Commercial lighting upgrade — LED rebates in NSW, VIC and SA

It's a discount on replacing old, inefficient business lighting with energy-efficient LED. The value comes from a state scheme (NSW ESS, VIC VEU or SA REPS), delivered by an accredited provider as an upfront discount rather than a cash rebate — the upgrade creates certificates the provider takes off your quote.

It varies by state. In Victoria the VEU now supports commercial indoor lighting only where the existing lights are fluorescent. In SA, REPS covers both fluorescent tubes and metal-halide or mercury-vapour high bays. In NSW, office and retail fluorescent lighting and downlights are upgraded for small businesses through the ESS HEER method with a $33 co-payment.

Often close to it. Many Victorian fluorescent upgrades are zero or low upfront cost. NSW's small-business HEER lighting has a $33 co-payment. In SA, small businesses can do fluoro swaps from around $33, while large sites (160 MWh/yr or more) contribute a minimum $1.70 per GJ saved. Confirm your actual out-of-pocket cost with an accredited provider.

Any site running old fluorescent, halogen, metal-halide or mercury-vapour lighting for long hours — offices, retail, warehouses, factories, car parks and showrooms. Where lights run 10 to 24 hours a day, an LED upgrade can cut lighting energy use by up to 80%.

Yes. The schemes reward replacing existing inefficient lighting, not lighting a brand-new space. New installations that don't replace existing lights generally aren't eligible. The old lighting must be removed and recycled, and LED products must be on the relevant scheme's approved register.

An accredited provider assesses your site, installs approved LED with licensed electricians, and creates the scheme certificates (ESCs, VEECs or REPS certificates). You assign those certificates to the provider, who deducts their value from your quote, so you only pay the net amount.

An accredited provider inspects or photographs your existing fittings, confirms which ones the scheme covers, and quotes you the net figure after the certificate value is deducted. A licensed electrician then swaps the fittings, usually in a single visit and often outside trading hours. You keep the same switches and circuits in most cases, so there is no rewiring and no disruption beyond the install itself.

Usually, because the case is about running cost rather than failure. Old fluoro and halogen fittings draw far more power for the same light, and they keep drawing it every hour you are open. Since the scheme covers most of the upfront cost, the comparison is not new lights versus no cost, it is a modest co-payment versus paying the higher running cost indefinitely.

Yes, and it is often simpler than doing them one at a time. Each site is assessed on its own fittings and its own state scheme, so a business with sites in more than one state can still do them together. Tell us how many sites you have when you enquire and we will handle them as one job.