Knowledge/Reference/VEU jargon, decoded into plain English
VEU jargon, decoded into plain English
Nine terms do most of the work in the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) scheme. They're accredited person, scheme participant, activity, scenario, category, Specifications, relevant entity, regulated action and abatement. Most of the confusion comes from three sets of terms that people treat as the same thing. They aren't.
- Creates certificates
- Accredited personthe AP
- Does the work
- Scheme participantmost install businesses
- Buys certificates
- Relevant entitya large energy retailer
- One certificate
- One tonneof abatement, CO2 equivalent
What does each VEU term actually mean?
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| VEEC | Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificate. One certificate equals one tonne of CO2 equivalent abatement |
| Accredited person, AP | The only one who can create a certificate. They hold accreditation from the regulator, the Essential Services Commission (ESC). They cop the audits, and they're liable for what the people working under them do |
| Scheme participant | Anyone doing a regulated action on a VEU job, whether they're an employee, a contractor or a contractor's employee. Most HVAC install businesses are scheme participants |
| Regulated action | Lead generation, marketing, contracting, the work itself, and follow-up or dispute resolution. Much wider than the install |
| Activity | The type of upgrade. Each one is a numbered Part of the regulations. Part 6 is space heating and cooling |
| Category | A split of an activity by product type and capacity. 6A is ducted under 10 kW |
| Scenario | Under Part 6, this is what you took out. Scenarios are numbered (i) to (xi). The scenario sets the abatement, and the abatement sets what the job pays |
| Specifications | The VEU Specifications 2018, a separate document from the Act and the regulations. It's where the co-payments, efficiency floors and caps live. Currently version 25.0 |
| Relevant entity | An energy retailer over the size thresholds that has to hand in, or surrender, certificates. These are the buyers |
| Abatement | How much greenhouse gas the upgrade is counted as saving, measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent |
| Co-payment | The minimum the customer must actually pay. Not your margin, and not the certificate value |
Which terms do people mix up?
- Activity, category and scenarioThree different levels. The activity is what kind of upgrade. The category is what product and what capacity. The scenario is what came out. You need all three to work out what a job pays.
- The Act, the Regulations and the SpecificationsThree separate documents that change on different timetables. The Act sets the structure and the offences. The Regulations hold the activities and the installation limits. The Specifications hold the co-payments and the efficiency floors, and they change several times a year.
- Co-payment and discountThe co-payment is a legal minimum the customer must pay. The discount is what you take off the invoice. Nothing in the scheme sets the discount, and you can't reimburse any part of the co-payment.
Are these terms about to change?
Yes, eventually. Legislation passed in September 2026 will rename much of this. VEECs become energy upgrade certificates, the Act's name changes, and activities move out of the regulations into Ministerial Orders.
None of that is in force yet. As of now it's still the VEET Act, they're still VEECs, and activities are still in the regulations. But if you start seeing the new language, that's where it's coming from.
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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.
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.