Short answer
Check the licence first — solar installers must be licensed in every state. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 1,212 Australian solar installers in this directory, only 13.6% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 6.3% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Solar Installers handle rooftop solar panels, inverters, battery storage and system servicing. This is what to check before you let one into your house, and what the evidence says about the trade as a whole.
Solar Installers must be licensed
To claim the federal rebate, a system must be installed by an installer accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia (formerly the Clean Energy Council scheme). No accreditation means no rebate — worth thousands — and the installer must also hold an electrical licence.
There is no national licence register in Australia — each state and territory runs its own. The regulator for your state is listed at the bottom of this guide, and checking a number takes about a minute.
What 1,212 Australian solar installers actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For solar installers:
| What we checked | Solar Installers | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 13.6% | 12.9% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 38.3% | 44.3% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 6.3% | 5.5% |
| Website responded when we checked | 72.3% | 70.8% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 93.5% | 95% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 45 | 18 |
What goes wrong with solar installers
- An accredited installer named on the paperwork who never attends the site
- Rebate eligibility lost because the installer was not accredited
- Quotes that compare panel brands without comparing inverter warranties
What to ask before the work starts
- What is your accreditation number, and will you personally be on site?
- Is the rebate already deducted from this quote?
- What are the separate warranties on the panels, the inverter and the workmanship?
A solar installer who answers all three of those without hesitating is telling you something useful. One who is vague about a licence number is telling you something too.
The median matters more than the average
The median solar installer in this directory has 45 Google reviews. That is the number to hold in your head when you see a perfect five-star rating: five stars from four reviews and 4.6 from three hundred are not comparable, and the second is almost always the safer hire.
It is also why the ranking here weights review volume more heavily than review score. A business cannot buy its position, and a handful of glowing reviews does not move it far.
Where the solar installers are
Sydney (158), Melbourne (153), Brisbane (100), Perth (80), Adelaide (69), Gold Coast (57). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best solar installer in the country is no help if they are four states away.
Where to check a licence, by state
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state where the work is happening.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICVictorian Building Authority, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Common questions
- Do solar installers need a licence in Australia?
- Yes. To claim the federal rebate, a system must be installed by an installer accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia (formerly the Clean Energy Council scheme). No accreditation means no rebate — worth thousands — and the installer must also hold an electrical licence.
- How do I check a solar installer's licence?
- There is no national register. Each state and territory has its own regulator — NSW Fair Trading, the Victorian Building Authority and Energy Safe Victoria, QBCC in Queensland, Building and Energy in WA, Consumer and Business Services in SA, CBOS in Tasmania, Access Canberra in the ACT, and the NT Government. Search the licence number the business gives you on the regulator for the state the work is happening in.
- What percentage of Australian solar installers have a verifiable ABN?
- 13.6% of the 1,212 solar installers in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 12.9% across all trades.
- How many reviews should a solar installer have?
- The median solar installer here has 45. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare solar installers near you
1,212 solar installers, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
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