Solar installers: workers compensation requirements in Queensland

Verified for Queensland

• Licence liability condition: Yes, and Queensland's requirement is the most precisely specified of any state. Section 51 of the Electrical Safety Regulation requires an electrical contractor licence holder to have a policy with public and products liability at a minimum limit of indemnity of $5,000,000 AND consumer protection insurance of at least $50,000. The consumer protection component is the unusual part — it is a second, separate limb most general liability policies do not automatically include. QLD · effective 2002-10-01 Electrical Safety Office, WorkSafe Queensland · 2026-08-24
• Licence evidence required: By declaration at application and at renewal: the licensee declares they have confirmed with their insurer that the policy meets the mandatory requirements. The Electrical Safety Office then conducts periodic audits, and on audit the contractor must produce a copy of the policy or written confirmation from the insurer. Declare up front, prove on demand. QLD · effective 2002-10-01 Electrical Safety Office, WorkSafe Queensland · 2026-08-24
• Licensing body: Two layers again. The LICENCE: an unrestricted Queensland electrical contractor licence from the Electrical Safety Office is required to install photovoltaic solar panels. The ACCREDITATION: installer accreditation under the federal small-scale scheme, needed for a system to qualify for rebates. Accreditation is industry accreditation and does not authorise the electrical work. QLD · effective 2002-10-01 Electrical Safety Office, WorkSafe Queensland · 2026-08-24

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