{"id":86093,"date":"2024-09-19T15:51:51","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T06:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=86093"},"modified":"2024-09-19T15:51:51","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T06:21:51","slug":"solar-deposits-state-territory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-deposits-state-territory\/","title":{"rendered":"The Solar Deposit Dilemma: How Much Can Installers Really Ask For?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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How much deposit can solar installers request – and does compulsory insurance apply? Find out in our state-by-state (and territory) guide.<\/p>\n

In this blog post, I reveal the maximum deposit solar installers can legally ask for. This information wasn’t easy to obtain. I began by searching the websites of state and territory government departments and\u2014for the most part\u2014failed. This may come as a shock to you, but the internet doesn’t always contain accurate information.<\/p>\n

This left me with no choice other than to pick up a phone and call a large number of government departments.\u00a0 Now I’ve survived that experience, I’ll not only tell you what they said but I’ll also rate their hold music from 1 to 10.<\/p>\n

If you just want a quick summary and aren’t interested in the details of deposits or the mental torture I went through to get them, skip to the end of the article.<\/p>\n

Deposit Limits Are Based On Full Contract Prices<\/h2>\n

Maximum deposit limits in states and territories are based on the full contract price of solar systems.\u00a0 This is the price before it’s reduced by STCs.<\/p>\n

If the letters “STCs” confuse you, don’t worry.\u00a0 They simply stand for “Small-scale Technology Certificates” that are part of the solar rebate<\/a>, which isn’t really a rebate but a financial incentive, and its real name is the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme or SRES, which is a SRESiously difficult acronym to remember.<\/p>\n

Now you’re no longer confused, I’ll give an example of how it works:<\/p>\n

If you get a quote for a 10 kilowatt solar system<\/a> that costs $9,000, this will be the price after the value of STCs is subtracted.\u00a0 For most Australians, in 2024, the STCs on a 10 kilowatt solar system will lower its price by about $3,450.\u00a0 Assuming that is the reduction, the full contract price of the 10kW solar system would be $9,000 plus $3,450 which comes to a total of $12,450.\u00a0 Because any legal maximum deposit will be based on this full price, if the maximum is 20%, the installer could legally ask for up to $2,490 as a deposit.<\/p>\n

A 10% Deposit After Rebate Is Common<\/h2>\n

While installers<\/a> can often legally ask for more, the most common deposit for solar is 10% of the system’s price after STCs reduce it.\u00a0 So, if the customer is paying $9,000 for a system with a full contract price of $12,450, the usual deposit would be $900.<\/p>\n

Requesting a deposit of 10% of what the customer pays is a rule of thumb for installers rather than an actual rule, but it is very common and what we recommend.\u00a0 If your installer asks for a higher deposit than this, it doesn’t mean they are doing anything wrong, but you may want to ask them why it’s more than the usual amount.<\/p>\n

Some not unreasonable reasons to ask for a larger than normal deposit include:<\/p>\n