Licensing for a solar installer is a stack of separate permissions that people routinely blur into one. An electrical licence, a business registration, a federal accreditation, a product approval and, in some places, a scheme authorisation each answer a different question. A crew can hold four of the five and still lose a claim.
This guide lays out the stack, then walks through the state and territory regulators that sit behind the electrical layer. It does not quote fees or renewal dates, because they change. The point is to know which body to check and which documents travel with a claim. For the federal accreditation layer, see the SAA definition.
The five layers
- Electrical licence. Issued by the state or territory, it lets an individual do electrical work. A business that contracts directly with customers usually needs its own contractor registration or licence on top.
- Accreditation. To create STCs, a grid-connected, off-grid or battery system must be installed or designed by someone with current accreditation for that type. The accreditation body is Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA), which took over from the Clean Energy Council. The electricians answer covers the licence versus accreditation difference.
- Product approval. Panels, inverters and batteries must be approved for the scheme. For the Cheaper Home Batteries Program the battery must be CEC-approved and VPP-capable.
- State compliance paperwork. A certificate of compliance or electrical safety after the work, lodged with the state regulator.
- Scheme-specific approval. Some state programs need their own authorisation, such as Solar Victoria’s authorised installer and retailer process, or NSW accreditation to create certificates under the Energy Savings Scheme.
A missing layer rarely shows up at install. It shows up when a claim is checked.
State and territory regulators
This table names the body that handles electrical licensing or safety in each jurisdiction. Names and structures change, so confirm on the regulator’s own site.
| Jurisdiction | Who to check | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | NSW Fair Trading | Electrical contractor licence for the business; ESS and PDRS certificate creation needs a separate accredited certificate provider arrangement. See becoming an ACP. |
| Victoria | Energy Safe Victoria | Registered electrical contractor and licensed electrician; Certificate of Electrical Safety after work; Solar Victoria authorisation for rebate jobs. See our Victoria licence guide. |
| Queensland | Electrical Safety Office and QBCC | Electrical licence and contractor licence; building-related work may bring QBCC rules. |
| South Australia | Consumer and Business Services, with the Office of the Technical Regulator for electrical safety | Electrical worker and contractor licensing. |
| Western Australia | Building and Energy | Electrical licensing and compliance. The WA battery scheme is active and VPP-required, with its own installer conditions. |
| Tasmania | Consumer, Building and Occupational Services | Electrical licensing for work and contractors. |
| ACT | Access Canberra | Electrical licensing; the ACT also has its own household battery program. See the ACT scheme. |
| Northern Territory | NT WorkSafe | Electrical licensing and compliance. |
If you work across borders, check each state before the first job. A licence in one state is not automatically recognised in another, though mutual recognition arrangements exist for many licences. Apply for recognition before you quote.
Which job needs which layer
| Job | Electrical licence | Accreditation for STCs | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooftop solar, grid-connected | Yes | Yes, grid-connected PV | State compliance certificate |
| Battery under the federal program | Yes | Yes, battery accreditation | CEC-approved VPP-capable battery; photo and evidence rules |
| Heat pump hot water | Plumbing licence, and electrical if hardwired | Not solar accreditation; product must be on the CER register | State plumbing certificate; VEU or ESS accreditation where relevant |
| Off-grid system | Yes | Yes, stand-alone category | Design to the relevant standards |
Plumbers installing heat pumps are in a different position from solar installers. Their gate is the product register and their plumbing licence, and our heat pump explainer walks through it.
The cost of a gap
Gaps cost real money because they hit the certificate value of every affected job. A 6.6 kW system in a zone 3 postcode with five-year deeming creates 45 STCs, worth about $1,755 at $39. If an installer’s accreditation lapsed three weeks ago and nobody noticed, twenty jobs installed in that window carry $35,100 of certificates at risk, plus the cost of any remediation.
That is before considering any customer complaint or regulator action. It is why a calendar is a more valuable compliance tool than a spreadsheet of jobs.
From the desk: run a monthly register of every person on your crew: licence number and expiry, accreditation category and expiry, insurance and the date of their last photo audit. Set reminders 60 days before each date. We see more rejected claims from lapsed paperwork on the installer’s side than from any problem with the system.
Supervision and attendance
Apprentices and junior staff can work under supervision, but the scheme expects the accredited installer to attend and supervise the key stages, and a written statement may be required. The rules are set out in the installer attendance requirements and the installer written statement answer. Do not put a name on a claim for someone who was not on site.
Retailers versus installers
Selling solar to customers and installing it are separate roles, and in some states they carry separate obligations. A retailer may need consumer law compliance, home warranty insurance for larger jobs and, for rebate programs, approval from the scheme body. Our guide to becoming a solar retailer explains the retailer side.
Questions to put to any new hire
- Which state licence do you hold, and when does it expire?
- Which SAA accreditation categories are current?
- Do you hold any scheme-specific approvals, such as for Solar Victoria?
- Can I see your insurance certificate?
A worked example: a three-state crew
Suppose a business based in Victoria sends a crew to jobs in NSW and Queensland. For each state it needs to confirm three things before the first job: that each electrician’s licence is valid or recognised there, that the contracting entity holds the right contractor registration, and that the compliance certificate for that state’s regulator is part of the commissioning pack. The federal layers stay the same: accreditation for STCs, approved products, and a claim with consistent dates.
The common failure is not a missing licence. It is a document trail that mixes states: a Victorian certificate template used on a Queensland job, or a licence number from the wrong register on the claim. Build one commissioning checklist per state and make the installer sign it. For the audit side of this, see the answer on CER audits for solar installers.
What to do next
- Build the crew register described above.
- Check each person against the regulator’s public register where one exists.
- Read how STC audits work to see what checking looks like from the other side.
- If you want a desk that pre-checks accreditation and paperwork before each lodgement, see how our compliance process works, then start trading.
For definitions of any term used here, see the glossary.