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Navigate to your state to see which rebates and incentives are available to you.
Solar rebates were established as an incentive for homes and businesses to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Even a small solar system can cost a couple of thousand dollars upfront.
A rebate helps you pay for those expensive installation costs and encourages more people to get panels installed which in turn helps reduce dependence on fossil fuels in Australia.
There are 4 ways you can get money back after installing solar panels or a battery in Australia:
| Response | 75+ yrs | 65-74 yrs | 55-64 yrs | 45-54 yrs | 35-44 yrs | 25-34 yrs | 18-24 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reduce electricity bill | 28.36% | 26.86% | 24.07% | 15.56% | 12.85% | 11.98% | 10.53% |
| Environmental sustainability | 2.99% | 3.43% | 4.32% | 2.78% | 4.82% | 3.23% | 2.11% |
| Solar rebates | 2.99% | 4% | 1.23% | 1.11% | 2.81% | 1.38% | 2.11% |
| Other | 1.49% | 1.14% | 1.23% | 0.56% | 1.61% | 2.3% | 2.11% |
| None | 0.62% | 0.56% | 0.4% |
Most solar rebate schemes have limits based on your income. Here's what you can get depending on where you live.
Queensland has previously offered interest-free loans for solar installation but doesn't have any active state schemes.
You may be eligible for a rebate from the federal government.
The South Australian government previously offered the All Home Battery Scheme. All subsidies have been allocated.
You can still access the federal scheme if eligible.
In addition to the federal small-scale renewable energy scheme, Tasmania has an active Energy Saver Loan Scheme to assist Tasmanian households in reducing their energy bills.
The WA Government's WA Residential Battery Scheme offers a one-off rebate and no-interest loans to help households buy a home battery. Applications are open.
The rebate is up to $1,300 for Synergy customers or up to $3,800 for Horizon Power customers, and households with a combined annual income under $210,000 can get a no-interest loan of up to $10,000. You'll need an approved battery and accredited vendor, and you must join a virtual power plant (VPP) through Synergy or Horizon Power. The WA rebate is on top of the federal Cheaper Home Batteries discount, and solar panels may still earn federal STCs.
To be eligible for STCs, your solar system must use approved solar PV panels and be installed by an approved professional. Household and small business systems up to 100kW are eligible, and mid-scale solar systems of up to 1MW installed from 1 October 2026 can also earn STCs (the Clean Energy Regulator expects to open applications for these in mid to late November 2026).
They're also available for eligible solar batteries, wind turbines, hydro systems, solar water heaters and air source heat pumps. The compliance paperwork that makes you eligible gets signed on installation day, so it's worth knowing what to expect during solar panel installation.
The amount you'll receive for STCs will depend on how they're sold.
The number of STCs you get depends on where you're located, the installation date and the amount of electricity your system is set to generate over a given period, which is known as the "deeming period". It can be 1 year, 5 years or the maximum deeming period.
The maximum deeming period is 5 years for a system installed in 2026, and 4 years for one installed in 2027. It decreases by one year each year until 2030, when the scheme is due to end.
You'll get 1 STC for each megawatt hour of electricity generated or displaced by the system during your deeming period.
You can use the government's STC calculator to get an estimate of the certificates you could earn from your solar system.
For example:
Based on the STC clearing house price of $40 per certificate, that adds up to $440 in Melbourne or $600 in Darwin.
The cost of paying back your solar system will depend on its size and how much you receive back in the form of feed-in tariffs and STCs.
You can likely recoup the upfront costs of installing solar in as little as 4 years with a smaller system or up to 8 years with a larger one.
Working out your solar payback period doesn't take very long at all using a solar payback calculator.
It's also worth knowing the common solar mistakes that can stretch your payback period, from choosing on price alone to expecting the feed-in tariff to cover the cost.
Our energy guides can help you compare and understand what plan is best for you.
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Cheap energy plans: Find the cheapest energy plans available this month
Solar power plans: Got rooftop solar? Compare your options and save even more
Average energy bill: Find out how your energy bill compares to the rest of Australia
Compare 0% plans, green loans, government schemes and home loan options for solar and batteries, plus the costs, fees and things to watch out for.
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