Solar installers: public liability requirements in Tasmania

Verified for Tasmania

• Licence liability condition: Yes, through the electrical licence. Section 27(1) of the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 lets the Administrator require licence holders to hold insurance of a type and amount specified in a Gazette notice, and the amount lives in that notice rather than in any of the published instruments, so it cannot be quoted here. Electrical work is the one Tasmanian trade where the requirement is enforced at the counter rather than only on request. TAS · effective 2026-08-25 Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Tasmania · 2026-08-25
• Licence evidence required: Evidence is checked at the counter, which is unusual for Tasmania. Regulation 9(1) of the Occupational Licensing (Electrical Work) Regulations 2018 provides that an electrical contractor's licence is not to be issued or renewed unless the Administrator is satisfied the applicant holds a current policy as required by the section 27 notice, and that the term of the policy extends into, for or beyond the term for which the licence is sought. Building services providers face no equivalent gate — theirs is production on request only. TAS · effective 2026-08-25 Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Tasmania · 2026-08-25
• Licensing body: Solar installation is licensed in Tasmania, on the electrical footing rather than as a distinct trade. Photovoltaic work is electrical work under Schedule 2 Part 1 of the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 and is licensed on that basis regardless of what the building services Determination says about trade classes. TAS · effective 2026-08-25 Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Tasmania · 2026-08-25

What contracts commonly ask for

Principals and head contractors set their own insurance requirements, and those are frequently higher than a licence condition. The requirement that binds is the higher of the two, and both have to be read from the actual document.

• What the limit figure on a certificate means
• Cover for the principal for your work
• When a certificate falls short of the contract

What this cover costs

This site publishes no cost benchmark for this cover. A benchmark needs a real sample of documents, and none is published until the sample is large enough to compute a median honestly. A benchmark from a handful of policies is a guess with a decimal point.

Sources

• Building Commission NSW — Building Commission NSW — building and trade licences
• Energy Safe Victoria — Energy Safe Victoria — electrical contractor registration
• Electrical Safety Office, WorkSafe Queensland — Electrical Safety Office — electrical contractor licences
• Consumer Protection WA — Consumer Protection, Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (WA)
• South Australia Government — South Australia — consolidated legislation
• Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Tasmania — CBOS Tasmania — occupational licensing
• Australian Capital Territory Government — Australian Capital Territory — consolidated legislation
• Northern Territory Government — Northern Territory — consolidated legislation