{"id":97967,"date":"2026-02-26T05:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=97967"},"modified":"2026-02-25T15:16:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T05:46:46","slug":"substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Substandard&#8217; Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-97988\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg\" alt=\"A battery filled with labels\" width=\"1200\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling-1024x535.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling-768x401.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/>Solar battery installers will face new requirements starting in March, as Clean Energy Regulator (CER) inspections ramp up amid a surging home battery market. Nearly two-thirds of home batteries inspected to date have fallen foul of the regulator (usually related to labelling issues), with 0.9% found to be unsafe.<\/p>\n<h2><!--more-->Why Are Home Battery Install Inspections Ramping Up?<\/h2>\n<p>The CER is dialling up its inspections programme to keep up with a surge in battery installs expected over the next two months, as buyers look to get in ahead of May changes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/federal-rebate\/\">to the federal battery rebate<\/a>, when the incentive will taper down for larger batteries.<\/p>\n<p>CER Executive General Manager, Carl Binning, says that the industry is on notice:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;This is a busy period for the industry, and our focus is on making sure standards stay high and consumers stay safe. I\u2019m putting installers on notice that unsafe and non-compliant work will be identified, and we won\u2019t hesitate to use our compliance powers. This could result in installers being removed from the SRES (Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme),&#8221; he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>What Requirements Are Changing?<\/h2>\n<p>Starting from March 1, installers will face additional photo requirements to address common issues with labelling, on top of existing on-site verification photos.<\/p>\n<p>The CER says that installers will be required to take clear, geotagged and timestamped photos of mandatory labels.<\/p>\n<h2>What Are The Most Common Problems With Battery Installs?<\/h2>\n<p>As of of 19 February 2026, the CER <a href=\"https:\/\/cer.gov.au\/schemes\/renewable-energy-target\/small-scale-renewable-energy-scheme\/small-scale-renewable-energy-systems\/small-scale-renewable-energy-system-inspections\/solar-battery-inspection-results-report\">had conducted 846 solar battery inspections<\/a> on installations that have received STCs. Of these inspections, 350 have been finalised. The number of inspections represented a stastically significant portion of the 225,000 solar batteries installed under the Cheaper Home Batteries scheme to date.<\/p>\n<p>Of the inspections:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>0.9%<\/strong> of installs were unsafe;<\/li>\n<li><strong>62.8%<\/strong> were substandard (technically non-compliant but safe to remain in operation);<\/li>\n<li><strong>36.2%<\/strong> were adequate and safe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_97984\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97984\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97984\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections.png\" alt=\"A bar graph showing battery inspection results\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections.png 1600w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-300x206.png 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-1024x704.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-768x528.png 768w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-1536x1056.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-97984\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Queensland in particular featured a higher rate of installs that breached regulations.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The issues related to unsafe installs were all related to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wiring:<\/strong> loose connections in pre-assembled battery systems and associated wiring with signs of heat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Protections:<\/strong> neutral continuity was not maintained for all circuits operating on an alternative supply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In its recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/regulator-reveals-key-lesson-from-sigenergys-melted-plugs\/\">solar battery inspection results report<\/a>, the CER said that as of 17 December 2025, only one eligible product under the SRES has been recalled &#8211; the voluntary electrical safety recall for Sigenergy single phase 8\/10\/12 kW energy controllers, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sigenergys-terminal-problem-burnt-plugs-throttled-inverters\/\">as revealed by SolarQuotes<\/a> had suffered a spate of overheating issues. It is not clear how many of the safety issues uncovered by inspectors related to Sigenergy systems.<\/p>\n<h2>Labelling Issues Dominate<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_97986\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97986\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97986\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-labelling-inspections.png\" alt=\"A graph showing types of inspection problems\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-labelling-inspections.png 1600w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-labelling-inspections-300x206.png 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-labelling-inspections-1024x704.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-labelling-inspections-768x528.png 768w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-labelling-inspections-1536x1056.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-97986\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Labelling issues &#8211; represented in red &#8211; were the major issue uncovered in inspections.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The most common reason for technical non-compliance was due to labelling issues, triggering the additional photo requirements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Incorrect or missing warning label: <\/strong>warning labels must be installed at the main switchboard and all intermediate distribution boards to show a multimode inverter with alternative supply has been installed and to follow the shutdown procedure for safe isolation. The sign must also include the text \u2018Neutral and earth circuits may be live under fault conditions\u2019.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Incorrect labelling of backed-up circuits: <\/strong>Battery systems may have a back-up supply feature, leaving all or partial electrical circuits energised. Some battery systems have a time delay before re-energising back-up circuits after the main switch is turned off. To reduce the risk of electric shock, it\u2019s important that this is clearly labelled so that electricians or other trades are aware before they begin work. Backed-up circuits must also be grouped together to make it easier for anyone working on the switchboard to identify any sources of back-up power.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Incorrect labelling for emergency services: <\/strong>A green reflector sign with the letters \u2018ES\u2019 to signify energy storage must be installed on or next to the meter box and switchboard so that emergency services are aware there is a solar battery connected to the solar PV system at the property. This is important for emergency services to be aware of during an emergency response.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The CER argues that labelling is key to supporting the safety of installers, emergency responders and tradespeople who might need to interact with a solar battery system in future.<\/p>\n<p>SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock last year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/safety-theatre-kills-productivity\/\">lamented authorities becoming overly focused<\/a> on labelling issues, fearing that this distracted from more serious safety lapses.<\/p>\n<p>The most common wiring issue for substandard technically non-compliant installations was for an incorrectly configured or missing residual current device (RCD), which is designed to protect against electric shock and fire by cutting off power when an electrical fault occurs.<\/p>\n<h2>What Consequences Are There For Breaking The Rules?<\/h2>\n<p>Binning said that the CER is &#8220;committed to continuous improvement across the industry&#8221;.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We\u2019ll use sophisticated artificial intelligence as part of our assessment process to ensure all claims are meeting the new requirements. The message to installers is do it once and do it well. Installers are required to return to site to rectify non-compliant work and failure to provide the required photos will result in claims for small-scale technology certificates being delayed or rejected,&#8221; Binning said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For guidance on how to check your installer&#8217;s labelling and other issues, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/check-before-battery-installer-leaves\/\">read these tips from inspector Pat Southwell<\/a>. For suggestions on how to make sure your battery is working properly, read Finn Peacock&#8217;s piece on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/five-tests-you-must-do-before-your-battery-installer-leaves\/\">the five tests to do before your installer leaves.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Solar battery installers will face new requirements starting in March, as Clean Energy Regulator (CER) inspections ramp up amid a surging home battery market. Nearly two-thirds of home batteries inspected to date have fallen foul of the regulator (usually related to labelling issues), with 0.9% found to be unsafe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":97988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battery-storage","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Substandard&#039; Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Regulators say two thirds of battery installs are substandard, with a crackdown launched amid the federal rebate surge.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Substandard&#039; Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Regulators say two thirds of battery installs are substandard, with a crackdown launched amid the federal rebate surge.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-25T20:06:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Max Opray\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Max Opray\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/56a01382d94de4c1ff50996da18421b9\"},\"headline\":\"&#8216;Substandard&#8217; Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-25T20:06:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/\"},\"wordCount\":901,\"commentCount\":21,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Battery Storage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/\",\"name\":\"'Substandard' Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-25T20:06:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"Regulators say two thirds of battery installs are substandard, with a crackdown launched amid the federal rebate surge.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":627,\"caption\":\"A battery filled with labels\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Battery Storage\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"&#8216;Substandard&#8217; Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/\",\"https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/56a01382d94de4c1ff50996da18421b9\",\"name\":\"Max Opray\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6285baee1d5fcd7420aa54adb20c77cce0725fd4e029c8788fdee541efea8d95?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6285baee1d5fcd7420aa54adb20c77cce0725fd4e029c8788fdee541efea8d95?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6285baee1d5fcd7420aa54adb20c77cce0725fd4e029c8788fdee541efea8d95?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Max Opray\"},\"description\":\"Journalist Max Opray joined SolarQuotes in 2025 as editor, bringing with him over a decade of experience covering green energy. Across his career Max has won multiple awards for his feature stories for The Guardian and The Saturday Paper, fact-checked energy claims for Australian Associated Press, launched the climate solutions newsletter Climactic, and covered the circular economy for sustainability thinktank Metabolic. Max also reported on table tennis at the 2016 Rio Olympics \u2014 and is patiently waiting for any tenuous excuse to include his ping pong expertise in a SolarQuotes story.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/max\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Substandard' Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz","description":"Regulators say two thirds of battery installs are substandard, with a crackdown launched amid the federal rebate surge.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Substandard' Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz","og_description":"Regulators say two thirds of battery installs are substandard, with a crackdown launched amid the federal rebate surge.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2026-02-25T20:06:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Max Opray","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/"},"author":{"name":"Max Opray","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/56a01382d94de4c1ff50996da18421b9"},"headline":"&#8216;Substandard&#8217; Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz","datePublished":"2026-02-25T20:06:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/"},"wordCount":901,"commentCount":21,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg","articleSection":["Battery Storage"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/","name":"'Substandard' Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-25T20:06:17+00:00","description":"Regulators say two thirds of battery installs are substandard, with a crackdown launched amid the federal rebate surge.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg","width":1200,"height":627,"caption":"A battery filled with labels"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/substandard-battery-installs-trigger-inspection-blitz\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Battery Storage","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"&#8216;Substandard&#8217; Battery Installs Trigger Inspection Blitz"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/56a01382d94de4c1ff50996da18421b9","name":"Max Opray","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6285baee1d5fcd7420aa54adb20c77cce0725fd4e029c8788fdee541efea8d95?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6285baee1d5fcd7420aa54adb20c77cce0725fd4e029c8788fdee541efea8d95?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6285baee1d5fcd7420aa54adb20c77cce0725fd4e029c8788fdee541efea8d95?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Max Opray"},"description":"Journalist Max Opray joined SolarQuotes in 2025 as editor, bringing with him over a decade of experience covering green energy. Across his career Max has won multiple awards for his feature stories for The Guardian and The Saturday Paper, fact-checked energy claims for Australian Associated Press, launched the climate solutions newsletter Climactic, and covered the circular economy for sustainability thinktank Metabolic. Max also reported on table tennis at the 2016 Rio Olympics \u2014 and is patiently waiting for any tenuous excuse to include his ping pong expertise in a SolarQuotes story.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/max\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/battery-rebate-inspections-labelling.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-pu7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93013,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-installation-limits-mb3217\/","url_meta":{"origin":97967,"position":0},"title":"Solar And Battery Installers Have Their Limits","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"July 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"With the official launch of the Australian government's home battery subsidy, installers are now really under the pump. But there are hard limits on how many installations they can perform in a day set by the powers that be \u2014 and with good reason. Both the Cheaper Home Batteries program\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar battery being installed.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/solar-installation-limits.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/solar-installation-limits.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/solar-installation-limits.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/solar-installation-limits.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/solar-installation-limits.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98389,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/regulator-warning-over-battery-rebate-deception\/","url_meta":{"origin":97967,"position":1},"title":"Regulator Warning Over Battery Rebate Deception","author":"Max Opray","date":"March 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has issued a warning to retailers and installers over deceptive behaviour occurring in the rush to get batteries ahead of the May changes to the federal rebate. Are Pre-May Battery Quotes Accurate? The Cheaper Home Batteries incentive will transition to a tiered system from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Battery Storage&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/battery-rebate-funding-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/battery-rebate-funding-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/battery-rebate-funding-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/battery-rebate-funding-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/battery-rebate-funding-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94026,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/top-battery-postcodes-mb3252\/","url_meta":{"origin":97967,"position":2},"title":"Australia&#8217;s Top Home Battery Installation Postcodes: July 2025","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"August 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"While it's very early days for the national home battery rebate, here's how the postcode leaderboard looks based on July 2025 installation figures. But there's (a lot) of missing data, so expect changes in the rankings. Where In Australia Is The Federal Battery Rebate Most Popular? Western Sydney is leading\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Home battery installation rankings","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/battery-installation-rankings.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/battery-installation-rankings.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/battery-installation-rankings.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/battery-installation-rankings.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/battery-installation-rankings.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30026,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-power-system-inspections\/","url_meta":{"origin":97967,"position":3},"title":"How To End Dodgy Solar For Good? 100% Inspections By State Electrical Bodies","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"May 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a guest post by John Inglis, owner of Positronic Solar. John is a veteran of the solar industry. Rumour has it that his involvement predates the invention of the sun dial. Take it away John... We\u2019ve all seen dodgy solar PV installs.\u00a0 In fact, one of the longest-running\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Installation&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Installation","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/100pc-inspections.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/100pc-inspections.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/100pc-inspections.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/100pc-inspections.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/100pc-inspections.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":93628,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-battery-installation-statistics-mb3239\/","url_meta":{"origin":97967,"position":4},"title":"Eye-Popping Home Battery Installation Stats Revealed","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"August 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Statistics released by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) on Friday indicate Australians wasted no time taking advantage of the federal government's national home battery rebate. Officially launched on July 1, 2025, the Cheaper Home Batteries program currently offers households, businesses and community organisations around 30% off the upfront cost of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Battery Storage&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar battery installations in Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/home-batteries-australia.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/home-batteries-australia.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/home-batteries-australia.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/home-batteries-australia.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/home-batteries-australia.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98165,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/the-real-reason-behind-the-long-wait-on-battery-installs\/","url_meta":{"origin":97967,"position":5},"title":"The Real Reason Behind The Long Wait On Battery Installs","author":"Kim Wainwright","date":"March 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Cheaper Home Batteries Program is still booming, but long waits for installation are persisting \u2014 and it\u2019s not because of battery stock shortages. Installers tell SolarQuotes the main bottleneck is having enough accredited workers to fit them. Inspections and approvals play a smaller role; the real limiter is installer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Battery Storage&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Home battery lead times","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/home-battery-lead-times-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/home-battery-lead-times-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/home-battery-lead-times-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/home-battery-lead-times-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/home-battery-lead-times-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97967"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97994,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97967\/revisions\/97994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}