The item in the 2026 scheme changes with the most money attached, and the one least understood by the installers we have spoken to.
On 5 August 2026 the government announced that solar systems with total onsite capacity between 100kW and 1MW will become eligible to create small-scale technology certificates. Until now, anything above 100kW could only create large-scale generation certificates, which is a slower and more administratively heavy path. Existing accredited large-scale systems stay where they are.
The intended start is 1 October 2026, and the announcement is explicit that this is subject to the regulations being in place. The government also said it is considering additional design, installation and compliance requirements for mid-scale systems.
A 150kW system on a factory roof has, until now, sat in a different regulatory world from the 10kW systems you fit every week. Moving that size band into the small-scale scheme brings the upfront discount mechanism your customers already understand to a class of building that is everywhere: warehouses, packing sheds, clubs, schools, aged care, small manufacturers.
If you have spent years quoting houses and turning down the occasional shed because the certificate paperwork was not worth it, the arithmetic on that decision is about to change. Whether you are the right business to chase it is a separate question, and the answer is not automatically yes.
Switchboard work, three phase, the height and access equipment, and the grid connection process, which is a different animal at that size. Be honest about which of those you have and which you would be learning on someone's roof.
Ask what an application at that capacity involves in your area. That timeline, not the certificates, is what will decide whether these jobs are worth quoting. A connection approval that takes nine months changes the shape of the whole opportunity.
The businesses whose houses you have done are the warmest introduction you will get. A residential customer who is happy with you and owns a workshop is a better starting point than any cold commercial list you could buy.
Quoting a certificate value that does not exist yet is the fastest way to turn an opportunity into a complaint. Model it internally, talk to customers about timing, and hold the number back until the rules are made.
Commercial leads from aggregators run $150 to $250 depending on system size and how far the vendor qualified them, against $50 to $100 for an exclusive residential lead. That is a vendor-published range and should be read as one, but the direction is right: commercial enquiries cost more and are worth more.
The channels behave differently too. A commercial buyer is a business owner or a facilities manager, they take longer, they involve more people, and they are far more likely to come from a referral or a direct approach than from a form fill. The channel comparison holds, but the referral and past-customer rows matter more here than anywhere else.
Mid-scale expansion to systems between 100kW and 1MW, announced 5 August 2026, intended to apply from 1 October 2026 subject to regulations: Clean Energy Regulator news release, "Expansion of solar photovoltaic (PV) eligibility under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme". Read in full and verified 17 August 2026. Commercial lead price range from Australian lead-vendor published guides, 2026. Check the current position at cer.gov.au before relying on any of this in a quote.
Five guides. Written once, reviewed every six months.
Lead prices by channel with the sources named, the Google Business Profile playbook, a follow-up cadence that stops instead of nagging, the 2026 rebate picture, and what our own readers research before they buy. Useful whether or not you ever advertise with us.