CONTACT US
Start with the uncomfortable part: there is no reliable published salary benchmark for solar installers in Australia.
SEEK, which publishes salary pages for electricians, plumbers, refrigeration mechanics and fire technicians, has no solar installer role page. The trade exists in enormous volume and nobody is benchmarking it.
Any article confidently quoting "the average solar installer salary in Queensland" is either using job-ad averages of wildly different roles, or making it up. We are not going to do either.
Because "solar installer" is not one job.
The work spans licensed electricians doing grid connection, trades assistants doing racking and panel handling, designers who never go on a roof, and battery specialists. Those are four different pay grades wearing one job title. Averaging them produces a number that describes nobody.
Work backwards from what the role actually requires.
If the person is doing the electrical connection work, they are an electrician. That is the floor. SEEK puts Brisbane electricians at $100,000-$120,000 as at 1 September 2026 - the highest capital-city electrician market in the country.
An accredited solar installer doing DC and AC work on grid-connected systems holds a state electrical licence. You are competing for that person against every commercial, industrial and maintenance employer in Queensland. If your solar offer is well under the Brisbane electrician band, you are not competing for them.
Add for accreditation. Solar Accreditation Australia requires, for Install accreditation, a current electrical licence, Working Safely at Heights certification, and public liability insurance. That is time and money the person has spent. It narrows the pool and it should be reflected.
Add again for batteries. Grid Connected Battery Systems (GCBS) is a separate SAA accreditation. A GCBS-accredited installer is a materially smaller pool than a solar-only one, and battery attachment rates are climbing.
Price non-electrical roles separately. A trades assistant on racking is not on an electrician's rate and should not be advertised as though the roles are interchangeable.
Picture two Queensland job ads for "Solar Installer". One is a CEC-era ad at $75,000 expecting a licensed electrician with battery accreditation. One is at $105,000 and names the licence and the accreditation type. The first gets applications from people who cannot legally do the work. The second gets a shortlist.
The number is not the problem. The undefined role is.
Do that and you can price the role properly, because you will know which trade you are actually buying.
Nobody publishes a solar installer benchmark because the title covers four different jobs. Define which one you are hiring, price it against the trade it actually is - usually electrical - and add for accreditation on top.
HJ Recruitment places permanent solar, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and refrigeration and fire tradespeople with Australian employers. If you want a read on what your specific solar role should be paying, ask us.
Sources- SEEK - Electrician salary, Brisbane- Solar Accreditation Australia- Clean Energy Council - New solar accreditation provider appointed
