Knowledge/Accreditation and audits/How to become a VEU accredited person
How to become a VEU accredited person
Open an account in the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Registry, read the application guide from the Essential Services Commission (ESC), then apply online and pay the invoice. The ESC decides within 20 business days, but that clock stops every time they ask you for more. Accreditation lasts 12 months and only covers the activities you're approved for.
- Application
- $3,000one-off
- Annual renewal
- $1,000lodge 90+ days before expiry
- ESC decision
- 20 business daysclock stops while they ask questions
- Term
- 12 monthsfor the activities approved
What are the steps?
- Open a VEU Registry accountThat costs $2,000 on its own, separate from the application fee.
- Read the ESC's application guide properlyIt sets out the evidence they want. Going in underprepared is how the 20-day clock turns into two months.
- Apply onlineIn the registry, go to My Account, then the menu headed Accreditation and VSRA. They invoice you after you lodge.
- Wait for the decision20 business days, but the clock stops whenever the ESC comes back with a question. So how long it really takes depends almost entirely on how complete your application was.
What are all the fees?
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Accreditation application | $3,000 | when you apply |
| Annual renewal | $1,000 | each year |
| Variation of conditions | $1,500 | when you change what you're accredited for |
| Late renewal | $7,376 | if you miss the 90-day window |
| Registry account | $2,000 | to open an account |
| Certificate creation | $4.35 | per certificate, from 1 Jan 2026 |
| Product application | $500 | per product or project activity |
| Review of a decision | $750 | if you ask the ESC to review a decision |
| Energy acquisition statement | $4,829 | where it applies |
Watch the $4.35 per certificate creation fee. On a job creating a few dozen certificates that's real money, and it comes off the top before anybody talks about margin.
What tests do you have to keep passing?
Accreditation isn't a one-off hurdle. The ESC checks two things about you. Are you a fit and proper person (s10B), and are you a competent and capable person (s10C)? It checks both every year, not just when you first apply.
And it only covers what you're approved for
This one catches people. Accreditation covers the activities you were accredited for and nothing else. Heat pump hot water accreditation doesn't cover space heating. If you want to claim on a different activity, you have to vary your conditions, and that's $1,500.
Not
law
yet
The 12-month term is set to stretch to up to five years
Act No. 37/2026 includes a new section 13B that would let accreditation run for up to five years instead of 12 months.
It hasn't been proclaimed, which means it hasn't been switched on yet. Until it is, the term is 12 months and your renewal has to go in at least 90 calendar days before expiry. Don't plan around the five-year figure, and don't let anyone tell you it's already in.
Working out whether to get accredited?
It's a real decision with real numbers on both sides, and most of the people offering advice make money whichever way you go.
Kevin has no stake in which way you go. Ask him.
Who this is for: small and medium HVAC contractors in Victoria. If you're a homeowner after a rebate or a repair, you need a licensed contractor, not us, and yours can point you the right way.
Related
- The real cost of accreditation isn't the feeYou pay for your own audit every two years, keep records for six years, do yearly CPD from 30 March, and answer for everyone working under you.
- Self-accredit, or work under an aggregator?Nobody has published a break-even point, so here's what self-accrediting costs, who wears the loss when a job fails, and what we'd want to know first.
- What your accredited person pays you, and why nobody publishes itNothing in the scheme's rules sets what an accredited person pays an installer, and we found no published rate cards. Here's what to ask for instead.
- The training evidence your accredited person needs before you startThe rule change on 9 September 2026 (section 14FA). What you have to prove, who you prove it to, and which activities don't list VEU-specific training units.
Review date: 1 January 2027. Figures in this area change without much notice and this page carries some that will go stale. Every number above is dated and sourced so you can check it yourself. If you find something out of date here, tell us and we will fix it.