Home battery rebates in Australia: what you can get in 2026
The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program is worth about $252 per usable kilowatt-hour as at August 2026, roughly 30% off a typical installed system. It is applied as an upfront point-of-sale discount, there is no application and no means test, and it steps down to about $211/kWh on 1 January 2027. Four states and territories add something on top. Four have nothing beyond the federal scheme, despite what a lot of pages still say.
6.8 STCs per usable kWh, worth roughly $252/kWh at current certificate prices. On a 13.5 kWh battery that is about $3,400. The Clean Energy Regulator sets the factor with the aim of keeping the discount near 30% of installed cost.
The rebate does not pay the same rate on every kilowatt-hour. Since 1 May 2026 it tapers by system size:
This is the part most explainers miss, and it changes how you should size a system. 14 kWh usable is the largest battery that earns the full rate on every kilowatt-hour.
The factor falls from 6.8 to 5.7 STCs/kWh, about $211/kWh, or roughly $550 less on a 13.5 kWh battery. Step-downs now happen every six months, on 1 January and 1 July, through to 2030.
Because the discount is applied at installation, what matters is your installation date, not your order date. Distributor approval and installer availability both take time. If you want the current rate, the practical cut-off is earlier than 31 December.
Battery and inverter on the Clean Energy Council approved product lists
On-grid systems must be VPP-capable, but you do not have to join a VPP
One battery per electricity meter (NMI). Landlords can claim per property
There was. The PDRS battery installation rebate ended on 1 July 2025 because it could not be combined with the federal program. What survives in NSW is a separate VPP connection incentive: different thing, smaller, and it does stack.
Solar panel STCs are zone-rated. Battery STCs are not. It is a flat national rate per usable kWh. Any calculator showing you a different battery rate for far-north Queensland than for Hobart is wrong.
“I have to join a VPP to get the rebate.”
Not federally. Your battery must be VPP-capable, but enrolling is your choice. WA and SA are the exceptions: their state money requires actual participation.
Nobody else publishes a complete, correct version of this. Four jurisdictions add money, four do not, and several widely-quoted schemes on competitor pages have closed.
VPP connection incentive (about $720 to $1,500, market-set) plus Home Energy Saver: up to $15,000 interest-free over 10 years (household income up to $210,000), plus up to $4,000 in discounts for lower-income households (concession card holders, or household income under $80,000). Covers batteries, solar, switchboard upgrades and Level 2 EV chargers.
Nothing. The Solar Homes battery rebate and battery loan are both closed.
Nothing. Battery Booster closed to new applications in May 2024.
REPS VPP rebate, priority groups only for the rest of 2026. $1,030 (13 kWh) up to $2,050 (28 kWh). Requires an approved VPP.
$1,300 (Synergy) or $3,800 (Horizon Power), capped at 10 kWh usable, plus no-interest loans to $10,000. VPP participation mandatory. Capped at 100,000 rebates statewide.
Sustainable Household Scheme: $2,000 to $20,000 at 3% over 10 years. Concession card holders use a separate program, Home Energy Support: zero-interest to $10,000 plus up to $5,000 in rebates.
Nothing. Energy Saver Loan Scheme closed 1 September 2025.
Nothing. Home and Business Battery Scheme closed mid-2025.
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