Electrician, contractor face charges over battery and solar work

A Victorian electrical contracting service and its sole director have been charged with various offences relating to the installation of home solar and battery systems at three Victorian properties between April 2022 and May 2023.

The electrical business faces 14 charges while its director faces nine charges under the Electricity Safety Act 1998 for permitting or carrying out non-compliant electrical work, failing to comply with a rectification notice, and submitting false or misleading information to Energy Safe Victoria.

Energy Safe began investigating after receiving two separate reports of electrical defects at the three homes. Solar Victoria’s 2023–24 audit program identified unsafe battery installations at properties in Preston and Williamstown, while in August 2024 a Licensed Electrical Inspector found safety issues with a home battery at the third property, in Drouin.

The alleged offending relates to defects that did not comply with Australian Standards for solar and battery installations, as well as an alleged failure to rectify those defects after being directed to do so by the regulator. At one property, Energy Safe alleges an immediately unsafe installation left the potential for metal taps to be energised in certain circumstances, creating a risk of electric shock for anyone who touched them.

It is further alleged that the accused provided a series of photographs claiming to show completed rectification work, with the images appearing to depict a different property and installation.

The contractor and its director are due to appear at Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on 11 November 2026. At the time of the alleged conduct, the offences carried maximum penalties ranging from $19,231 and $46,230 per charge under the Electricity Safety Act 1998.

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