Knowledge/Accreditation and audits/The real cost of accreditation isn't the fee
The real cost of accreditation isn't the fee
The fees are the cheap part of being a Victorian Energy Upgrades accredited person. You pay for an independent assurance audit at least every two years. You keep records for six years. You do continuing professional development (CPD) on a 30 March to 29 March year. And you answer for everyone doing scheme work under you.
- Assurance audits
- Every 2 yearsat least, and you pay
- Records
- 6 yearsfrom when made or completed
- CPD year
- 30 Mar to 29 Marsection 14F
- You answer for
- Everyone under youincluding subcontractors
Who pays for your audit?
Since 1 July 2024, if you're accredited you have to get an independent assurance audit at least once every two years. That's an outside check on your scheme work, and you pay for it. The Act says the accredited person is responsible for the costs associated with the compliance audit (s55F(2)). The audits themselves are set up in sections 55G to 55K.
So it isn't a regulator expense you might get picked for. It's a cost of holding accreditation, and it keeps coming back.
The part that should decide your answer
You're on the hook for every scheme participant working under you. That's the Act's name for anyone doing scheme work on your jobs, and it includes subcontracted installers and lead generation agents.
And the Act counts a lot as a "regulated action" (s3A), from lead generation and marketing right through to the install and any dispute afterwards. So your exposure adds up fast. Somebody cold-calling on your behalf, badly, is your problem. So is an installer you've used twice who cuts a corner on a decommissioning declaration.
That's the real cost, and it isn't a number. You answer for people you don't directly supervise.
What else do you have to keep on top of?
- Records kept for six years, counted from when the record was made or when the transaction it covers was completed, whichever is later (s72(5))
- CPD measured over a 30 March to 29 March year (s14F)
- Two checks every year, the "fit and proper" test and the "competent and capable" test
- Renewal lodged at least 90 calendar days before expiry. Miss that and the late renewal fee is $7,376
None of those is hard on its own. Together they're a pile of admin that somebody in the business has to own, and on a small team that's usually you.
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
- 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.
- The assignment of rights that makes the job validYour customer hands their right to create certificates to the accredited person. What makes that valid, and why a pre-July 2025 template may not comply.
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.