About Southwell Solar Training
Built by the inspector who sees what goes wrong — so you don't have to.
Southwell Solar Training exists for one reason: Pat Southwell kept getting the same phone calls. Installers, sparkies and business owners from every state, asking what the inspector would say. Not every state has inspectors on the ground, and the ones who are there aren't usually free to explain. So we put what Pat knows — 25 years on the tools, 15 in solar, thousands of inspections — into training the whole industry can use.
Pat on the job — every course starts with what he finds on inspectionsPat's story
From apprentice to the inspector the industry calls first
Pat starts his electrical apprenticeship and spends the next decade on domestic, commercial and industrial work across Victoria. CONFIRM: year and where he did his time.
Pat gains his Clean Energy Council (now SAA) accreditation as solar takes off in Australia, and installs hundreds of residential and commercial systems through the boom years — learning the standards from the roof down.
Pat earns his LEI ticket and founds Southwell Solar Inspections. Since then he has completed more than 5,000 inspections of solar and battery systems for private clients and government programs — and seen every defect there is.
Pat audits installations for Solar Victoria and has inspected for the Clean Energy Regulator, which is why his courses are built around what actually fails an audit rather than what a textbook says.
Answering the same questions over and over turns into an idea: put the answers online. Southwell Solar Training launches with SAA-accredited CPD courses filmed on real installations. CONFIRM launch year.
Pat and co-host Lauren O'Neill start recording weekly conversations with installers, regulators, manufacturers and industry leaders — because the industry needed somewhere to talk honestly about the work.
Face-to-face nights of technical training, regulator Q&A and dinner with other installers, run around Australia — Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney and more.
Why we built this
Good installers get defects they never knew about. That's fixable.
Most defects Pat finds aren't laziness — they're gaps. A standard that changed, a label nobody mentioned, a test that was never taught. And in most of Australia there's no inspector coming to tell you, until it's a call-back, a failed audit or a fine.
We turn what an inspector sees every week into short, practical courses you can finish on a phone between jobs — plus free checklists, a podcast and in-person nights. Fewer defects, safer systems, and a licence that stays protected.
We're not a manufacturer with a product to sell you, and we're not a training company that's never been on a roof. Every course is written and presented by the person who does the inspecting.
Who Pat works with
Trusted by the people who set the standards — and the people who have to meet them
Pat is asked for his read on installations, standards and defects by regulators, manufacturers, retailers and installers every week. If you need an independent inspector's eye on a project, a portfolio or a training program, get in touch.
Writes and presents every course, hosts the Solar Sidekicks Podcast and leads the Installer Nights. Still inspecting solar and battery systems every week — which is where every lesson comes from.
Runs Southwell Solar Training and Southwell Solar Inspections day to day — the course platform, the events, the podcast and the people. If you've been to an Installer Night this year or needed a hand with your training account, you've probably already met Jo. Built the business alongside Pat from the first course to the national tour.
We're a small, independent team that gives a lot of time back to the industry — the podcast and the Installer Nights run because installers asked for them, not because they make money. What keeps us going is simple: better-trained installers, safer systems, and fewer good tradies caught out by things nobody told them.
What we do
Six ways to learn from an inspector
SAA-accredited, 30–45 minutes each, filmed on real installations. Single courses or the whole library on Subscribe & Save.
See the catalogue →Labelling, testing and site-information templates built from what inspectors actually check.
Get them free →Weekly conversations with installers, regulators and manufacturers about the real work. 60+ episodes.
Listen →Defects, standards and the things that actually fail an inspection — short reads written by the inspector himself.
Read the blog →Technical training, regulator Q&A and dinner with other installers, in cities around Australia.
Find a night near you →Independent solar and battery inspections and condition reports across Victoria. Consulting, audits and expert advice for businesses, manufacturers and training providers Australia-wide.
Enquire via the contact form →Hear the story
Raising the Standard — Pat & Jo on Just Another Solar Podcast
Luke, Karl and Nigel from Just Another Solar Podcast sat down with us in September 2025 to talk about how a one-man inspection business turned into a training platform: the inspection changes that started it, the labelling myths that won't die, why CPD should be more than a night out, and where the courses are heading next.
Open the episode page →Train with the inspector.
For yourself, your apprentice or your whole team. Every CPD course, all year, for one subscription.
CPD Courses
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Southwell Solar Training
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