Going out on your own as a solar installer in NSW
Checked against Building Commission NSW, plus Solar Accreditation Australia for the rebate on 8 August 2026.
To take jobs in your own name
Individual contractor licence, electrical
There is no NSW solar installer licence. NSW's position: only the holder of a building or electrical contractor licence can contract to install solar panels on a roof. A builder can hold the head contract but has to engage an electrical licence holder for the wiring.
- What you need before you apply
- Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician (UEE30820 or earlier codes), a proficiency certificate from the Vocational Training Review Panel, and at least 12 months of relevant electrical wiring experience. Separately, accreditation with Solar Accreditation Australia if you want the job to generate the customer's rebate certificates.
- What it costs
- Individual specialist contractor licence, July 2026 to June 2027: $403 for 1 year, $803 for 3 years, $1,235 for 5 years. SAA accreditation is charged separately.
- How long it takes
- Published estimate as at 1 August 2026: 16 weeks for an individual specialist electrical licence.
- What you can do without it
- Effectively nothing. There is no dollar threshold for electrical work in NSW. The $5,000 figure people quote is the general residential building threshold and does not apply here.
- Insurance the regulator requires
- Home Building Compensation cover where the contract or market cost is over $20,000 including GST, and SAA requires a certificate of currency for accreditation.
Read this before you rely on it
- Solar Accreditation Australia replaced the Clean Energy Council in February 2024. Plenty of pages still point at the CEC and are out of date.
- We could not verify the exact units of competency SAA requires from a primary source, only from training providers, which we do not treat as reliable. Ask SAA directly.
Where this came from
Read off Building Commission NSW, plus Solar Accreditation Australia for the rebate on 8 August 2026. Fees and processing times usually change on 1 July, so check before you budget.
Once you are up and running, we also have a page on what ONARA Ops does for solar installers.
When you are ready to take the first job
Once the licence is sorted, you need to look like you have been doing this for years: a website people can book from, and quotes and invoices with your logo that go out the same day you finish. That part is us.
Other trades in NSW
We are not accountants, lawyers or insurance brokers, and none of this is advice. It is what the regulators and the ATO publish, gathered in one place with links to the source, so you know what to go and ask about. Rules and fees change, so check with the authority before you act on anything here. Government fees shown are for the 2026-27 year and are indexed every 1 July.