Federal battery rebate
Federal battery rebate 2026: the Cheaper Home Batteries Program explained
30-second answer: The federal battery rebate is the Cheaper Home Batteries Program: a discount of around 30% on an eligible home, small-business or community battery, delivered as Small-scale Technology Certificates that your installer takes off the invoice. It applies in every state and territory, has no income test, and runs to the end of 2030 on a schedule that steps down every six months. This page is the rulebook; the calculator and state pages give the figures for your battery and address.
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The program launched on 1 July 2025 with $2.3 billion and was expanded to about $7.2 billion in December 2025 after uptake far exceeded forecasts. From 1 May 2026 the STC factor dropped to 6.8 per usable kWh and became tiered by battery size. It steps down again to 5.7 on 1 January 2027 and then every January and July until it ends in December 2030. The discount is fixed by the date the battery is installed.
How the federal battery rebate works
The Cheaper Home Batteries Program is an extension of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, the same mechanism that has discounted rooftop solar since 2011. An eligible battery is entitled to create a number of Small-scale Technology Certificates based on its usable capacity and the STC factor in force on the install date. The Government buys those certificates, so their value is passed to you as a discount. In practice the installer or retailer creates the STCs on your behalf, takes the discount off the invoice and keeps the certificates as payment; the rules also allow the discount to be paid as a rebate after installation or for you to create and sell the certificates yourself, which almost nobody does. The Clean Energy Regulator administers eligibility and audits installations.
How much it is worth
Value is the STC factor times eligible usable kWh times the certificate price, less the installer’s fee for handling the certificates. Certificates have traded close to $40 with net values to the customer of $35 to $38 after fees, so the May to December 2026 factor of 6.8 is worth about $250 per usable kWh in the full-rate band. Two things reduce it: the tiers by size, and the schedule by date.
The tiers since 1 May 2026
| Usable capacity band | Share of the STC factor applied | Indicative value per kWh (May to Dec 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 14 kWh | 100% | about $250 |
| Above 14 to 28 kWh | 60% | about $150 |
| Above 28 to 50 kWh | 15% | about $37 |
| Above 50 kWh | 0% | nothing (battery still eligible up to 100 kWh nominal) |
Worked examples: 10 kWh about $2,500; 13.5 kWh about $3,400; 20 kWh about $4,400 (14 at full rate, 6 at 60%); 30 kWh about $5,700. The tiers were introduced because the average battery installed under the program had doubled in size within months; the stated intent is to keep the discount at about 30% for typical household batteries while stopping oversizing.
The step-down schedule to 2030
| Install date | STC factor per usable kWh | Indicative value per kWh in the full-rate band |
|---|---|---|
| 1 July to 31 December 2025 | 9.3 | about $340 |
| 1 January to 30 April 2026 | 8.4 | about $310 |
| 1 May to 31 December 2026 | 6.8 | about $250 |
| 1 January to 30 June 2027 | 5.7 | about $210 |
| 1 July to 31 December 2027 | 5.2 | about $190 |
| 1 January to 30 June 2028 | 4.6 | about $170 |
| 1 July to 31 December 2028 | 4.1 | about $150 |
| 1 January to 30 June 2029 | 3.6 | about $130 |
| 1 July to 31 December 2029 | 3.1 | about $115 |
| 1 January to 30 June 2030 | 2.6 | about $95 |
| 1 July to 31 December 2030 | 2.1 | about $80 |
STC factors are the published schedule. Dollar values assume an indicative net STC value of about $37 after typical fees and will move with the certificate market; before 1 May 2026 the factor applied to every kWh up to 50 with no tiering. The factor that applies is the one in force on the day the battery is installed.
Who and what qualifies
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Who | Households, small businesses and community organisations; owner-occupiers, and rental properties with the owner’s agreement. No income, asset or property-value test. |
| Solar | The battery must be connected to new or existing rooftop solar. A grid-charged battery with no solar is not eligible. |
| Size | 5 kWh to 100 kWh nominal capacity. STCs are created on usable capacity up to 50 kWh; capacity above 50 kWh earns nothing but does not disqualify the system. |
| Product | Battery and inverter on the Clean Energy Council approved product lists, and the battery must be capable of joining a Virtual Power Plant. Joining one is optional federally. |
| Installer | Installed and signed off by a Solar Accreditation Australia accredited installer, with the system registered for STCs within 12 months of installation. |
| Frequency | A premises can generally receive the discount once. Adding modules to a battery that has already claimed it is not eligible, and a second discounted system at the same address is not. |
| Timing | The STC factor on the installation (commissioning) date applies, not the quote or deposit date. |
What changed on 1 May 2026
Two things, both now in force under amended Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations. First, the STC factor dropped from 8.4 to 6.8 and moved from an annual to a six-monthly step-down. Second, the factor became tiered by capacity at 14, 28 and 50 kWh instead of applying in full to every kWh up to 50. For a 10 to 14 kWh home battery the change cost a few hundred dollars; for a 30 kWh battery it cut the discount by roughly half. The program did not end on 1 May 2026, a misunderstanding that still appears in search results, and the Clean Energy Regulator wrote to retailers reminding them that quotes must reflect the factor at the expected install date.
Common mistakes
- Comparing quotes with the STC line hidden. Ask for the STC discount as a separate line and the factor assumed; a quote that shows a “rebate” without the kWh and factor cannot be checked.
- Signing late in the year for a January install. Lead times of four to eight weeks are normal; a contract signed in December is likely to be commissioned at the January factor unless the installer has committed to the date.
- Oversizing for the rebate. Since May 2026 every kWh above 14 earns 60% and every kWh above 28 earns 15%. Size for the evening peak, not the discount.
- Assuming a battery without solar qualifies. It does not. Adding panels at the same time is fine and the panels earn their own STCs.
- Assuming a VPP is required. The battery must be VPP-capable; enrolling is optional federally, though several state layers pay for it.
What stacks with it
The federal discount is designed to sit under state and council incentives, and in 2026 four states and territories add a layer. Each state page has the amounts and worked examples for that state.
| State | State layer that stacks with the federal discount | Status |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | PDRS VPP connection incentive, roughly $40 per usable kWh in mid-2026 offers (about $500 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 zero-interest loan (finance, not a rebate) | Loan, stacks |
| NT | Home and Business Battery Scheme funding allocated | Federal only |
Closed schemes such as NSW’s BESS1, Victoria’s battery loan and Queensland’s Battery Booster cannot be combined with the federal discount because they no longer exist; the full list is on battery rebate changes. For a figure on your own battery and postcode use the battery rebate calculator, and for the plain-English version of how much the rebate is worth see solar battery rebate 2026.
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Official sources
Figures on this page were checked against these official pages on 2 September 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
Federal battery rebate questions
Yes. The Cheaper Home Batteries Program gives around 30% off an eligible battery paired with solar, in every state and territory, with no income test. It changed on 1 May 2026 (lower rate, tiered by size) but is open and funded to the end of 2030.
No. The rate stepped down and became tiered on that date. Installs after 1 May 2026 still receive the discount, at 6.8 STCs per usable kWh in full on the first 14 kWh, 60% from 14 to 28 kWh and 15% from 28 to 50 kWh.
About $250 per usable kWh in the full-rate band for installs completed by 31 December 2026, so roughly $2,500 on a 10 kWh battery and $3,400 on 13.5 kWh. From 1 January 2027 the factor drops to 5.7, about $210 per kWh, and it keeps stepping down every six months to 2030.
You do not apply to the government. An accredited installer creates the STCs and takes the discount off your invoice at the point of sale. The regulations also allow a post-installation rebate or claiming the certificates yourself, but the point-of-sale discount is how almost every installation works.
Yes. The battery must be connected to new or existing rooftop solar. If you have no panels, installing solar and battery together qualifies and the panels earn their own STC discount.
Not for the federal discount. The battery must be VPP-capable, meaning it can be enrolled in a Virtual Power Plant, but enrolling is optional. Some state layers, such as the NSW PDRS incentive and the WA scheme, do require joining one.
Yes. The program is designed to stack with state and council incentives such as the NSW VPP incentive, the WA Residential Battery Scheme, the SA REPS incentive and the City of Adelaide council rebate. Each has its own rules; the state pages cover them.
No. The federal discount has no income, asset or property-value test. Some state layers do, for example the WA no-interest loan and the Solar Victoria panel rebate.
Generally no. A premises receives the discount once, and adding modules to a battery that has already claimed it is not eligible. Confirm your specific case with the Clean Energy Regulator’s eligibility guidance before relying on it.
The program closes on 31 December 2030. Before then the STC factor steps down every January and July, from 6.8 now to 2.1 in the second half of 2030, so the discount shrinks each half-year rather than stopping suddenly.
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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