Knowledge/What earns a certificate/How many upgrades one address can ever claim
How many upgrades one address can ever claim
Under the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) scheme, each address can only claim so many upgrades. Schedule 4 blocks a claim once it hits the limit. The limit depends on the activity, whether it's residential, and whether the old unit was decommissioned (taken out). A ducted Part 6 job at a home is blocked by even one prior upgrade.
- Ducted home, nothing taken out
- Blocked at 1prior upgrade, 2 if non-residential
- Ducted home, old unit taken out
- Blocked at 1prior upgrade, 5 if non-residential
- Non-ducted home, old unit taken out
- Blocked at 5prior upgrades, 10 if non-residential
- Also blocked
- Built in the last 2 yearsdecommissioning jobs
How many prior upgrades block a claim?
Read each number as "blocked once the address has had this many". Decommissioning here just means the old unit was taken out.
| Activity | Home: blocked at | Non-residential: blocked at | Schedule 4 clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water heating, Parts 1 and 3 | 2 or more prior, from 10 Dec 2018 | 5 or more | 2 |
| Part 6 ducted, no decommissioning | 1 or more, from 31 May 2023 | 2 or more | 3 |
| Part 6 ducted, decommissioning occurred | 1 or more | 5 or more | 3A |
| Part 6 non-ducted, no decommissioning | 3 or more | 3 or more | 4 |
| Part 6 non-ducted, decommissioning occurred | 5 or more | 10 or more | 4A |
| Ceiling insulation, Part 48 | 1 or more, from 14 Apr 2026 | n/a | 15 |
Once you see the pattern it's easy. Taking the old unit out mostly buys you more room, and non-ducted gets more room than ducted. The exception is ducted at a home, which is blocked at one prior upgrade either way. A non-ducted home job with the old unit taken out isn't blocked until the address has had five.
Why check this before you quote?
The limits are about the address's history, so you can find out before you drive out. And there's no way around them. A perfect install at a blocked address earns nothing.
- Ask what's been done at the property beforePast rebate work counts, whoever did it. The customer may not remember it as a rebate job at all, so ask about the appliances, not the paperwork.
- Ask how old the house isIf the place was built in the last two years, it can't claim the water heating or Part 6 activities that rely on decommissioning. On a new estate, that's the first question.
- Work out whether you're decommissioningIt changes the limit. On a ducted non-residential job, it's the difference between being blocked at two prior upgrades and at five.
- Then check with your accredited person (AP)Do it before you quote. Your AP is the business that creates the certificates, and they can see the registry. You can't.
To be straight about the two-year rule, we got it from an Essential Services Commission (ESC) update page, not from the regulations themselves. Treat it as reliable guidance rather than a clause we can point you to. On a brand new house, confirm it.
Can you put two water heaters in line?
No. Multiple water heaters installed in line, meaning manifold systems, aren't permitted. It's a short rule and an easy one to trip over on a bigger home where the hot water demand suggests two units.
It comes from the same ESC update page as the two-year rule, so treat it the same way.
Not sure which activity your job sits under?
Getting the activity and the scenario right is what sets the money, and you need to get it right before you quote, not after you install.
If you're looking at a job and the answer isn't obvious, ask Kevin.
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
- Seven activities that no longer earn certificatesGas space heating, evaporative coolers, underfloor insulation and four more, with the date each one stopped and the rule change that ended it.
- Activity 28, the gas ductwork rebate almost nobody claimsTake out the old gas heating ductwork, put new duct in to AS 4254, and there's a certificate in it. Here's what we know, and the figures we couldn't find.
- Activity 44 and the $10,000 commercial co-paymentThe commercial and industrial heat pump water heater activity, its $10,000 minimum co-payment, and why commercial HVAC upgrades now lean on the VEU.
- There's no Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) rebate for hydronicA hydronic space heating activity was under consultation in April 2026, and it still isn't claimable. Don't quote a rebate that doesn't exist yet.
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.