Inverter terms and conditions

Please note: The inverter terms and conditions are changing to incorporate the new inverter standard, AS/NZS 4777.2. The new terms and conditions will come into effect from 10 May 2021.

Definitions

Applicant means the company or individual, applying to the CEC to have products included on the CEC list of compliant inverters and power conversion equipment (PCEs). The applicant may be a manufacturer, subsidiary, importer/distributor or agent of any of these.

CEC means the Clean Energy Council. All references to the CEC Product Manager in this document include that Manager's designated representatives.

CEC financial member means any fully paid up current member of the Clean Energy Council.

Certificate means any certificate indicating compliance with a Standard from an Accredited Entity accepted as valid by the CEC’s Product Manager for the purposes of complying with the CEC’s Terms and Conditions for Inverters and PCEs. For the purposes of this definition, the accredited entities will include any JAS-ANZ accredited entities, the Australian Electrical Safety Regulators and any other entity that has been declared to be a suitable accredited entity by the CEC Product Manager.

Importer means a business entity that purchases products directly from an overseas company, for re-sale to customers in Australia.

Standard means any national or international standard that has been declared by the CEC Product Manager to be a required standard for the purposes of complying with the CEC’s Terms and Conditions for Listing Inverters and PCEs.

Certification

1. The applicant shall provide a Certificate of Suitability/Approval verifying that the device complies with all required standards for an inverter of its type. Inverter categories and required standards are listed on the "Inverter Categories" chart on the Clean Energy Council website.
2. The CEC will check the Certificate scope and validity, and all other details provided with the application form or available publically. Omissions or incomplete application forms may render the application void.
3. The CEC Product Manager may re-set the listing expiry date for devices, to require compliance with legal requirements and Australian and international standards.
4. The CEC may require a new application via the CEC web portal when:
   1. A new or updated certificate is issued for the device,
   2. A new device is to be listed, or
   3. An existing listing requires modification.
5. Devices shall only be sold or supplied under the brand name and model number shown on the certificate. Brand names shall be owned by the certificate holder.
6. The Applicant shall inform the CEC of any changes to its address or other contact details.
   
   
   
   Test reports
   
7. The Applicant shall supply the full test reports associated with the Certificate for the devices. Applicants shall provide test reports for all of the standards identified on the Certificate.
8. Where a device is manufactured under a co-licence arrangement, if the test reports are for the original manufacturer’s brand and model numbers, the applicant shall provide a document from the certifier to confirm the following:
   1. Equivalent model numbers between the co-licenced brand and the original manufacturer’s brand
   2. The test reports supplied with the application are the same ones referred to by the certifier when preparing the certificate for the co-licenced devices.
9. The listed devices shall be manufactured using only the materials and components shown in the test reports associated with the Certificate. Shipment of inverters that are manufactured using components not listed in the test reports constitutes grounds for de-listing all inverters on that certificate.
10. Device ratings and functions that are recorded on the CEC list and database (such as input voltage range, rated output power, PQ modes etc.) shall match the rated values shown on the certificate and test reports.
    
    
    
    Documentation
11. The Applicant shall supply the Specification Sheet (via URL) and warranty, and any other customer documentation requested, at the time of the application.
12. Trade or brand names shown on the nameplate label and customer documentation shall match those supplied to the CEC at the time of approval.
13. The CEC may examine the customer documentation provided by an Applicant or a Certificate holder for potentially misleading information or misrepresentations. The Applicant may be asked to provide evidence of claims about the device, or to amend their documentation to clarify or provide an accurate reflection. Nothing in this condition shall impose any warranty or create any other liability on the part of the CEC with respect to any statement or claim made in the customer documentation provided by an Applicant or Certificate holder.
14. The importer or local manufacturer of a listed inverter or PCE shall maintain a website accessible to the public on which customer documentation required under the CEC listing process is made available to consumers. This includes datasheet, install manual and warranty.
15. The CEC Corporate logo and the CEC Accredited Installer logo may not be used on any product or product documentation. CEC financial members may use the CEC member logo and authorised signatories to the CEC Solar Retailer Code of Conduct may use the CEC Solar Retailer Code of Conduct logo.
16. If documentation accompanying an application is incomplete, the CEC Product Manager may request additional information. If three successive incomplete applications are received from an Applicant, the CEC Product Manager may require a new application along with payment of a new application fee.
17. All inverters shall be shipped to customers with hard copy documentation meeting the requirements of Section 5.3 and sub sections of IEC 62109-1:2010.
18. Warranties shall be consistent with the requirements of Australian Consumer Law (ACL), and will include mandatory wording required by ACL.
19. Inverters or PCEs that incorporate other equipment (such as a battery) may be required to demonstrate compliance with additional product safety standards.
    
    
    
    Responsible supplier and warranty requirements
20. For every device on the CEC list, a responsible supplier shall be registered with ERAC, and the make and model of that device must be registered under that Responsible Supplier’s ERAC Supplier Number. Applicants shall name the Responsible Supplier as part of the listing application.
21. If the Responsible Supplier for a product is changed or removed, the applicant shall notify the CEC promptly. If there is no current Repsonsible Supplier, the CEC Product Manager may suspend the listing until one can be identified – refer to the section "Suspension and De-listing".
22. The inverter / PCE importer or local manufacturer shall be a legal entity holding an ABN and responsible for meeting manufacturer warranty obligations under Australian Consumer Law. Applicants shall notify all importer(s) to the CEC as part of the application.
23. New or changed importers shall be notified promptly to the CEC.
24. The importer(s) or local manufacturer shall inform the CEC of any changes to its address or other contact details.
25. All importers shall provide to the CEC a signed declaration agreeing to these Terms and Conditions.
26. If the CEC receives evidence of product failure where the safety of people or property is at risk, the manufacturer and importer shall work with relevant testing and electrical authorities, consumer authorities and the CEC to ensure a speedy resolution.
    
    
    
    Expiry
27. The expiry date of a CEC listing will be the same as the expiry date of the Certificate of Suitability/Approval; or three years from the start date of the listing, whichever is sooner.
28. Where no expiry date is shown on the Certificate, the device will be listed with an expiry date of three years from the certificate issue date.
29. If revisions to relevant standards affect device compliance requirements, the CEC Product Manager will reset the listing expiry date for affected devices to align with the new compliance date requirements in the revised or new standard.
30. The CEC will endeavour to inform the Applicant (via e-mail contact address as provided on the application form) of any pending expiry dates for their listed products, however it is the responsibility of the Applicant to be aware of listing expiry dates, and of any changes to applicable standards which affect their listings.
31. When a CEC listing expires or is due to expire, if the manufacturer wishes those model(s) to continue on the CEC list, the manufacturer must submit a new application.
32. The CEC Product Manager may provide an extended listing for the installation of obsolete device stock held in Australia, only if it was certified and CEC listed at the time that production ceased. For this to occur, the manufacturer must provide a company declaration, specifying the date of ceasing production and that the device certification was valid up to that date.
    
    
    
    CEC testing and compliance program
33. The CEC will purchase selected devices from the Australian market and test them as per the “CEC Testing Procedure for Inverters and PCE”, which is available upon request. The objective of this testing is to confirm the safety and compliance of devices with the relevant product standards and certification for that device, and the CEC Listing Terms and Conditions.
34. If the CEC is unable to obtain selected models for testing, having made reasonable efforts to do so, then listing requirements cannot be met and the device will be de-listed.
35. The CEC shall review the test results, certification and documentation and identify non-compliance with the Terms and Conditions. These shall be notified to the Applicant with proposed corrective actions.
36. The CEC shall record and investigate complaints (including internal complaints) received regarding PV modules or non-compliance with the Terms and Conditions. If breaches are verified, these shall be notified to the Applicant with required corrective actions.
    
    
    
    Suspension and de-listing
37. If the CEC testing and compliance program identifies serious non-conformances with the devices, certification or these Terms and Conditions:
    1. The CEC Product Manager may suspend or remove the listing of the devices until compliance can be verified
    2. Suspension or removal shall apply to all model numbers listed for that manufacturer unless there is evidence to the contrary,
    3. The CEC Product Manager shall determine what corrective actions are required,
    4. A new application for listing shall not be processed until corrective actions have been completed to the satisfaction of the CEC Product Manager.
38. The CEC Product Manager may suspend or de-list devices for the following reasons:
    1. The Expiry date as shown on the CEC website has been reached.
    2. The Listing has been made with insufficient or false documentation.
    3. A Recall Notice (voluntary or otherwise) has been issued by the ACCC or any State Electrical authority.
    4. The CEC receives evidence of continued product failure where the safety of people or property are at risk.
    5. A breach of Consumer Law has been identified by any Federal or State legal entities, for example a failure to honour warranties.
    6. The “Responsible Supplier” cannot be identified for the model number within the ERAC database.
    7. The equipment has shown a major non-conformance in CEC product testing and compliance.
    8. Where the Applicant, current importer or Responsible Supplier has not responded to or made contact within a 30-day period after the CEC has made reasonable attempts to contact that entity using the most current contact information provided by that entity to the CEC.
    9. Where there has been a failure by an Applicant or Responsible Supplier to co-operate with the CEC on matters relating to or arising from product listing or compliance, including where there has been a failure by an Applicant/ Responsible Supplier to comply within 30 days with reasonable requests made by the CEC of that entity for the provision to the CEC of information or documentation in relation to a product listing.
39. De-listing will be carried out in accordance with the De-listing procedure, which is available on request from the CEC Product Manager.
40. Upon de-listing of a product, the CEC may inform the industry of the action via its normal communication channels.
41. An appeals process for decisions made by the CEC Product Manager on listing and de-listing of devices is available via the Product Listing Review Panel (the Panel). The primary role of the Panel is to hear appeals against decisions by the CEC Product Manager regarding listing or de-listing of devices from the CEC approved product lists.
42. An Applicant may appeal against a decision by sending an email request to the Manager at [email protected]. This will refer the decision to the Product Listing Review Panel. Appeals must be lodged within five Victorian Business Days of the CEC informing the industry of the proposed de-listing.
43. The Applicant will be required to pay a fee to appeal the decision. The fee for an appeal will be set on a cost-recovery basis and will be determined by the Panel following its preliminary assessment of that appeal. The appeal fee covers the costs associated with engaging the panel. Both parties will bear their own costs.
    
    
    
    General
44. These Terms and Conditions will be published on the inverters section of the CEC website and are subject to change with three months’ notice. The CEC Product Manager will notify changes to these Terms, via notice on the website and email notification to Applicants.
45. The CEC will not be held responsible for consequential losses due to de-listing of any device, provided the CEC has undertaken appropriate due diligence and acted in good faith in de-listing.