The Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program does not change on a single day. It changes in layers: a new year’s target, a tweak to an activity, a procedural rule, and a rebate in a neighbouring program that shifts the customer’s maths. Around 1 July 2026 several of these landed together, and installers who read only one of them are likely to misquote a job.
This page covers what was reported, with a clear line between what we can state and what you should confirm with the Essential Services Commission (ESC), which runs the program. These notes also answer the question people search as “VEU changes 2026: what installers need to know”.
1. The lodgement deadline for prior-year VEECs
According to reports on the 2026 changes, the 31 January cut-off for lodging the previous year’s VEECs was removed from 1 July 2026. Under the old rule, certificates for activities done in a given year had to be lodged by the end of the following January, which created a rush and, for slow lodgers, a cliff.
What it means in practice: an accredited person has more freedom on timing, and a job that missed the old window is less likely to become a write-off. What it does not mean is that you can be casual. Your payment terms come from your contract with the accredited person, not from the regulator’s deadline, and evidence goes stale. A job you cannot document a year later is a job that does not pay, deadline or not.
2. Air conditioning activity changes
Two changes were reported for the air conditioning activity, due from 31 July 2026:
- A higher minimum customer co-payment for larger systems.
- A cap on the number of VEECs that a multi-head split system can create.
Together they reduce the certificate value on big systems and push more of the cost to the customer. Illustrate with assumed numbers: if a multi-head job previously created 60 VEECs at $87, that was $5,220 of value. A cap at, say, 40 VEECs would make it $3,480, a difference of $1,740 on that job. These are illustrations of how a cap works; the real thresholds are in the ESC’s published activity rules.
Our answer page on the VEU air conditioning rebate and the split system activity cover the activity in short form.
3. Targets and the price signal
The program runs on annual targets set in regulation. Targets drive demand for VEECs, since retailers must surrender certificates to meet them, and demand drives price. The VEEC spot price has been roughly $85 to $95 in 2026, with a record near $110, and reported around $85 to $90 in September, at the time of writing. For why prices run high, see why VEEC prices are so high and our price forecast.
Do not treat a high price as permanent. Build quotes so a fall of 10 per cent does not wipe out your margin. On a job creating 20 VEECs, a $9 drop is $180.
4. The Solar Victoria income cap
Not a VEU change, but it moves in step with it for many households. The Solar Victoria rebate household income cap fell to $150,000 on 1 July 2026. A customer who qualified last year may not this year, and a VEEC discount now has to carry more of the sale. Check eligibility before you quote a stacked price. Our answer on the income limit and changes from 1 July 2026 give the detail.
What changes in your process
| Area | Before | Now (as reported) | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior-year lodgement | 31 January cut-off | Cut-off removed | Still lodge promptly; agree timing in your contract |
| Larger air conditioners | Higher certificate value | Higher co-payment and caps on multi-head | Re-quote large jobs |
| Rebate stacking | Higher income cap | $150,000 cap on Solar Victoria rebate | Check customer eligibility first |
| Pricing | Record highs | Spot roughly $85 to $95 | Lock rate at lodgement |
How to keep up
The ESC publishes updates for the VEU program, including activity changes and registry updates. Subscribe to them and make one person responsible for reading each notice. Then ask three questions: does it change the VEEC count for any activity I do, does it change what I must record, and does it change when I can lodge?
If you are an accredited person, check how the changes affect your audit position. If you work under one, ask them to tell you in writing what has changed in their requirements, so you hear it from them rather than from a rejection. Our guide on becoming a VEU accredited provider discusses the compliance load, and the piece on how installers get paid for VEECs shows how the changes affect cash flow.
The federal side stays separate
Victorian jobs often create federal certificates too. A heat pump hot water system can create STCs under the federal scheme alongside VEECs. The federal rules did not change on 1 July 2026 for these jobs, but the federal calendar still matters: the deeming period for small-scale solar is five years for 2026 installs, four for 2027, and the battery factor steps down on 1 January 2027. Use the STC calculator for solar and the battery STC calculator for batteries, and see VEECs and STCs on the same job.
A worked quote before and after
Take an installer quoting a Victorian heat pump hot water job and a split system in the same visit. The numbers below are assumed, to show how the pieces move.
| Line | Last year’s approach | Rebuilt approach |
|---|---|---|
| Heat pump VEEC value | 20 VEECs at $87 = $1,740 | Same count; lock the rate at lodgement |
| Heat pump STC value | Federal discount, per the deeming rules | Unchanged by the 1 July changes |
| Split system VEEC value | Based on old certificate count | Recheck against the activity rules from 31 July |
| Customer rebate eligibility | Income cap higher | Confirm the $150,000 cap |
The point of a table like this is that every line has a different source: the ESC for VEECs, the Clean Energy Regulator for STCs, Solar Victoria for the rebate. A quote that mixes them without naming the source is a quote that breaks the first time one of them moves.
Questions to put to your accredited person
If you work under an accredited person, use the changes as a reason to review the relationship. Ask them:
- Has anything in your contract with me changed, or is it the same as before 1 July?
- How are you applying the air conditioning co-payment and cap to jobs already in progress?
- When you lodge, how do you handle the new flexibility on prior-year certificates, and does it change when I am paid?
- What is your evidence checklist now, and has it changed?
A good accredited person will answer these without defensiveness. A vague answer is information too.
What to do next
- Check the ESC’s updates page for the exact text of each change.
- Re-quote open air conditioning jobs against the new co-payment and cap.
- Review your lodgement routine now the January cliff is gone, and keep it tight anyway.
- Verify customer eligibility for the Solar Victoria rebate at $150,000.
- Lock your VEEC rate at lodgement: see VEEC trading and the pricing page, and read the VEU pillar for the wider program.