Solar battery rebate
Solar battery rebate 2026: the government discount, how much you get and how to claim it
30-second answer: The solar battery rebate in Australia is the federal Cheaper Home Batteries discount: around 30% off an eligible home battery, taken straight off the installer’s invoice in every state and territory, with no income test and no application form. At mid-2026 certificate prices it is worth about $2,500 on a 10 kWh battery and $3,400 on a 13.5 kWh battery, and the rate next steps down on 1 January 2027. NSW, WA, SA and the ACT add state layers on top. Check your postcode to see what may apply at your address.
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The federal program launched on 1 July 2025 and runs to the end of 2030. It changed on 1 May 2026: the rate stepped down and became tiered by battery size, so the first 14 kWh earns the full rate and larger batteries earn less per kWh. The next step-down is 1 January 2027 and the discount is set by the date the battery is installed, not the date you sign. This page explains the federal rebate; the state pages linked below cover what each state adds.
How much is the solar battery rebate?
The discount is calculated on the battery’s usable capacity. Since 1 May 2026 the rate is 6.8 STCs per usable kWh, applied at 100% on the first 14 kWh, 60% from 14 to 28 kWh and 15% from 28 to 50 kWh, with nothing above 50 kWh. At a certificate price of around $37 that is about $250 per usable kWh in the first band. The table shows what that means for common battery sizes.
| Usable capacity | How the tiers apply | Indicative federal discount | Typical install price before discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kWh | All in the full-rate band | about $1,250 | around $6,000 to $7,500 |
| 10 kWh | All in the full-rate band | about $2,500 | around $9,000 to $11,000 |
| 13.5 kWh | All in the full-rate band | about $3,400 | around $12,000 to $14,000 |
| 20 kWh | 14 kWh at full rate, 6 kWh at 60% | about $4,400 | around $16,000 to $19,000 |
| 30 kWh | 14 at full rate, 14 at 60%, 2 at 15% | about $5,700 | around $22,000 to $27,000 |
Illustrative, using mid-2026 certificate prices of roughly $250 per usable kWh in the first band, about $150 per kWh from 14 to 28 kWh and about $37 per kWh from 28 to 50 kWh. Install prices are indicative national ranges and vary with brand, backup wiring and switchboard work. Your installer confirms the actual discount for your battery and install date.
Why it is called a solar battery rebate
The battery must be connected to rooftop solar, new or existing, to qualify. That is the only sense in which it is a “solar” rebate: the panels themselves are covered by the separate, long-running solar STC discount, and a home installing both at once receives both discounts on the one invoice. A battery without solar is not eligible, and a battery bought to charge from the grid alone does not qualify either. The battery must be on the Clean Energy Regulator’s approved list, VPP-capable (it does not have to join a VPP), between 5 kWh and 100 kWh nominal capacity, and installed by an accredited installer at a home, small business or community site.
How the rebate is claimed
You do not apply. The discount is delivered as STCs your installer usually claims for you and applies as a discount on the invoice; the rules also allow a post-installation rebate or claiming the certificates yourself. Since 1 May 2026 the rate is 6.8 STCs per usable kWh and is tiered: the full rate on the first 14 kWh, 60% of the rate from 14 to 28 kWh, 15% from 28 to 50 kWh and nothing above that. At current certificate prices that is about $250 per usable kWh in the first band, so a 10 kWh battery attracts roughly $2,500 and a 13.5 kWh battery roughly $3,400. The next step-down is 1 January 2027, and the rate then reduces every six months until the program closes at the end of 2030. There is no income test, and the battery can be added to solar you already have. Ask any installer to show the STC line on the quote, and ask what happens to the price if the install slips past a step-down date; the Clean Energy Regulator has warned retailers that quotes must be honoured or clearly re-dated.
Government battery rebate and subsidy: who pays it
The government solar battery rebate is paid federally, through the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme. Each eligible battery creates Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) based on its usable capacity, and those certificates are bought under the scheme, so their value comes back to you as a lower price. The Clean Energy Regulator sets the rules and audits installations. You never receive money from the government directly.
The state layers are paid separately, by each state’s own program: in NSW the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme pays for connecting to a Virtual Power Plant, in WA the WA Residential Battery Scheme pays through approved vendors, in SA the Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme pays priority households through participating retailers, and the ACT lends rather than grants through the Sustainable Household Scheme. Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the NT have no state battery subsidy in 2026.
It is a discount, not a cash grant. Whether you search for a battery rebate, a battery subsidy or a solar battery subsidy, the federal support appears as a line on your installer’s quote and invoice that reduces what you pay. There is no cheque, no bank transfer and no form to lodge for the federal part.
Eligibility checklist
Your battery qualifies for the federal discount if every item below is true. Your installer should confirm each one in writing on the quote.
- Solar: the battery is connected to new or existing rooftop solar at the same address.
- Size: the battery is between 5 kWh and 100 kWh nominal capacity (STCs are created on usable capacity up to 50 kWh).
- Approved product: the battery and inverter are on the approved product lists.
- VPP-capable: the battery can join a Virtual Power Plant. Joining is optional federally.
- Accredited installer: the system is installed and signed off by a Solar Accreditation Australia accredited installer.
- First claim at the address: the premises has not already claimed the discount on a battery, and you are not adding modules to one that has.
- Property type: a home, small business or community organisation; rentals need the owner’s agreement. There is no income test.
- Install date: the discount is set by the date the battery is installed, so the rate on your quote only holds if it is commissioned before the next step-down.
What your state adds on top
The federal discount is the same everywhere. What differs is whether your state pays anything extra, and four do. Each state page below has the current amounts, worked examples for that state and the eligibility rules.
| State | What the state adds | Status |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | PDRS VPP connection incentive, roughly $40 per usable kWh in mid-2026 offers (about $540 on 13.5 kWh) | Open, stacks |
| VIC | None on the battery; Solar Victoria panel rebate up to $1,400 if adding solar | Federal only |
| QLD | None; Battery Booster closed May 2024; retailer VPP credits vary | Federal only |
| SA | REPS VPP incentive, priority households only while general funding is exhausted; City of Adelaide council top-up in 5000 and 5006 | Limited, stacks |
| WA | WA Residential Battery Scheme, up to $1,300 Synergy or $3,800 Horizon Power, plus a no-interest loan | Open, stacks |
| TAS | None; Energy Saver Loan closed September 2025 | Federal only |
| ACT | Sustainable Household Scheme loan up to $20,000 at 3% (finance, not a rebate) | Loan, stacks |
| NT | Home and Business Battery Scheme funding allocated | Federal only |
State layers are indicative and change often; SA’s REPS VPP incentive is currently priority-households only and the WA scheme runs until its 100,000 allocation is used. Closed schemes and what replaced them are on the battery rebate changes page.
Worked example: 13.5 kWh battery, with and without a state layer
| Location | Federal discount | State layer | Indicative combined support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, Darwin | about $3,400 | none | about $3,400 |
| Sydney or regional NSW | about $3,400 | about $500 to $550 (VPP incentive at ~$40/kWh) | about $3,900 to $3,950 |
| Perth (Synergy) | about $3,400 | $1,300 (capped at 10 kWh) | about $4,700 |
| Regional WA (Horizon Power) | about $3,400 | $3,800 (capped at 10 kWh) | about $7,200 |
| Adelaide, City of Adelaide postcodes | about $3,400 | council top-up up to about $1,000, plus REPS for priority households | about $4,400 or more |
Illustrative, using mid-2026 certificate prices and published state rates. A 13.5 kWh battery commonly lists at $12,000 to $14,000 installed before any discount.
When the solar battery rebate ends
The program is funded to 2030 but the rate falls on 1 January 2027 and every six months after that, and larger batteries have already lost most of their per-kWh support above 14 kWh. Install lead times of four to eight weeks are normal in the capitals and longer regionally, so a contract signed by early November is the realistic way to be commissioned at the current rate. The 10 to 14 kWh range sits entirely in the full-rate band and covers the evening peak for most households, which is why it is where the rebate is strongest.
For a figure on your own battery size use the battery rebate calculator; for the program mechanics and the 1 May 2026 changes in detail see the federal battery rebate page; for the state-by-state index see battery rebates by state.
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Official sources
Figures on this page were checked against these official pages on 11 October 2026. Scheme rules change; confirm the current settings before you sign anything.
- Australian Government (DCCEEW): Cheaper Home Batteries Program
- Clean Energy Regulator: battery eligibility and STCs
- Clean Energy Regulator: battery rebate changes from 1 May 2026
- energy.gov.au: Cheaper Home Batteries Program
Related pages
FAQ
Solar battery rebate questions
About $250 per usable kWh on the first 14 kWh at mid-2026 certificate prices, so roughly $2,500 on a 10 kWh battery and $3,400 on a 13.5 kWh battery. Capacity from 14 to 28 kWh earns 60% of that rate and 28 to 50 kWh earns 15%. The exact figure depends on the STC price and your install date, and NSW, WA, SA and the ACT may add a state layer.
Yes. The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program is open in every state and territory and is funded to the end of 2030. The rate stepped down and became tiered on 1 May 2026 and steps down again on 1 January 2027, so it is still available but worth slightly less each half-year.
A 10 kWh battery typically costs about $9,000 to $11,000 installed before any discount. The federal rebate takes about $2,500 off at mid-2026 certificate prices, so you would usually pay about $6,500 to $8,500 after the rebate. Brand, backup wiring and switchboard work move the price, and NSW, WA, SA and the ACT may add a state layer.
Yes, if the model is on the approved product list and it is installed by an accredited installer with solar, like any other battery. The Powerwall 3 has 13.5 kWh of usable capacity, all in the full-rate band, so the federal discount is about $3,400 at mid-2026 certificate prices.
On 1 May 2026 the federal rate dropped from 8.4 to 6.8 STCs per usable kWh and became tiered at 14, 28 and 50 kWh. NSW widened its VPP incentive on 1 July 2026, and SA general REPS funding ran out in May 2026. The next federal step-down is 1 January 2027. The full list is on the battery rebate changes page.
Yes. The battery must be paired with new or existing rooftop solar. If you already have panels you can add a battery; if you are installing both, the panels attract their own STC discount as well.
You do not apply. An accredited installer creates the STCs and takes the discount off your invoice; the rules also allow claiming the certificates yourself or a post-installation rebate. Check that the STC discount is a separate line on the quote.
No. The federal discount has no income or property-value test. Some state layers do, for example the WA no-interest loan and the Solar Victoria panel rebate, but the federal battery discount itself is available to any eligible household, small business or community organisation.
Western Australia (the WA Residential Battery Scheme) and NSW (the PDRS VPP incentive) pay on top of the federal discount for eligible homes. SA’s REPS VPP incentive is limited to priority households while general funding is exhausted, and the City of Adelaide runs a council top-up in two postcodes. The ACT offers a loan of up to $20,000 at 3%. Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the NT rely on the federal discount alone.
Yes. Adding a battery to solar you already have is the most common case. The battery must be on the approved list and installed by an accredited installer, and your inverter may need to be replaced or supplemented if it is not battery-ready.
The first 14 kWh earns the full rate, so a 10 to 14 kWh battery captures almost all the available support and covers the evening peak for most homes. Bigger batteries still qualify but each kWh above 14 earns a smaller subsidy and each kWh above 28 earns very little.
Yes. Small businesses and community organisations can claim the federal discount on batteries up to 100 kWh, with STCs on the first 50 kWh, under the same solar-pairing and accredited-installer rules.
No. We’re an independent information and enquiry service and are not a government website. We don’t guarantee rebate approval.
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