| Consumer outcomes | Placing obligations on solar retailers under the scheme |
What the reforms mean on the roof
The detail has been implemented through law, regulation and CER guidance, and has moved over time. In practice, the effects you meet are these:
On-site attendance. An accredited installer has to actually be involved in the installation and be present as the rules require, and not simply lend a number. The answer on attendance requirements explains the current position.
Written statements. The installer’s written statement is a formal record, and the CER can act against installers who provide false ones. See the written statement answer.
Approved products. Panels and inverters need to be on the relevant approved lists, and the CER’s Solar Panel Validation Initiative checks claims for unapproved panels.
Agent and retailer responsibilities. The people who submit claims, and the retailers who sell systems, carry obligations too, such as checking documentation before lodging.
Stronger enforcement. The CER has powers to suspend or remove installers and has used them. In the April to June 2026 quarter it suspended 21 companies from the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.
What it means for your business
An example: a crew of four accredited installers across six teams. Under the old culture of “someone from the business signed it”, an accredited installer might sign for jobs they supervised remotely. Under the current rules, the question is whether the person whose name is on the statement was where the rules require. A job that fails that test is not just a paperwork problem. It can mean certificates are not valid.
Suppose 30 of your jobs in a quarter turn out to have attendance problems. At 45 certificates and $38 each, that is $51,300 of certificates at risk, plus the damage to your standing. Our CER audit answer and clawback answer show how that plays out.
From the desk: Map attendance, not just accreditation. For every job, can you name the accredited installer who was on site, show a timestamped photo of them or their work, and show the signed statement bearing their name? If your answer depends on someone remembering, build it into the job app. The review’s whole point was to make this checkable.
What the review did not do
It did not end the scheme’s other risks. Price, deeming and the 2030 end date are separate matters. And it did not make compliance a one-time exercise. The CER’s priorities are reviewed each year, which is why 2026-27 emphasises truthful statements and documentation checks. Reforms also ripple down the supply chain: traders and agents who lodge claims are expected to check evidence first. A trader that pre-checks your photos, forms and serials before lodging is working in the spirit of the review. At Energy Merchants the compliance desk does that on every claim.
Reading the review as an installer
Three lessons hold up:
- Identity matters. The name on the paperwork must be the person who did, or properly supervised, the work.
- Evidence is the product. The certificate is only as good as the proof behind it.
- Scale draws scrutiny. The more claims you lodge, the more likely a sample picks you up.
Our compliance checklist turns those into routines, and the how audits work guide shows what a review looks like when it arrives.
The consumer side
Not every recommendation concerned installers. A large part of the review looked at what customers experience, from the sales pitch to the aftermath of a poor install. Placing obligations on solar retailers, the businesses that sell systems and often arrange the STC discount, was one of the review’s three themes. The aim was to stop the scheme being used as a sales hook for poor products or inflated promises, and to make someone accountable when the customer is left with a defective system.
For installers who work under a retailer, or who are the retailer, it means the sales conversation is part of compliance. A quote that overstates the STC discount, hides the certificate rate, or promises savings the system cannot deliver is not just poor practice. It is what the review set out to curb. Plain quotes, a visible STC line and a realistic generation estimate protect your customer and you.
How the sector has responded
Since the review, larger and better-run installers have invested in job apps that capture photos, serials, GPS and time stamps, and in training for crews. Traders and agents have built pre-checks into their processes, because a claim that fails validation costs everyone time. The expected standard of evidence has risen. Photos that would have passed in 2019 are not enough now, and a crew that still works to the old standard will find its claims rejected more often. The lesson is to benchmark against what the regulator publishes today, not against what you did two years ago.
What to do next
- Read the CER’s published summary of the rooftop solar sector reforms and note the date of the latest guidance
- Audit your last month of jobs for attendance evidence and written statements
- Check that your claims route includes a pre-lodgement review, via your trader or in-house
- Browse the STC trading page and the resources hub for related checklists