What a workmanship warranty actually covers.

The 30-second take

• Workmanship covers the installation: mounting, roof penetrations, cabling, isolators, switchboard work and labour.
• It is issued by the installer, so it is only as durable as that business.
• Ten years is a common offer in Australia, but the number matters less than who stands behind it.
• Water ingress through roof penetrations is the classic workmanship claim, and it can appear years later.
• Get it as a signed document with exclusions listed, not a line on a website.

What it covers that nothing else does

A solar installation is roughly seven things bolted together, and a manufacturer warranty covers only the boxes. Everything holding those boxes to your house — and everything connecting them to your switchboard — falls under workmanship.

• Roof penetrations and flashing. The most consequential item on the list. A badly sealed penetration can leak for years before it shows up as a ceiling stain.
• Mounting and racking. Rails, feet and clamps sized for your roof type and local wind rating, and correctly torqued.
• DC and AC cabling. Routing, securing and UV protection. Poorly supported cable sagging onto a hot roof is a common inspection failure.
• Isolators, labelling and compliance. The items most frequently found wanting in regulator inspections.
• Labour on any warranty claim, including removing and refitting hardware the manufacturer replaces.

Why it is the warranty most likely to be tested

Modern panels rarely fail outright. Installations fail far more often. The Clean Energy Regulator’s inspection program found more than 60% of the home battery installations it examined between July 2025 and April 2026 were substandard, and 1.2% were unsafe — on systems using well-known brands.

That is the base rate for the part of your system covered by workmanship. It is also why the length of a workmanship warranty tells you less than the character of the business offering it.

“Panels rarely fail. Installations fail. The warranty covering installations is the one issued by the smallest party in the deal.”

What to demand in writing

• A signed warranty document, not a claim on a website. Websites change; signed documents do not.
• The duration, stated separately from product and performance warranties.
• The exclusions list. Storm damage, pest damage, third-party tampering and roof condition are commonly excluded — reasonably so, but you should know before you sign.
• Response commitments. How quickly they will attend, and whether a call-out fee applies during the warranty period.
• What happens on sale of the house — whether the warranty transfers to the new owner, and what that requires.

The question that reveals the most

Ask: “if a manufacturer replaces a faulty inverter in year seven, what do I pay?” The answer separates businesses that have thought about aftercare from those that have not.

A considered answer covers who lodges the claim, who does the labour, whether there is a call-out charge, and how long the customer is likely to be without a working system. A vague answer — or “you’d contact the manufacturer” — tells you the aftercare plan does not exist.

Compare workmanship warranties on the business behind them, not the number. Get matched with 2-3 vetted installers and ask all of them the same question.

Read next

• Solar warranties, decoded
• What happens if your installer goes out of business
• How to choose a good solar installer
• How to read a solar quote line by line

Sources

• accc.gov.au — consumer guarantees
• uts.edu.au — CER battery inspection findings, April 2026
• cleanenergycouncil.org.au — buying solar