SERV's Property Ownership Check provides real-time property verification for Solar Victoria
Streamlining Solar Victoria's rebate application process
Overview
Since 2018, Solar Victoria has operated one of the largest sustainability and renewable energy programs in Australia, with the purpose of empowering Victorians to access clean and affordable energy. The program offers solar rebates through the Solar Homes Program, via an online application form.
The application process includes a household means test and a property ownership test. The process required applicants to scan and upload their Council Rates Assessment notice to confirm their property ownership. This was time-consuming for applicants and prone to error with only 19% of applications receiving on-the-spot approval.
In 2024, Solar Victoria integrated SERV's Ownership Check API into their application workflow. Applicants are now able to verify their property ownership with just an address and their name. This has doubled on-the-spot approvals from 19% to 38% and cut the average time for customers to submit their applications by 24%.
The Challenge | Overcoming manual processes in Solar Rebate applications
Solar Victoria's solar rebate program aimed to make clean energy accessible, but the application process had time-consuming elements for applicants and could be labour-intensive for the organisation. To verify property ownership, applicants had to find their Council Rates Assessment notice, take a photo or scan of it, and upload it as part of the application process.
This added a layer of complexity for users and resulted in a high volume of documents needing manual review and processing by Solar Victoria staff. Significant manual effort created a bottleneck that slowed down the entire rebate approval process. Solar Victoria needed a streamlined solution that would improve customer experience and ease the burden their team.
"Before implementing the Ownership Check, every customer needed to obtain and upload a copy of their Council Rates Notice when applying for a Solar Homes rebate. The automated scanning and reading of these documents would often fail, resulting in a high volume of applications needing to be manually assessed by our Customer Experience Officers. The process of manually verifying uploaded Council Rates Assessment notices was time-consuming and prone to delays, which frustrated both our staff and applicants. We knew we needed a more efficient solution to meet the growing demand and provide a better experience for Victorians looking to switch to solar energy."
Amber Benjafield | Director, Customer Experience | Solar Victoria
The Solution | A robust API capable of real-time property ownership verification
To address these challenges, Solar Victoria and SERV collaborated to develop an innovative API that automates the property ownership verification process. This API cross-references the applicant’s property address and name with the Victorian Register of Land database, providing instant verification without requiring additional input from the user.
This API integrates seamlessly into Solar Victoria's online application platform and eliminates the need for applicants to scan and upload documents. This significantly reduced the complexity and time spent on the application process.
“We are excited to be able to use the synergies between Solar Victoria's requirements and the data we manage, and deploy our technology and expertise to deliver a better and more efficient experience to the Victorian community.”
Steve Milward | General Manager, Customer Growth | SERV
The Result | Automating property ownership verification for faster approvals
By accessing SERV’s Ownership Verification API, Solar Victoria:
- Doubled on-the-spot approvals from 19% to 38%
- Eliminated the need for applicants to obtain, scan and upload Council Rates Notices
- Reduced reliance on Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology through API integration
- Improved the online customer experience and reduced the time to submit applications by 24%
“This API solution not only improved efficiency and accuracy, but the technology has revolutionised the way we process applications and helped reduce our average processing time. This has helped us with our core focus of putting the customer first and placing an emphasis on using insights and data to drive a better experience”
Gerald Dillon | Director, Enterprise Digital Strategy & Services | Solar Victoria
What's next?
The collaboration between SERV and Solar Victoria showcases how innovative solutions can transform and streamline government services. By implementing the Property Ownership Check API, Solar Victoria not only enhanced operational efficiency but also significantly improved the customer experience, making it easier for Victorians to access sustainable energy.
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