Victorian Solar Installers Struggling With Rebate Application Delays

Some solar installers in Victoria are very frustrated with delays in application processing for the state’s rebate. It’s costing them time and money, and it’s not a great situation for their customers either.

Victoria’s solar panel rebate has been hugely popular. It currently offers an up-front discount up to a value of $1,400 off the price of a solar power system. Also on offer is a solar battery rebate providing a point-of-sale discount up to a maximum of $2,950. Other subsidies and interest-free loans are also available via Solar Victoria, the agency responsible for delivery of the Victorian Government’s Solar Homes Program.

The $1.3 billion Solar Homes initiative has a goal of helping 778,500 Victorian households reduce the upfront costs of installing solar panels, hot water or battery systems.

Solar Victoria’s team have always been kept busy, but in recent months a particularly challenging bottleneck in application processing has developed. Back in late November, we mentioned a communication from Solar Victoria indicated its ability to process applications had been impacted by weather events, as some of its team were supporting the flood emergency response.

A few weeks on and the situation still isn’t fully sorted. The agency’s web site states on a number of pages some staff continue to be involved with flood emergency response and for those who have applied for a rebate or submitted an enquiry, “we will respond to you as soon as we can.”

“Crippling My Business”

The situation isn’t just inconvenient.

A solar business owner said he was being crippled by the lengthy delays in approving rebates, and that he was facing having to work over the holiday period (again). He’s not alone in his complaint about application processing times. Among others, one stated he had dozens awaiting approval, and those jobs are based on this year’s national rebate level.

Victorians are a lucky bunch as they can double-dip on subsidies; the state incentive under the Solar Homes Program and the national “solar rebate“. But the latter reduces each year on January 1 and the amount of subsidy is partly based on when a system is installed rather than when a sales contract is signed.

Using a 10kW solar power system as an example, the difference in subsidy between an installation on December 31 this year and January 1 next year could be around $500 less. It’s a significant chunk of change and such a situation leaves a solar business in a pretty uncomfortable spot.

But there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel that isn’t an oncoming train. The agency has reportedly hired a number of new staff recently, and another installer mentioned he had several applications approved on successive days this week.

But this push as 2022 draws to a close may not be enough to save Xmas for installers impacted by the delays. Some households hoping to have panels on their rooftops before the end of the year could also be disappointed, and no doubt the situation isn’t much fun for the Solar Victoria team addressing enquiries and processing applications.