New Energy Tech Consumer Code: Solar Marketing Rules

The New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NETCC) is the voluntary code more than 2,000 solar and battery sellers have signed. An updated version takes effect on 1 December 2026. It sets rules for advertising, door-knocking and phone sales on top of the Australian Consumer Law. Installer accreditation sits with Solar Accreditation Australia. This is general information, not legal advice.

We run ads and lead generation for installers in our solar lead generation work, and the installer signs off every claim before it runs. Below is what each set of rules means for your marketing, with the source for each. Confirm anything you plan to run with the NETCC Administrator, the ACCC or your state regulator.

What is the New Energy Tech Consumer Code?

It is a voluntary industry code that sets minimum standards for businesses selling new energy tech, such as solar PV, battery storage and EV charging, to households and small businesses. Businesses that sign it become New Energy Tech Approved Sellers, and the program passed 2,000 Approved Sellers in October 2025. The Clean Energy Council administers it for the NETCC Council.

The ACCC authorises the code under competition law. Its latest decision, made on 28 August 2026, authorises the current code until 19 December 2026 and the updated code until 19 September 2031. The code covers the whole customer journey: sales and marketing, quotes and contracts, delivery and installation, and warranties and support.

What changes on 1 December 2026?

The obligations get sharper rather than different. The NETCC lists three key changes: the commitment not to make false or misleading claims now covers all statements, not only advertising and promotion; quotes for bespoke designs or initial contract work must set out any fees and when they are refundable; and refund and termination terms are clearer, including when some non-refundable fees can be deducted from a refund.

Approved Sellers who do not want to be bound by the updated code must opt out between 19 October and 2 November 2026. Those who opt out leave the program on 30 November 2026 and must stop using the Approved Seller badge; everyone else is treated as having agreed. The ACCC attached two conditions to its authorisation: the code's Monitoring and Compliance Panel must keep an equal balance of consumer and industry representatives, and the Administrator must publish quarterly compliance reports.

Sources: newenergytech.org.au, the ACCC's determination AA1000702 of 28 August 2026, cer.gov.au, premier.vic.gov.au and dcceew.gov.au, checked 1 October 2026.

Is the NETCC mandatory for solar retailers?

Not by law, but some programs require it. Solar Victoria requires solar PV and battery retailers in the Solar Homes program to be NETCC signatories, and the ACCC's 2026 determination names Queensland's Supercharged Solar for Renters program and Western Australia's Residential Battery scheme among the subsidy schemes that require a code signatory. The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program sets different requirements: batteries approved by the Clean Energy Council, installed by installers accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia.

How do you become a NETCC Approved Seller, and is it free?

You apply online to the NETCC Administrator and pay a $480 application fee, then an annual fee if you are approved, so it is free for consumers but not for sellers. Applicants need relevant experience selling new energy tech to households or small businesses, must consent to business integrity checks, and must declare any consumer protection rulings or warnings, including from the ACCC. The application asks for a customer contract, an example site-specific performance estimate and installation design where relevant, a complaints handling procedure and recent advertising material, all assessed against the code. The NETCC says about 97 percent of applicants need to update their contracts or documents before they can be approved.

Source: newenergytech.org.au/fees, checked 1 October 2026.

What does the code say about advertising?

Clause 3 is the one marketers need. It says a seller's claims will not be false or misleading, and in particular will:

• represent government and other incentive schemes honestly and accurately, and never misrepresent a connection with government or claim to be part of a government scheme;
• make no false or misleading claims about price, value, quality, output or performance, including through selective advertising or exaggeration;
• show the total price as prominently as any part of the price;
• give information specific to the state or region where the promotion runs;
• set out disclaimers clearly rather than burying them in small print;
• include statements, promises, predictions or opinions only if they are reasonably based, with savings and performance claims drawn from reputable sources where available;
• never quote an offer or incentive that is no longer available; and
• make any extra cost clear when finance is built into the price.

Clause 4 adds that any interactive online marketing channel must clearly identify the company whose products are being promoted, which matters when someone else runs marketing on your behalf.

What are the rules on door-knocking and telemarketing for solar?

They come from four places: the Australian Consumer Law, the NETCC, the Do Not Call Register and, in Victoria, the Solar Homes program.

• Australian Consumer Law. Unsolicited door-to-door and phone sales worth $100 or more have set hours: 9 am to 6 pm on weekdays at the door, 9 am to 8 pm on weekdays by phone, and 9 am to 5 pm on Saturdays for both. The salesperson must say who they are, who they represent and why they are there, and must leave or hang up when asked; after a door-to-door visit ends that way, the business cannot make contact again for 30 days. The buyer gets a 10 business day cooling-off period, during which you cannot supply the system or take payment.
• The NETCC. Explain the purpose of an unsolicited contact up front, show company identification at the door and leave as soon as you are asked (clause 4). Avoid pressure tactics, which the code says include offering discounts for testimonials or referrals and claiming community or bulk-buy discounts that do not exist (clause 5). Comply with the Do Not Call Register Act and its telemarketing standards, and respect Do Not Knock and No Hawkers stickers (clause 55 of the current code, 56 from 1 December 2026).
• The Do Not Call Register. A telemarketing call to a registered number needs the person's consent.
• Victoria. Solar Homes authorised retailers must not sell rebates or loans by door-to-door or cold-call telemarketing sales, including sales outsourced to contractors or marketing companies. Door-to-door sales were banned under Solar Homes in 2021 and telemarketing from 1 May 2024. Calls are allowed at the consumer's request or with their express permission.

Unsolicited selling is also where complaints come from. In the ACMA's report for July to September 2025, solar, electricity and other utilities were the most complained-about industries for telemarketing and spam.

Who is responsible when you buy leads or use a call centre?

You are. The NETCC makes an Approved Seller responsible for anyone acting on its behalf, including third parties engaged to do direct marketing and sales (clauses 61 and 62 of the current code, 62 and 63 in the updated one). The ACMA says the same about telemarketing law: a business using leads gathered by third parties carries the compliance obligations and should be able to prove the consent behind any list it buys. And Solar Victoria's ban covers sales outsourced to marketing companies.

The ACCC has a warning aimed squarely at lead generation. Its guidance for solar businesses says headline claims used to gather leads, such as no cost solar, being eligible for government subsidies, or a system that pays for itself, can be misleading when the terms and conditions contradict them, and that this breaks consumer law. Before you buy leads, ask the seller for the ads that produced them. Our guide to buying solar leads against generating your own covers the commercial side.

What happened to Clean Energy Council accreditation?

Installer and designer accreditation moved to Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA). On 29 February 2024 the Clean Energy Regulator approved SAA as the accreditation scheme operator under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, and accredited installers and designers had three months to transfer to SAA to stay eligible for small-scale technology certificates (STCs). The Clean Energy Council's Approved Solar Retailer program was folded into the NETCC, with retailers moving across from February 2023.

Two points for your marketing. Copy that still says "CEC accredited installers" is out of date, because the accreditation to name is SAA's. The Clean Energy Council still keeps the approved product list that panels, inverters and batteries need to be on for STCs, and it runs the NETCC as its Administrator.

What can solar ads say about rebates and STCs?

Only what is true for the person reading the ad, in their state, today. A few facts set the limits:

• The owner of an eligible small-scale system is entitled to create STCs, and can assign that right to a registered agent, often in return for an upfront discount on the system. The scheme ends in 2030 (Clean Energy Regulator).
• Batteries installed from 1 July 2025 can be supported through the Cheaper Home Batteries Program if the battery is on the Clean Energy Council's approved list and the installer is accredited by SAA (DCCEEW).
• Retailers sign a written statement for each system, and the Clean Energy Regulator can declare a retailer that makes three or more false or misleading statements in three years ineligible to make them, which makes the systems it sells ineligible for STCs.
• The NETCC requires incentives to be represented honestly and bans implying a government connection you do not have (clause 3), and Solar Victoria prohibits misleading claims about rebate eligibility and false claims of government endorsement.

Savings and payback figures are claims about the future, and the ACCC says a business needs reasonable grounds for those when it makes them. Show the assumptions, keep the figures specific to the state, and update them when tariffs or rebates change.

What are the rules on solar reviews and testimonials?

Testimonials must be genuine. The ACCC's advertising guide records a Federal Court case in which solar companies were penalised for publishing written and video testimonials that did not come from genuine customers. The NETCC adds that offering a discount in return for a testimonial or referral is a pressure tactic (clause 5). Ask happy customers for reviews, and do not pay for them.

A compliance checklist for solar ads and lead generation

1. If a program you sell under requires NETCC membership, are you an Approved Seller, and do you use the badge only while you are one?
2. Does every rebate and incentive claim match the current rules in the reader's state?
3. Is the total price as prominent as any part of it, and is any finance cost clear?
4. Are savings and payback figures reasonably based, with the assumptions shown?
5. Does the copy name SAA, not the Clean Energy Council, for installer accreditation?
6. Do your ads and landing pages say clearly who you are?
7. If anyone calls or knocks for you: permitted hours, identification, the cooling-off period, Do Not Call Register checks, Do Not Knock stickers, and no cold selling under Solar Homes in Victoria.
8. For bought leads: have you seen the ads behind them, and can the seller show the consent?
9. Are testimonials genuine, and none of them paid for with a discount?
10. Is a dated copy of every ad kept on file?

Where to check

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and the rules change. Check the code itself on the NETCC website, the ACCC's guidance for solar panel and home battery businesses, the Clean Energy Regulator's requirements for rooftop solar and battery retailers, and your state program's rules. If you are unsure how the code applies to you, ask the NETCC Administrator.

When you want marketing built to these rules and judged on installs, see how we run solar lead generation, read buying solar leads against generating your own, or book a free 30-minute profit audit.