More solar installers caught out breaking rooftop compliance rules

Solar panel installers across Australia continue to be called out for unscrupulous activities, with seven electricians seeing their contractor’s licences revoked by NSW Fair Trading for false rebate submissions.

The licenses were pulled in Australia’s most populous state after investigators found the contractors had signed and submitted compliance certificates (CCEWs) for solar panel installations despite not having carried out, supervised, or inspected the installations themselves.

In worrying acts of impunity, six of the electricians were either overseas or interstate on the dates listed on the certificates. The seventh contractor was in Sydney instead of at the job sites in regional New South Wales.

Last week, One Step Off the Grid reported a potentially significant case of solar rebate fraud was under investigation by the Clean Energy Regulator, with search warrants executed in Western Australia on residential and commercial addresses connected to a Perth-based solar business.

That investigation followed the the July conviction of a Canberra-based solar installer for providing false or misleading documents in the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.

In New South Wales, Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann said the seven contractor licences were cancelled by Fair Trading’s Disciplinary Action Unit (DAU) between 4 March 2022 and 10 August 2022.

Each of the electricians was also disqualified from working in the state’s building industry for varying periods of time.

“We are warning New South Wales consumers who are getting solar panels installed to check that the person on the roof attending to the wiring is a licensed electrician with the credentials required to work in this state and carry out solar panel installations,” Mann said.

“In one of the seven cases that Fair Trading’s DAU recently dealt with, a man’s contractor licence was cancelled after he wrongfully signed off 161 solar panel installations that were carried out across New South Wales while he was interstate.

That individual took advantage of the Commonwealth Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and received tens of thousands in government rebates for installations that he did not install or inspect himself, according to Mann.

Mann said NSW Fair Trading will not hesitate to act against any electrical contractors trying to cut corners and bend the rules.

Fatalities caused by electric shock was the second-highest cause of death in the state’s construction industry and steps were needed to ensure the safety of solar panel installers, according to Mann.

The tradesperson installing a solar panel on any site ought to be able to show the customer a contractor licence in the category of Electrician and a Clean Energy Council (CEC) accreditation, Mann said.

Moreover, solar installers wishing to claim government rebates must provide a visual record of site attendance across the life of eligible projects under a provision in force since November 2021.