New VEU accreditation rules - first year insights, future focus and improvements

19 November 2024

This update shares insights from the first year under the new Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) accreditation rules, our focus for upcoming accreditations, and information about improvements to help accredited persons. 

We expect accredited persons to continuously review and improve their performance, with a focus on compliance in areas where we identify elevated risks. 

Together with the new assurance audit program and enhanced enforcement tools, these changes protect consumers and the integrity of the VEU program. 

Introducing the changes – our focus in year one 

Our focus in the first cycle of renewals and new accreditations under the new rules included: 

• introducing the new ‘fit and proper’ and ‘competent and capable’ tests
• gathering intelligence about the accredited persons’ operations and baselining their performance, including engagement other programs, such as the Clean Energy Regulator and Solar Victoria
• using conditions on accreditation where we have identified risks to protect consumers and program integrity, and drive compliance and performance improvements 
• seeking feedback from accredited persons and refining the application process to streamline applications and assessments. 

Focus for the next accreditation cycle – continuous improvement in performance

The following areas will be a strong focus for the upcoming accreditation cycle: 

• Quality assurance: Accredited persons should have effective quality assurance programs in place to detect issues and improve processes where required, to ensure upgrades are up to standard and the Code of Conduct is being met.
• Complaints management: Accredited persons should have robust complaints handling and dispute resolution processes in place. This includes monitoring complaints to identify and address issues in their operations and with scheme participants. We will scrutinise this information and our complaints and compliance data when assessing applications. 
• Managing higher-risk activities: Applicants doing higher risk upgrades such as water heating, and space heating and cooling must have processes in place to comply with the program rules and all other regulatory requirements. 
• Complying with conditions: Accredited persons with accreditation conditions must have relevant systems in place to ensure compliance. Non-compliance may result in suspension or other enforcement action and will be considered in future renewal assessments. 
• Code of conduct compliance and bans on telemarketing and doorknocking: Code of conduct breaches are considered in renewal assessments and may result in other enforcement action. Compliance with the telemarketing and doorknocking bans is a key priority. 

Improving the application and assessment process - improved forms

We have released the following improved application forms for renewals, new accreditations and variations, to streamline the application and assessment process: 

• New standalone Renewal of Accreditation Application Form.
• Updated Accreditation Application Form. 
• Updated Variation to Accreditation Conditions Application Form. 
• Updated Application Guide for Accredited Persons. 

The new renewal form reduces the information and documents applicants need to provide for subsequent renewals. For example, for some questions we simply ask what has changed since your last application. 

We will keep refining our tools and processes to reduce the burden on accredited persons, including moving to online forms in the improved VEU Registry system expected in 2025. 

Where to get help

If you have any questions about this update, please contact the Victorian Energy Upgrades program support team by:

• Phone: (03) 9032 1310
• Email: veu@esc.vic.gov.au.