Battery installer complaints rise as $7.2bn scheme grows
Complaints against battery installers are rising under the federal scheme, even as rebates keep pushing down the real cost of solar and storage.
Household batteries have become one of the fastest-moving parts of the home energy market, and the government scheme behind that growth is now facing scrutiny over how some installers are treating customers.
What happened
According to Proactive Investors Australia, more than 530,000 home batteries have been installed since the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program began in July 2025, with the scheme expected to support more than A$7.2 billion in battery costs over four years. The outlet reports that federal and state consumer regulators are now investigating several battery businesses over complaints of poor workmanship, long delays and misleading sales tactics. Complaints to some energy ombudsman schemes have "increased sharply", and some households have reportedly paid deposits and waited close to a year without receiving a battery. Consumer advocates are calling for better access to independent dispute resolution for solar and battery customers.
The underlying pitch for the program isn't in question: it still subsidises around 30% of the cost of an eligible household battery, which is why uptake has been so strong. The problem flagged by regulators is less about the subsidy and more about parts of the installer market expanding faster than quality controls and complaint-handling have kept up with.
What it means for your project cost
The battery discount works through certificates, similar to the way solar rebates work, and the value steps down every six months until the scheme ends in 2030 — so the earlier you buy, the bigger the discount embedded in your quote. That's a real reason not to wait indefinitely, but the complaints above are a reason not to rush into the first contract you're offered, either.
For a typical home system, our cost model shows how much battery size moves the total bill once you add storage to solar panels:
- No battery: $8,900
- With a 5 kWh battery: $8,900
- With a 10 kWh battery: $10,300
- With a 13.5 kWh battery: $11,300
Those figures already have the usual rebates netted out, so they reflect roughly what you should expect to pay after certificates, not the sticker price before them. If a quote looks a long way above or below $6,950 – $11,600 for a comparable system, that's worth asking about before you sign anything or pay a deposit.
State-based support adds another layer worth checking before you commit. Victorian households can still apply for the Solar Homes rebate of up to $1,400 on solar panels, subject to the household income cap that applies from 1 July 2026. In Western Australia, the residential battery scheme offers up to $1,300 through Synergy, or up to $3,800 through Horizon Power for customers who join a virtual power plant. These are on top of the federal battery certificate discount, not instead of it, so it's worth confirming eligibility with the relevant state body rather than relying on an installer's sales pitch.
Protecting yourself on deposits and delays
The complaints reported above cluster around a few practical issues: deposits taken well before installation, vague timelines, and difficulty getting refunds when a job stalls. A few habits reduce that risk:
- Get the contract and installation date in writing before paying anything beyond a modest deposit.
- Check the installer is licensed for the electrical work involved — in Australia, electrical and plumbing work must be carried out by licensed tradespeople, and that licence should be checkable through your state's regulator.
- Ask how the certificate discount is being applied — it should be clearly itemised, not folded into a vague "after rebate" figure you can't verify.
- Get more than one quote. If you're not sure whether a price you've been given is reasonable, our "is my quote fair" tool compares it against local labour and material costs.
The bigger picture
None of this changes the basic economics: battery prices are still falling in real terms as certificate values and competition both work on the cost, and the federal scheme has made storage genuinely affordable for a lot of households that wouldn't have considered it two years ago. The risk sitting alongside that growth is on the service side — who you choose to install the system, and how well they stand behind the job once your deposit is in their account.
If you're weighing up solar with or without storage, our full breakdown of sizes, battery options and regional price differences is at Solar panels.