With over 16,000 approved solar panels on the market in Australia, purchasing a solar system is probably one of the most difficult purchase decisions you can make, on both a residential and commercial scale.
In the simplest of terms: 
1. Solar panels convert the sunlight into electricity.
2. Inverter turns direct current electricity into alternating current electricity.
3. Alternating Current (AC) run into your home via breaker.
4. Excess power feeds back to the power grid!
Unlike solar hot water, solar power panels work on light and not heat which seems to be a common misconception. Solar panels will actually become less efficient as it gets hotter.
During the day the photovoltaic cells (solar cells) absorb light and convert it to DC electricity. This electricity is then fed down to the Inverter that converts the electricity to 240v AC which is then usable by your home and the grid.
In Queensland, the solar bonus scheme is ‘net metered’ which means that any electricity being used at home during the day is primarily taken from solar power. Any extra electricity or energy that is being produced by the solar panels will automatically be fed down the power lines back to the grid. When you need more power than the solar panels are producing then it will take what it can from the solar and will take the extra electricity that is needed from the grid.
This process is fully automated and no battery storage is involved.
Provided you buy a good quality system such as those installed by GEM Energy Australia, solar power is completely safe and will include typically at least four isolators protecting your solar system and your electrical network. Poor quality components will fail over time and can cause fires. Unfortunately, minimum fire ratings were only introduced in July 2013 which means there are a lot of solar energy panels out there without sufficient safety ratings.