Solar & batteries
The silicon in most solar panels sold in Australia starts in Chinese smelters and polysilicon plants, many of them in Xinjiang, where the government moves Uyghur workers into factories that no independent auditor can visit.
90%
of Australia's solar panels come from China
35%
of the world's polysilicon was made in Xinjiang in 2022, down from 45% in 2020
SourceEthical Consumer (2025): Ethical solar panels (opens in a new tab)
4.3 million
Australian homes and small businesses have rooftop solar
How the 14 brands we've graded split
- Good0 brands
- On Track0 brands
- Lacks transparency1393% brands, a poor grade
- Harm on record17% brand, a poor grade
The industry at a glance
Australia imports about 90% of its solar panels from China, which makes about 95% of the world's polysilicon, the purified silicon that panels are made from. (SBS News, 2025: 'You don't have the freedom to leave': The human cost of Australia's solar boom (opens in a new tab))
Before a panel is assembled, its silicon passes through a quartz mine, a smelter, a polysilicon plant, an ingot and wafer maker and a cell factory, usually all different companies. A brand can't know where its silicon came from unless it traces it.
Labour Lens grades panels on the factories that make them, and checks whether the brand traces the silicon in the panels it sells here back to the smelter, outside Xinjiang. A brand that doesn't is Lacks transparency.
On the record
- In January 2025 the US added a subsidiary of JA Solar and other Chinese wafer and solar makers to its forced labour Entity List, because they buy polysilicon from Xinjiang. Their goods are banned from the US. (US Department of Homeland Security, 2025: DHS announces addition of 37 PRC-based companies to UFLPA Entity List (opens in a new tab))
- The US Department of Labor lists Chinese polysilicon and silicon metal as made with forced labour, and Chinese lithium-ion batteries as made with materials from child labour. (US Department of Labor, 2024: List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (opens in a new tab))
- Sheffield Hallam University rated JA Solar, LONGi, Trina and Hanwha Q Cells at "very high" exposure to Uyghur forced labour in 2023, and JinkoSolar and Canadian Solar at "high". (Ethical Consumer, 2025: Ethical solar panels (opens in a new tab))
- The Solar Stewardship Initiative, the industry's own certification, won't certify factories in places auditors can't visit freely, including Xinjiang. Its traceability levels trace silicon to the polysilicon plant (Bronze), the silicon metal smelter (Silver) or the quartz mine (Gold). (Solar Stewardship Initiative, 2026: Frequently asked questions (opens in a new tab))
- Australia's Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which started on 1 July 2025, requires approved parts and safety standards, but sets no rules on forced labour in the supply chain. (Clean Energy Regulator, 2026: Cheaper Home Batteries Program (opens in a new tab))
- The US Department of Labor lists 13 resources in this industry from 5 countries as made with child or forced labour. See the list
Along the supply chain
Quartz mines and silicon smelters, a large share of them in Xinjiang
What happens here
Silicon smelters in Xinjiang take part in state-run labour transfers that move Uyghur workers into factories. No independent auditor can work there freely.
What we check
Whether the brand traces its silicon back to the smelter or quartz mine, outside Xinjiang.
China makes about 95%, about a third of it in Xinjiang
What happens here
Polysilicon plants outside Xinjiang can still buy Xinjiang silicon metal, so tracing has to go past the polysilicon plant.
What we check
Whether the brand names its polysilicon makers and where their silicon metal comes from.
Almost all in China
What happens here
Wafer makers have been banned from the US for buying Xinjiang polysilicon, including a JA Solar subsidiary.
What we check
Whether it shows which wafer makers supply it.
China, with some plants in Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and Australia
What happens here
Panel factories can be audited, but audits don't reach the silicon. Migrant workers at a Malaysian panel plant were charged recruitment fees.
What we check
Whether it publishes its factories and has them independently audited.
Cobalt from DR Congo, nickel from Indonesia, lithium from Australia, Chile, China and Zimbabwe
What happens here
Cobalt mining in DR Congo uses child and forced labour, and Indonesian nickel is on the US forced labour list.
What we check
Whether a battery or inverter brand traces its battery metals to the mine.
Panel and battery brands, importers and installers in Australia
What happens here
Australia has no ban on imports made with forced labour, unlike the US and, from December 2027, the EU.
What we check
A modern slavery statement or an industry pledge doesn't show where the silicon came from.
The extra check for Good
Traces the silicon in its panels to the smelter or quartz mine, outside Xinjiang (for batteries and inverters: traces its battery metals to the mine).
Missing it holds a brand at On Track at best, and taking no steps at all means Lacks transparency.
Resources on the US Department of Labor's list
The list names resources and the countries where the Department found child labour or forced labour in producing them. It covers whole countries, not companies.
13 resources shown
| Resource | Child labour | Forced labour |
|---|---|---|
| Cobalt Ore (heterogenite) | DR Congo | DR Congo |
| Aluminum | Not listed | China |
| Copper | DR Congo | Not listed |
| Copper Ore | Zambia | Not listed |
| Copper Products | DR Congo* (made with listed inputs) | Not listed |
| Lithium | Zimbabwe | Not listed |
| Lithium-Ion Batteries | China* (made with listed inputs) | Not listed |
| Metallurgical Grade Silicon | Not listed | China |
| Nickel | Not listed | Indonesia |
| Photovoltaic Wafers | Not listed | China* (made with listed inputs) |
| Polysilicon | Not listed | China |
| Solar Cells | Not listed | China* (made with listed inputs) |
| Solar Modules | Not listed | China* (made with listed inputs) |
* Made with inputs listed for child or forced labour, such as cocoa or cotton grown elsewhere.
What earns each grade
Good
0 of 14 brands
- Traces the silicon in the panels it sells here back to the smelter or quartz mine, outside Xinjiang, with independent checks (for example Solar Stewardship Initiative traceability at Silver or Gold)
- For batteries and inverters, traces its cobalt, lithium and other battery metals to the mine
- Publishes its factories, has them independently audited, and shows a living wage or a credible plan
On Track
0 of 14 brands
- Traces its silicon only to the polysilicon plant, or only for some of its panels
- For batteries and inverters, publishes its smelters or refiners but doesn't trace its metals to the mine
- Can't trace its silicon past the polysilicon plant, which alone means Lacks transparency
- Relies on a range traced only for the US, "Tier 1" status or industry membership
For example Fronius, Enphase Energy, Tesla Powerwall · See all 13
- Its own factory or a supplier was banned by the US for Xinjiang forced labour in the last five years, and it hasn't shown it ended the link
For example JA Solar
Signs of a fair supply chain
- Solar Stewardship Initiative traceability at Silver or Gold for the panels sold here
- Named polysilicon and silicon metal suppliers outside Xinjiang
- Thin-film panels, which use no polysilicon
Warning signs
- "Tier 1" presented as an ethical rating
- "Forced labour compliant" claims that cover only shipments to the US
- A modern slavery statement with no named suppliers
Try the rules
Pick an example or tick what a company can show, and see the grade the rules would give it.
The grade it would get
Grade: Lacks transparency
This company makes its products in China, where unions are heavily restricted. Until it traces the silicon in its panels back to the smelter or quartz mine outside Xinjiang, it can't show that its panels are free of state-imposed forced labour.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certification
- Not met: Respects worker rights
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Traces the silicon in its panels to the smelter or quartz mine, outside Xinjiang (for batteries and inverters: traces its battery metals to the mine)
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Relies on silicon it can't trace to the smelter
- Red flag: Fails its category's check on silicon traced to the smelter, outside Xinjiang (means Lacks transparency)
A made-up company, graded by the same rules as every brand on Labour Lens. What Lacks transparency means
The full rules are on the Grading page, with the finer points on Resources.
The brands we've graded
Where they make things
14 of the 14 brands say where they make their products. The countries they name most:
| Country | Brands | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 10 | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| United States | 6 | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| Vietnam | 5 | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Malaysia | 3 | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Thailand | 2 | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Austria | 1 | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Israel | 1 | Systematic violations | Not rated | Low |
| South Korea | 1 | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
Labels they hold
None of these brands holds a labour accreditation yet.
Browse by type
No solar & batteries brand is Good yet
The brands list shows the best available in each type.
Questions and answers
6 questions
Are "Tier 1" panels ethical?
No. Tier 1 is a list of panel makers that banks are willing to finance. It says nothing about who made the silicon or how they were treated.
Some panels are sold as free of forced labour for the US. Does that help here?
Only if the panels sold in Australia come from that traced supply chain. Big makers run separate supply chains for the US, which ships under a ban on goods made with forced labour. Panels for other markets can still use Xinjiang silicon.
Are Australian-made panels free of the problem?
Panels assembled in Australia are made under Australian wages, but from imported cells. "Made in Australia" covers the last stage only, so the silicon still needs tracing to pass the check.
Do home batteries have the same problem?
Different metals, similar risk: cobalt from DR Congo, nickel from Indonesia, and lithium and graphite processed mostly in China. Most home batteries now use lithium iron phosphate cells, which have no cobalt or nickel.
On Labour Lens, batteries and inverters are checked on their battery metals, like electronics.
What is the Solar Stewardship Initiative?
An industry certification set up by SolarPower Europe and Solar Energy UK. Its ESG Standard audits solar factories with private worker interviews, and its traceability standard tracks silicon back to the polysilicon plant (Bronze), the smelter (Silver) or the quartz mine (Gold). It can't audit in Xinjiang.
On Labour Lens, Silver or Gold traceability for the panels sold here passes the silicon check. More about the scheme
How is solar graded on Labour Lens?
Panels, batteries and inverters are graded on the factories that make them, like any product. On top of that, Good needs the silicon in panels traced to the smelter or quartz mine, outside Xinjiang, and for batteries and inverters, battery metals traced to the mine.
Tracing only to the polysilicon plant, or for some panels, counts as working towards it, so On Track at best. Taking no steps means Lacks transparency.
Sources
- 'You don't have the freedom to leave': The human cost of Australia's solar boom (opens in a new tab) SBS News, 2025
- Ethical solar panels (opens in a new tab) Ethical Consumer, 2025
- DHS announces addition of 37 PRC-based companies to UFLPA Entity List (opens in a new tab) US Department of Homeland Security, 2025
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (opens in a new tab) US Department of Labor, 2024
- Frequently asked questions (opens in a new tab) Solar Stewardship Initiative, 2026
- Cheaper Home Batteries Program (opens in a new tab) Clean Energy Regulator, 2026
Figures are as each source published them. The grades and brand counts are Labour Lens's own, from the brands we've researched.
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