If you have heard the term Best Practice Charter floating around the industry and wondered whether it affects the day-to-day work of solar installers, the short answer is: Yes – more than you might think.
Published by the Clean Energy Council, the Best Practice Charter 2025 is not a new wiring rule or installation standard. You will not find it referenced in AS/NZS manuals, and it does not tell you how to mount panels or commission a battery.
What it does do is shape who gets work, who stays accredited, and who qualifies for government-backed programs as the solar and battery market matures.
Not a technical standard, but a market signal
At its core, the Best Practice Charter sets expectations for how the clean energy industry should operate across:
- Safety
- Workforce training and competence
- Ethical sales
- Consumer protection
- Supply-chain responsibility
For installers, this matters because more retailers, energy companies and project owners are aligning their installer requirements with Charter principles, even if they do not say so explicitly.
In practice, that means the bar is rising on training, documentation and professionalism – particularly for battery installations.
Training and upskilling are now a commercial issue
One of the strongest themes in the Charter is workforce capability. That includes:
- Up-to-date solar and battery accreditation
- Battery-specific training (not just Solar photovoltaic skills)
- Ongoing continuing professional development (CPD)
As battery installs surge, under-trained operators represent a safety and reputational risk for retailers and regulators alike. Installers who can demonstrate current training and competency are increasingly being favoured, while those set and forget qualifications may quietly drop off preferred installer lists.
It affects who gets on preferred installer panels
While the Charter is not enforced at the individual installer level, companies that sign it are expected to work with qualified and competent contractors.
Qualified and competent contractors mean:
- Licensed electricians
- Accredited installers
- Documented safety systems
- Evidence of training for newer technologies (e.g. batteries)
For installers, this translates into a simple reality: your paperwork, training records and CPD history now influence your pipeline of work, not just your install quality.
It aligns with rebate and compliance expectations
Government rebate schemes and subsidy programs increasingly rely on industry definitions of ‘best practice’ when setting eligibility rules.
The Charter helps shape those definitions.
As a result, installers without the right accreditations or training may find:
- Customers losing access to rebates
- Installs failing compliance checks
- Increased scrutiny during audits or investigations
In other words, best practice is becoming a gatekeeper, not a nice-to-have.
Why this is good news for quality installers
For installers who already invest in training, safety and professional standards, the Best Practice Charter is a net positive because it:
- Raises expectations across the industry
- Makes it harder for poor-quality operators to compete on price alone
- Rewards businesses that take compliance and workforce development seriously
The takeaway for installers
Rather than memorise the Charter, it can be valuable for solar installers to understand the direction it sets. The Best Practice Charter does not change how you install systems, it changes who the industry trusts to do the work.
As the benchmark for ‘good enough’ has been elevated by Australia’s federal and state government, the key takeaway is that: Battery training matters, CPD matters and professionalism matters.