The solar and battery consumer code can run to 2031. What it promises, and where it falls short

When you are choosing between solar or battery installers, it helps to know what rules they have signed up to. The New Energy Tech Consumer Code is one of the few extra checks on how these businesses sell, and the ACCC has now renewed it. The catch is that it only covers businesses that choose to sign up.

What the ACCC decided

The code is a voluntary one that sets minimum standards for businesses selling solar panels, batteries and other home energy products. On 28 August 2026, the ACCC authorised an amended version of it, with two conditions attached.

The code is run by the Clean Energy Council, which applied for the new authorisation in August 2025. Authorisation protects the businesses involved from legal action under competition law for agreeing to follow a shared code. It does not mean the ACCC endorses the code, as the ACCC made clear.

The key points of the decision:

• The amended code is authorised until 19 September 2031.
• The current code can keep operating, without conditions, until 19 December 2026, so signatories have time to move to the new version.
• The ACCC's letter to interested parties said the decision would come into force on 19 September 2026 unless someone applied to the Australian Competition Tribunal for a review by 18 September.

The two conditions on the amended code are:

• the Code Monitoring and Compliance Panel must keep an equal balance of consumer and industry representatives when making decisions
• the code administrator must publish quarterly compliance reports.

The Clean Energy Council described the amendments as largely administrative or procedural. By August 2026, the code had 2,331 signatories.

What signatories promise

The code follows the customer journey from first contact to complaints. Among the commitments, signatories agree to:

• explain the purpose of any unsolicited visit or call up front, and leave or end the call when asked
• avoid high-pressure sales tactics, and take extra care with customers in vulnerable circumstances
• ask about your needs and offer products that are fit for purpose
• give quotes that show the total price, any deposit, circumstances that could add charges, performance estimates, timeframes, warranties and, where they apply, cooling-off rights
• include a site-specific design where the job needs one
• provide a plain-language written contract that explains how to complain
• respond to complaints within set times, with a final response within 25 business days unless you agree to an extension.

One commitment matters more than it first appears. Signatories must take responsibility for everything done on their behalf under the code, including by third parties they hire for direct marketing or installation. If a signatory buys leads or uses an outside telemarketer, it is answerable for how that marketer behaves.

What the ACCC says is still missing

The ACCC called its assessment finely balanced and pointed to several weaknesses:

• There is no path to an independent external dispute resolution scheme through the code, and no way to appeal a decision by the administrator.
• Some signatories have resigned while under complaint or audit investigation. In 2025, 16 resigned while subject to an audit case.
• Audits rely mainly on self-reported compliance questionnaires.
• Breaches are not made public unless a business is suspended or expelled.

In the ACCC's view, recommendations from a recent independent review of the code could improve it if implemented well, and it expects the code's administrators to act on them.

What it means when choosing an installer

• Ask if the business is a signatory, then check. The code website has an approved seller search.
• Treat it as a starting point, not a guarantee. Signing the code does not make a business the right choice for you. Still check that installers are accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia, compare quotes and ask the right questions. See questions to ask a solar installer.
• Ask callers who they work for. If someone calls or knocks, ask which company they represent and where they got your details. A signatory is responsible for the marketers it uses.
• Get everything in writing. The code's quote and contract rules only help if you have the documents. Compare them side by side using our guide to comparing solar quotes.
• Know your fallback. Because the code has no independent dispute resolution, a complaint that the business and the administrator cannot resolve may need to go to your state or territory consumer protection agency.

In July the ACCC recommended making a code of conduct compulsory for sellers and installers in the federal battery program. Read more in our story on the ACCC's battery complaints report. If you are ready to compare installers, you can request quotes.

Our take

We think the code is worth checking, as long as you keep it in proportion. The promises are useful: a quote showing the total price and anything that could add to it, a plain-language contract, set times for dealing with complaints, and responsibility for the telemarketers and installers a business hires. But the ACCC's own list of weaknesses is hard to ignore, from no independent dispute resolution to audits that lean on self-reported questionnaires. So we would treat signatory status as one tick on the list, next to SAA accreditation and a quote you have compared with others. And if someone cold calls you, we would ask who they work for before anything else.