How healthy is your evidence?

Accredited Certificate Providers (ACPs) must collect evidence to demonstrate that any energy savings projects (called implementations) comply with the ESS requirements.  This evidence is checked during audits. 

Occasionally audits identify implementations where documents such as Certificates of Compliance – Electrical Work (CCEWs) or nomination forms have been altered after they have been executed. This means the documents are not reliable as evidence. Examples include:

  • Particulars of Work being appended to CCEWs or altered after execution, and

  • The addition, alteration or transfer of signatures and implementation dates or nomination dates.

ACPs must ensure that original, unmodified documents are presented and used as the basis for evidencing implementations. This means that ACPs and their representatives must not add, remove, modify or transfer any aspect of signed documents, including a date, signature or particulars of a job.

Unacceptable practices include:

  • ACPs filling out or adding to Particulars of Work for CCEWs that have already been signed, and

  • Capturing a signature or other details on a field device such as a tablet and transferring or saving that signature or details to a different form such as the IPART template.

As an ACP, the best way to receive assurance over your energy savings certificate creation is to:

  • Work with your representatives to ensure they supply you with reliable evidence that can be authenticated by a third party, and

  • Ensure that your internal auditing picks up any problems before they are replicated on subsequent implementations.

Do your practises and systems only accept original, unmodified documents?