Program changes under the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Amendment (Energy Upgrades for the Future) Act 2025 commencing 1 July 2025

New section s14FA

Amended schedule 1

New powers to require scheme participants to: 

• comply with any training and competency requirements specified in the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Guidelines (VEET Guidelines) 
• provide evidence of that training.

These amendments help ensure scheme participants are appropriately skilled to deliver upgrades which meet the consumer needs. 

Scheme participants are now liable for: 

• complying with the training and competency requirements specified by the commission before undertaking a prescribed activity or regulation action 
• providing evidence of completion of training to the accredited person creating Victorian energy efficiency certificates (certificates) for upgrades. 

Scheme participants may need to update their systems and processes to ensure compliance with these new requirements. 

Non-compliance with these requirements are subject to civil penalty amounts of 60 penalty units for natural persons and 240 penalty units for bodies corporate. 

Accredited persons remain liable for ensuring any scheme participants working on their behalf meet these requirements.

New sections s20(8) and s68(2) 

Amended schedule 1

Introduction of civil penalty requirements for the following breaches under the VEU program: 

• Accredited persons creating certificates  that contain incorrect information or do not comply with program rules for creating certificates or recording prescribed activities. 
• Persons giving false or misleading information or producing a document that is false or misleading to the commission, even where the person does not know the information or document is false or misleading.

These amendments provide the commission with expanded powers to take action against non-compliant actors in the program to help protect program integrity. 

Accredited persons, scheme participants, product applicants and relevant entities may need to review their quality assurance systems and processes to ensure they do not provide incorrect, false or misleading information/document to the commission.

Providing false or misleading information to the commission may be subject to civil penalty amounts of 60 penalty units for natural persons and 240 penalty units for bodies corporate. This applies even where the person does not know the information is false or misleading.

These amendments provide stronger consumer protections and expand the commission’s compliance and enforcement powers.

We may issue improvement notices to remedy appliances, equipment or services that has caused or is likely to cause harm to human health, safety or damage to property.

Non-compliance with the notice is subject to civil penalty amounts of 60 penalty units for natural persons and 240 penalty units for bodies corporate.

We may also: 

• suspend or cancel an existing accreditation or disqualify a person from applying for accreditation if they fail to comply with an improvement notice
• have regard to a person’s failure to comply with an improvement notice when determining if the person is competent and capable to be accredited.

These amendments provide stronger consumer protections and expand the commission’s compliance and enforcement powers.

We may issue prohibition notices to prohibit a person from undertaking prescribed activities or regulated actions, if they have breached the program rules and has or is likely to cause harm to human health or safety, or damage to property.

A person who fails to comply with the prohibition notice or an accredited person who knowingly allows a prohibited person to undertake a VEU activity or regulated action may be subject to civil penalty amounts of 60 penalty units for natural persons and 240 penalty units for bodies corporate.

We may also: 

• suspend or cancel an existing accreditation or disqualify a person from applying for accreditation if they knowingly allow a prohibited person from undertaking a prescribed activity or regulated action
• have regard to an accredited person having knowingly allowed a prohibited person to undertake a prescribed activity or regulated action when determining if the person is a fit and proper person.

Expanded powers to: 

• issue warnings and impose conditions under section 40A of the Act, without requiring repeated non-compliant action by the accredited person 
• disclose information about a scheme participant’s conduct to accredited persons.

These expanded powers support the commission to maintain the integrity of the VEU program by: 

• enabling us to issue warnings and impose conditions on accreditation without having to prove the accredited person has previously engaged in non-compliant action
• enabling us to disclose poor conduct of a scheme participant with accredited persons.

Flexibility to allow activities to be prescribed for: 

• activities required to be undertaken by other laws 
• activities to be undertaken only in respect of vulnerable and low-income consumers.