Solar panels and batteries in Australia 2026: rebates, feed-in tariffs, payback

Rooftop solar is part of the suburban roofline from Perth to Brisbane. The question for most homes is no longer whether solar works, but how to size it now that midday power is cheap and batteries carry a federal discount that shrinks every six months.

How the solar rebate actually works

There is no cheque. The federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme creates small-scale technology certificates (STCs) for each system, one per megawatt hour it is expected to generate. You normally assign the certificates to your installer, who takes their value off the price. The CER says agents usually pay $33 to $38 per certificate.

Two consequences follow. The discount is calculated on the years left until the scheme ends in 2030, so it gets smaller every January. And it depends on where you live: sunnier postcodes earn more certificates for the same panels.

The installer must be accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia (you can check on their website), and the CER suggests getting several quotes and checking panels through the Solar Panel Validation Initiative.

The Cheaper Home Batteries Program

Home batteries joined the scheme on 1 July 2025. The government’s stated aim is about a 30% discount on the installed cost.

The rules, from the CER’s battery page:

• The battery must be new, between 5 and 100 kWh nominal capacity, with STCs claimed on up to 50 kWh usable.
• It must be installed with new or existing rooftop solar and be capable of joining a virtual power plant (VPP).
• It must be on the Clean Energy Council approved list, installed by an accredited installer with a battery endorsement.

The discount is calculated as usable kWh multiplied by an STC factor that falls every six months: 8.4 until April 2026, 6.8 from May to December 2026, 5.7 in the first half of 2027, 5.2 in the second half, then down to 2.1 by the end of 2030.

What changed on 1 May 2026

Two things. The factor dropped from 8.4 to 6.8, and support became tiered by size: the first 14 kWh gets the full factor, 14 to 28 kWh gets 60%, and 28 to 50 kWh gets 15%. The CER stresses that the rebate depends on the installation date, not the date you sign. A quote signed in December but installed in January uses the lower 2027 factor.

As a rough illustration of the arithmetic, a 10 kWh usable battery installed this year earns 10 × 6.8 = 68 certificates. What that is worth in dollars depends on the certificate price your installer applies, so ask for the STC discount as a separate line on the quote.

Feed-in tariffs are falling

Exporting power is worth less every year. In Victoria, the ESC no longer sets a minimum feed-in tariff; that ended on 1 July 2025, and retailers may now set their own, as long as it is not below zero. In the other states retailers set their own rates. At the same time midday power has become cheap: since 1 July 2026 the Solar Sharer Offer in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia gives three free hours around midday to smart meter customers who opt in.

For a solar owner that changes the maths. Every kWh you use yourself saves the full import rate; every kWh you export earns only the feed-in rate. That is why a battery, a timer on the hot water system or an EV charged at lunchtime often pays better than a bigger array exporting to the grid.

State top-ups

The federal discount is the same everywhere, but the states add their own layers, and they change often.

NSW. The state’s own battery installation discount is no longer available, because the federal program now pays more. What remains is a NSW incentive for connecting your battery to a virtual power plant (VPP), which the government has increased and which can be combined with the federal discount.

Victoria. Solar Victoria still offers a rebate of up to $1,400 on solar panels, with an optional interest-free loan of the same amount, for owner-occupiers with a combined household taxable income under $150,000. More rebates are released each month.

Western Australia. The WA Residential Battery Scheme is open: up to $1,300 for Synergy customers and up to $3,800 for Horizon Power customers, based on 10 kWh of usable capacity, plus no-interest loans of up to $10,000 for households earning under $210,000. You must join a VPP with your retailer. The state expects the rebates to be available until 2027.

Check the current conditions on the state website before you sign, because the amounts and rules can change between the quote and the installation.

Payback: what we can and cannot tell you

We could not confirm a current national average installed price for solar or batteries from an official source, and prices vary a lot by city, roof and brand. So rather than quote a payback figure, we suggest you put your own quote into our solar calculator. Use your real daytime usage from a smart meter, the import rate and feed-in tariff from your current plan, and the net price after STCs. The best payback almost always comes from a system sized to what you use during the day, not the largest your roof can take.

Before you sign

Get the STC discount itemised. Both for panels and battery, so you can check the certificate price.

Check the installation date. With the battery factor stepping down on 1 January 2027, a delayed install can cost you.

Read the VPP terms. Your battery must be VPP-capable, but you do not have to sign up to a VPP. If you do, check how often the operator can discharge your battery and whether you can leave without a fee.

Pick a retailer plan after, not before. Once the system is on, re-run a comparison: a plan with a low evening rate and a modest feed-in often beats one with a headline feed-in tariff.

Beware of high-pressure sales. On 22 July 2026 the CER said it had suspended 21 companies from the scheme in the June quarter, including over incomplete work and false declarations. Use an approved seller under the New Energy Tech Consumer Code and keep all paperwork.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

Batteries became eligible for STCs (July 2025). Victoria dropped its minimum feed-in tariff (July 2025). The battery factor was cut and tiered by size (May 2026). Free midday windows arrived with the Solar Sharer Offer (July 2026). All of these point the same way: solar is worth most when you use the power yourself.

Want a reminder when your electricity contract is up after installation? Set a free contract alert, and when your first bill with solar arrives, check it against our bill guide and compare plans again.