Solar Installer Won’t Fix It? How to Get Your Money Back (Australia 2026)
Last updated · Reviewed by the Claim Done team · Not legal advice
Yes, in most cases. Solar panels, inverters and home batteries are goods, and installing them is a service, so the Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply to both: the system must be of acceptable quality and the installation done with due care and skill. These rights are separate from the manufacturer’s warranty and can’t be excluded. If you bought from a door-to-door or phone seller you also have a 10 business day cooling-off period. The route: write to the seller, send a formal demand, complain to Fair Trading, send a final demand, then the tribunal.
Can you get your money back from a solar installer?
You can, if the system or the installation fails one of the consumer guarantees, or if you were misled into buying it. The ACCC states it plainly: consumer guarantee rights “apply to solar products and installation services and cannot be restricted or excluded. They are separate to any manufacturer’s warranty.”
Who you claim against depends on how you bought it:
- One business sold and installed the system. That business is responsible for the remedy, even if it used a subcontractor to install. This is the usual case.
- You bought the panels or battery from one business and paid another to install them. Go to the retailer for faults in the product, and to the installer for problems caused by the installation.
- You’re on a solar power purchase agreement or leasing agreement. The guarantees still apply whatever the agreement says, and the ACCC says you may be able to cancel the agreement under the guarantees if the system or service has a problem.
What a solar business can’t do:
- Send you to the manufacturer. The ACCC says the supplier “must assist and cannot tell the consumer to contact the manufacturer for a remedy”.
- Hide behind the warranty card. A 10-year product warranty doesn’t cap your rights, and a term that tries to exclude the guarantees is void (ACL s 64).
- Mislead you about savings, payback, performance, availability or installation dates, or about where the panels came from. The Clean Energy Regulator says it’s illegal for solar retailers to mislead consumers about the origin, performance, condition and quality of panels and batteries.
- Pressure, harass or coerce you, take unfair advantage of a vulnerability, or make you buy power from a particular energy retailer.
- Install or take payment during a cooling-off period after an unsolicited sale.
The most common problems with solar installers
- The system produces far less than promised. You were told it would cut your bill to almost nothing; it doesn’t come close. Claim: compensation for a system not fit for the purpose you made known (s 55), and for misleading representations about savings or performance (ss 18, 29). A prediction about the future is misleading if the seller had no reasonable grounds for it (s 4).
- Inverter or battery failure. The inverter dies, or the battery stops charging. Claim: repair, replacement or refund from the seller. A component that fails early may not be of acceptable quality, since goods must be durable (s 54).
- Roof leaks and damage after installation. Cracked tiles, holes left unsealed, water through the ceiling. Claim: the cost of repairs and resulting water damage, as a failure of due care and skill (s 60) and foreseeable loss (s 267(4)).
- Unsafe or non-compliant installation. Missing isolators, poor wiring, no proper labelling. Claim: rectification at the installer’s cost. A service that “creates an unsafe situation” is a major failure (s 268). You can also complain to Solar Accreditation Australia about the quality of the installation.
- Not connected or not exporting. Panels on the roof but no grid approval, meter change or feed-in credits for months. Claim: completion within a reasonable time (s 62) and lost feed-in credits as foreseeable loss. If the delay is with your energy retailer’s billing or meter, that may go to the energy ombudsman.
- Door-knock or phone sale you regret. Claim: cancellation within the cooling-off period and a full refund, or longer if the seller broke the rules.
- Different panels or battery from what you paid for. A cheaper brand or smaller system turns up. Claim: the system described (s 56), or the price difference, or cancellation for a major departure from the description.
- The installer has gone out of business. Claim: against the manufacturer for products that aren’t of acceptable quality (s 271), and, if your system was financed through the seller’s arranged lender, possibly against the lender too (s 278).
- A deposit taken and no installation. Claim: the deposit back for a service not supplied within a reasonable time.
Solar rules beyond the basic guarantees
Door-to-door and phone sales: the cooling-off period
If a salesperson approached you uninvited, at your door, by phone or in public, and the sale was $100 or more, it’s an unsolicited consumer agreement. The ACCC says:
- You can cancel within 10 business days, starting the day after you sign or receive the agreement, for any reason, and the seller must refund everything immediately and cancel any credit arrangement.
- During that period the seller can’t take payment and, for solar, the products must not be installed.
- The cooling-off period stretches to 3 months if the salesperson called or visited outside the allowed hours (weekdays 9am-6pm for door-to-door, 9am-8pm for phone calls; Saturdays 9am-5pm; never Sundays or public holidays), or didn’t give their name, business and purpose. It stretches to 6 months if you weren’t told about cooling-off, weren’t given a copy of the agreement and the cancellation form, or the seller installed during the cooling-off period.
- To cancel, just tell the seller, by phone, email, letter, in person or with the form in the agreement. Keep proof.
The ACCC adds that some state laws go further and prohibit unsolicited sales of solar products.
Rejecting a system that’s bolted to your roof
For a major failure with goods you can usually reject them and choose a refund or replacement. Solar is awkward because the system is attached to your home. The ACL says you lose the right to reject goods that have been attached to other property and can’t be detached without damage (s 262(1)(d)). But where goods can’t be returned without significant cost because of their size, height or method of attachment, the supplier must collect them at its own expense (s 263(3)). Which applies depends on the system and the roof. Where rejection isn’t possible, you can still claim compensation for the drop in value and your losses.
The New Energy Tech Consumer Code
Many solar and battery retailers sign up to the New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NETCC), a set of standards covering sales and marketing, quotes and contracts, installation, and warranties and support. The ACCC suggests checking whether a retailer is a New Energy Tech Approved Seller. If an Approved Seller breached the standards, you can complain to the NETCC Administrator, after first raising it with the seller. The Administrator investigates and can act against the seller, but says it “is not a dispute resolution body” and can’t decide financial disputes, so it won’t get your money back for you. It can’t investigate incidents before 1 February 2023, and new complaints may wait up to 8 weeks.
Installer accreditation and rebates
Anyone designing or installing a grid-connected solar system, battery or stand-alone power system must be accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia for the system to be eligible for small-scale technology certificates (STCs). The Clean Energy Regulator says you can get a discount on the price by assigning the right to claim STCs to a registered agent. Many state rebates also require an accredited installer. The Clean Energy Regulator says you can complain to Solar Accreditation Australia about the quality of an installation, and SAA can require the accredited person to rectify non-compliant work. The Regulator itself doesn’t advise on or resolve disputes with retailers.
Batteries under the Cheaper Home Batteries program
Since 1 July 2025, households may get about a 30% discount on a battery. The ACCC says sellers must give you certain information before you sign, including expected payback, energy benefits or savings, the right battery size for your solar system, your current and expected electricity needs, any extra equipment needed to join a virtual power plant, expected performance over the warranty period, and feed-in tariffs and export limits. Keep that information: if it was wrong, it’s evidence for a misleading-conduct claim.
Solar finance and when the business has gone bust
The ACCC warns that solar faults can take years to show, and that by then the business may have closed. Two routes remain. First, you can claim damages from the manufacturer if the panels, inverter or battery aren’t of acceptable quality or don’t meet the manufacturer’s express warranty, within 3 years of becoming aware of the problem (ss 271-273). This is compensation, not a refund. Second, if the seller arranged your finance with a lender it regularly refers customers to, that linked credit provider can be jointly liable for guarantee failures, subject to defences and a cap (ss 278-281). For a seller that’s gone into administration, the NETCC says to contact its administrators.
What you can claim
- Repair or replacement of faulty panels, inverters, batteries or mounting, at no cost.
- A refund, or the cost of having another accredited installer fix it, if the business refuses or fails to fix it in a reasonable time, or the failure is major.
- Compensation for the drop in value of a system that isn’t what you paid for, such as a smaller or lower-grade system.
- Roof and property damage caused by the installation.
- Lost savings and feed-in credits caused by a failure or delay, where they were reasonably foreseeable.
- Cancellation and a full refund within the cooling-off period after an unsolicited sale.
Base the amount on documents: your invoice, an independent accredited installer’s report, quotes for repair or replacement, your electricity bills before and after, and your inverter’s monitoring data.
Example (round numbers, for illustration only): you paid $9,000 for a 6.6 kW system. After 14 months the inverter fails and the seller says “take it up with the manufacturer”. An accredited installer confirms an internal fault and quotes $2,200 for a replacement inverter and installation. The system was off for 6 weeks, and your bills show you lost about $250 in savings and feed-in credits. A reasonable claim against the seller is $2,450: the $2,200 replacement plus $250 foreseeable loss.
Evidence to gather
- The quote, contract or sales agreement, including any savings or payback estimates and the system specifications (panel and inverter brand, model, size).
- Invoices and proof of payment, plus any finance contract and the lender’s name.
- For door-knock or phone sales: the date and time of the visit or call, who came, and whether you received the agreement and the cooling-off notice.
- The STC assignment form or rebate paperwork, which names the accredited installer.
- Inverter or monitoring app data and screenshots showing output, error codes or downtime.
- Electricity bills from before and after installation.
- Photos of the installation, roof damage, labelling and any leaks.
- A written report from an independent accredited installer or electrician.
- Manufacturer warranty documents and any reply from the manufacturer.
- Every email, text and call note with the seller, and an ASIC search of the company.
How to get your money back: 5 steps
Step 1: Tell the solar company in writing what went wrong and what you want
Call the business that sold you the system, then follow up in writing the same day. Describe the fault or the misleading claim, attach evidence (error codes, output data, photos, the original savings estimate), and say what you want: repair, replacement, a refund or compensation of $X. Give a short deadline, such as 7 days. If it’s within a cooling-off period, simply say you are cancelling.
Step 2: No answer, a refusal or a runaround? Send a formal demand
Our Consumer Guarantee Letter sets out the goods and services guarantees, explains why the seller can’t send you to the manufacturer, states the remedy and amount, and sets a 14-day deadline. It’s the kind of letter Fair Trading and the tribunal expect to see. The general Letter of Demand ($49) is a fallback if your claim is purely about money owed.
Send a Consumer Guarantee Letter – $49
Step 3: Complain to the right body
Your main complaint goes to the consumer regulator in the state where the business is, with your letters attached. These services are free and can negotiate with the business, but can’t order it to pay you.
- NSW: NSW Fair Trading, 13 32 20, contact and complaints. EWON says NSW Fair Trading handles misleading solar marketing and installation quality problems.
- VIC: Consumer Affairs Victoria, 1300 55 81 81, general complaint form. If your system came through a Solar Victoria rebate or loan, you can also contact Solar Victoria on 1300 376 393.
- QLD: Office of Fair Trading, 13 QGOV (13 74 68), consumer complaint.
- ACT: Access Canberra, 13 22 81, get help with a consumer issue.
- NT: NT Consumer Affairs, 1800 019 319, conciliation request.
- WA: Consumer Protection, 1300 30 40 54, complaints.
- SA: Consumer and Business Services, 131 882, contact CBS.
- TAS: Consumer Affairs Tasmania, 1300 654 499, enquiry and complaint form.
Alongside that: complain to Solar Accreditation Australia about a poor-quality installation, to the NETCC Administrator if an Approved Seller broke the code, and to the energy ombudsman if the problem is your energy retailer’s billing, meter or feed-in tariff (in NSW, EWON, where a member company is involved).
Step 4: Still unpaid? Send the final demand
The final demand quotes your first letter, the company’s response or silence and any complaint reference numbers, and states that you’ll file a claim.
Step 5: File at the tribunal or court in the business’s state
Your claim goes to the consumer tribunal or court in the state where the business is (see the table). An independent installer’s report and your monitoring data are usually the decisive evidence. Our Hearing Bundle ($97) organises them.
Prepare your tribunal application – $97
In WA, SA and Tasmania you file a court claim at the Magistrates Court, and the same product prepares it.
Where your claim goes in each state
A solar claim is an ordinary consumer claim. It goes to the forum in the state where the business is.
| State | Forum | Money limit | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | NCAT, Consumer and Commercial Division (consumer claims) | $100,000 | NCAT fees |
| VIC | VCAT, Civil Claims (goods and services) | No cap | VCAT goods and services |
| QLD | QCAT minor civil dispute | $25,000 | QCAT fees |
| ACT | ACAT civil disputes | $25,000 | ACAT civil disputes |
| NT | NTCAT small claims (Local Court above $25,000) | $25,000 | NTCAT applications |
| WA | Magistrates Court, consumer/trader claim (minor case up to $10,000) | $75,000 | WA consumer/trader claims |
| SA | Magistrates Court (minor claim up to $12,000) | $100,000 | CourtSA civil cases |
| TAS | Magistrates Court, Civil Division (minor civil claim up to $15,000) | $50,000 | Magistrates Court civil disputes |
Filing fees change each year and depend on how much you claim and whether you hold a concession card, so check the current fee on the tribunal or court’s own fees page (linked in the table) before you file.
If the seller or installer is an individual living in another state. NCAT can’t decide a dispute between a NSW resident and a resident of another state, because of Burns v Corbett [2018] HCA 15, so the claim goes to the Local or District Court. VCAT also says it can’t hear some cases where a party lives interstate. A retailer trading as a company isn’t affected; check the ABN record first.
After you win: getting paid
Solar retailers come and go, so act on an order quickly. If the business still doesn’t pay, the order can be enforced: in most states it is registered or filed with the court and enforced as a judgment, through a garnishee order on the company’s bank account or money its customers owe it, seizure and sale of property, or an examination about its finances. If the company goes into administration, the NETCC suggests contacting the administrators (ASIC’s registers show who they are), and the manufacturer and linked lender routes above may still be open.
Tribunals do not collect the money for you. In NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and the NT, an unpaid tribunal money order is first registered, recorded or filed with a court. In WA, SA and Tasmania the Magistrates Court decides the claim, so you already have a court judgment. Then you apply for the court’s enforcement tools.
| State | How the order becomes enforceable | Garnishee: bank account and wages | Other options |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Get a certified copy of the NCAT order (no fee) and register it with the Local Court (filing fee applies) | Yes: Form 69 with Form 70 (bank) or Form 71 (wages); no filing fee | Writ for the levy of property (Forms 65, 66); examination notice (Form 51 or 52) |
| VIC | Ask VCAT to have the order recorded at the Magistrates’ Court | Yes: attachment of debt (Form 71A or 71B); attachment of earnings (Forms 72A, 72B, with a hearing) | Warrant to seize property (Form 68A); oral examination (Form 67A); instalment order |
| QLD | File the QCAT order and an affidavit with a court (the Magistrates Court up to $150,000) within six years; free | Yes: enforcement warrant for redirection of debt (Form 76 or 77) or of earnings (Form 78), with Forms 9 and 74 | Seizure and sale (Form 75); enforcement hearing |
| ACT | File the sealed ACAT order and an affidavit in the Magistrates Court, serve Form 2.49, wait 7 days | Yes: debt redirection (Form 2.62 or 2.63); earnings redirection (Form 2.64) | Seizure and sale (Form 2.59); enforcement hearing (Forms 2.50, 2.51) |
| NT | Register the NTCAT order with the Local Court (certified copy and affidavit; no fee) | Yes: attachment of debts order; attachment of earnings order with a protected earnings rate | Warrant of seizure and sale; examination summons; charging order |
| WA | Already a court judgment; apply with Form 6 and the fee | Yes: debt appropriation order (Form 6, Form 2 affidavit); earnings appropriation order (individuals only, after an instalment order is broken) | Property (seizure and sale) order; means inquiry |
| SA | Already a court judgment; start through CourtSA, Enforcement tab | Yes: garnishee order (draft Form 148); wages protected to 90% of the weekly national minimum wage | Warrant of sale (Form 163); investigation or examination summons |
| TAS | Already a court judgment; file enforcement process at the registry ($49) | Yes: provisional, then final, garnishee order attaching a debt or earnings | Warrant to sell property; judgment summons and oral examination |
Questions people ask
Can I cancel a solar contract I signed with a door-to-door salesperson?
Yes, within 10 business days from the day after you signed or received the agreement, for any reason. The seller can’t take payment or install the system during that period, and must refund anything you paid. If the seller broke the rules, such as visiting outside allowed hours or not giving you the agreement, the period extends to 3 or 6 months.
My solar system isn’t saving what the salesperson promised. Can I get compensation?
Possibly. If the seller made specific savings or performance claims without reasonable grounds, that can be misleading conduct, and a system that can’t do what you told them you needed may not be fit for purpose. Collect the original estimate, your bills and monitoring data, then send our Consumer Guarantee Letter.
The installer says to contact the manufacturer about my faulty inverter. Is that right?
No. The ACCC says the supplier “must assist and cannot tell the consumer to contact the manufacturer for a remedy”. The business that sold you the system is responsible under the consumer guarantees. You may also have a manufacturer’s warranty, but that is extra to your rights against the seller, not instead of them.
How long should solar panels and inverters last?
The law sets no fixed number of years. Goods must be durable, judged by what a reasonable person would expect for that product and price, and the consumer guarantees can last beyond the manufacturer’s warranty period. The ACCC notes solar faults can take years to show, so keep your paperwork for the life of the system.
The solar company has gone out of business. What can I do?
You can claim damages from the manufacturer if the product isn’t of acceptable quality, within 3 years of becoming aware of the problem. If the seller arranged your finance, the lender may share liability. For a company in administration, the NETCC suggests contacting the administrators; ASIC’s registers show who they are.
Who is responsible if the installer was a subcontractor?
The business you paid. The ACCC says if one business sold you both the products and the installation, it is responsible for the remedy even if it subcontracted the installation. Only if you paid the installer separately do you claim installation problems against the installer directly.
Can I complain about a bad installation to Solar Accreditation Australia?
Yes. The Clean Energy Regulator says you can lodge a complaint with Solar Accreditation Australia about the quality of an installation. SAA can require the accredited installer to fix non-compliant work. It won’t award you money, so run your consumer claim alongside it.
What is a New Energy Tech Approved Seller?
A retailer signed up to the New Energy Tech Consumer Code, a set of standards for selling solar, batteries and similar products. You can complain to the code’s Administrator if an Approved Seller breaches it, but the Administrator says it isn’t a dispute resolution body and can’t decide financial disputes.
Can I return solar panels that are already on my roof?
Sometimes. You can’t reject goods that are attached to your property and can’t be removed without damage. But where goods can’t be returned without significant cost because of their size, height or how they’re attached, the seller must collect them at its expense. If rejection isn’t possible, claim compensation instead.
Does the energy ombudsman handle solar complaints?
Only partly. In NSW, EWON can investigate solar and battery complaints if one of its member companies is involved, such as feed-in tariff, billing or meter problems with your energy retailer. EWON sends misleading solar marketing and installation quality problems to NSW Fair Trading.
My battery seller’s payback figures were wrong. What can I do?
Under the Cheaper Home Batteries program, sellers must give you information such as expected payback, savings, the right battery size and expected performance before you sign. If that information was wrong and you relied on it, you may have a misleading-conduct claim. Use our Consumer Guarantee Letter to put it in writing.
Can I take a solar company to NCAT, VCAT or QCAT?
Yes. A solar claim is a consumer claim: NCAT up to $100,000, VCAT with no cap, and a QCAT minor civil dispute up to $25,000. File in the state where the business is, and attach an independent installer’s report. Send a formal demand first; our tribunal application ($97) then prepares the claim.
Sources
Checked 19 October 2026.
- ACCC: Solar panel systems and home batteries
- ACCC: Telemarketing and door-to-door sales
- Australian Consumer Law: ss 4, 18, 29, 54-56, 59-62, 64, 259-263, 267-268, 271-273, 278-281
- Clean Energy Regulator: Rooftop solar and battery complaints; Information for householders
- Solar Accreditation Australia
- New Energy Tech Consumer Code: About; Make a complaint
- EWON: Solar, batteries and energy services
- Solar Victoria: Contact
- NCAT: Federal jurisdiction
- Forum fees: NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, ACAT, NTCAT, WA Magistrates Court, SA Magistrates Court, Tasmanian Magistrates Court
Claim Done is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. This page is general information. For a complex or high-value matter, speak to a lawyer or a free community legal centre.