Australia’s domestic shift to consumer energy resources (CER) – e.g. rooftop solar, battery storage, etc – depends not only on technological outlay, but also on the tradespeople who install these systems every day. Yet despite their central role, CER installers remain some of the least researched groups in the Australian energy sector, often forgotten by policy-makers.
That’s where this project comes in. We are investigating how structural and economic conditions impact installers’ ability to do the job well. This includes paying attention to contracting and sub-contracting arrangements, supply chains, health and safety, regulatory demands, and the impacts of swift policy changes. From there, we aim to co-design recommendations for what can be done better.
Ultimately, the project aims to give installers a voice in Australian renewable energy policy changes.
In September 2026 we began interviewing CER installers and related professionals in the sector (UTS Ethics Approved: #HE-2026-0496).
If you are a CER installer and you have something to say about your industry –
we’d like to interview you (includes business owners, sole traders, subbies, roofers).
Please fill in this quick EOI form to register your interest.
WHO ARE WE?
We are an interdisciplinary team (including social scientists, design researchers and labour law experts) based in Sydney and the Illawarra.
Project Lead: Associate Professor Jesse Adams Stein, Director of Design Studies, UTS School of Design
Dr Chantel Carr, Incoming Keira Chair in Energy Futures, University of Wollongong
Dr Declan Kuch, Net Zero Research Principal, NSW DCCEEW / Adjunct Fellow, Western Sydney University
Dr Eugene Schofield-Georgeson, Senior Lecturer, UTS Faculty of Law, labour law expert
Professor Abby Mellick Lopes, UTS School of Design, social design expert
Professor Cameron Tonkinwise, UTS School of Design, transition design expert
For more information, contact Jesse Adams Stein at jesse.stein@uts.edu.au
This project is based at the University of Technology Sydney. This is not an official UTS webpage.
Jesse Adams Stein 