Australia’s New Energy Tech Consumer Code recently reached a significant milestone in the number of Approved Sellers participating in the program. Also rising are the number of consumer complaints made against sellers.
What Is The NETCC?
The New Energy Tech Consumer Code is a pay-for-play voluntary program administered by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) setting consumer protection standards for retailers selling rooftop solar systems, home batteries, EV chargers and other new energy technologies.
The program came into play in February 2023; replacing the Clean Energy Council’s Approved Solar Retailer (ASR) program.
“The NETCC program is helping raise consumer protection, ensuring retailers follow a code of conduct that focuses on clear, fair and appropriate sales practices and customer service,” said NETCC Council Chair Clare Petre recently.
But buying from an Approved Seller is not a guarantee you’ll get a good solar, battery, heat pump or EV charger installation experience, or that you’ll get a satisfactory outcome if things go pear-shaped. The Complaints Procedure notes:
“Where appropriate, the Administrator can negotiate an outcome which is fair to both parties. Note: This does not mean the Administrator offers a dispute resolution service.”
“Can” does not mean “will”. And not offering a formal dispute resolution service isn’t particularly reassuring.
On the flip-side, a retailer *not* being an Approved Seller isn’t a reliable signal that you’ll get a poor install — some good installers have refused to participate for whatever reasons, including cost (more on this below).
Learn more about what the NETCC is (and isn’t) here — and for details of a more solid guarantee on solar, battery, EV charger or hot water heat pump installation quality, see the SolarQuotes Good Installer Guarantee.
New NETCC Signatories On The Increase
News from the NETCC since it launched has been pretty thin — only 5 news items have been published this year, three of those summaries of meetings of the NETCC Council and the NETCC Monitoring and Compliance Panel. Those summaries have been published around 4 – 8 weeks after the actual meeting. The next meeting was scheduled for sometime in November 2025, so a summary may be published before the year is out.
But in its Megawatt newsletter last week, the CEC made mention that in October, the program reached its 2,000th Approved Seller in what the Council called a “huge milestone with representation across the country.” This was an increase of 100 approved sellers since late August 2025.
.. And So Are Consumer Complaints
The summary of the August meeting indicated complaints relating to NETCC Approved Sellers increased over the first two months of Q1 FY26 — averaging 50 per month — by a factor of 2.7 compared to the monthly average of FY25, which was 18 per month. Almost half the of complaints received in Q1 of FY26 were from Victorian consumers.
“No trends or changed activity are known to have occurred in Victoria to explain the rise, and the team will continue to monitor over the coming months,” stated the summary.
That there are more complaints as the number of Approved Sellers grows isn’t really a surprise, but it will be interesting to find out what’s been happening in VIC. While the timing coincides with formal launch of the Federal Government’s battery rebate, that program is national.
Voluntary? Sort Of
While the program is voluntary, being an NETCC Approved Seller is a must if a retailer wants to sell products and systems under some government incentive schemes.
For example, in June the Western Australian Government added a requirement that retailers must be New Energy Tech Approved Sellers to participate in the WA Residential Battery Scheme. Among other programs requiring NETCC Approved Seller status is the Victorian Government’s Solar Homes Program. In Victoria, foregoing pursuing Approved Seller status would be a very tough call.
There’s a cost involved for businesses to be considered for an NETCC tick, which looks like so:
On top of an application fee of $480, there’s also an annual fee based on the total value of new energy tech products, systems and services a business has sold over the past 12 months. This ranges from $800 for an annual turnover of $1 million or less, up to $10,000 where turnover exceeds $8 million.
NETCC Reauthorisation Being Reviewed
In 2019, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) granted authorisation for the NETCC, which was varied by the Australian Competition Tribunal on 15 September 2020. The authorisation was due to expire in September 2025, but the ACCC granted interim authorisation to allow it to continue while the Commission assesses the “substantive” application for re-authorisation for another 5 years.
The ACCC is expected to publish a draft determination next month, then there will be further consultation and a final determination is expected in March 2026.
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