Solar Battery Rebates 2026

Solar battery rebates are a key reason why homeowners across Australia are choosing solar storage now. With federal incentives, installing a solar battery has never been more attractive for lowering power bills, increasing energy independence, and taking control of your energy future.

What’s Changed for 2026?

If you’ve been tracking solar battery rebates in Australia, you’ll know the Cheaper Home Batteries Program (federal government) has been a game-changer since its launch. Under this scheme, eligible batteries attract a discount through Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) which are essentially tradable certificates that fund part of the battery cost at the point of sale.

For 2026, there are important updates to how these rebates are calculated compared to 2025 especially around the STC factor and how rebates are applied based on battery size.

STC Changes in 2026

STC Factor Shift

The STC factor determines how many certificates a battery earns per usable kilowatt-hour (kWh), which directly influences your rebate value.

In 2026:

• January – April 2026: STC factor = 8.4
• May – December 2026: STC factor = 6.8

This means that the later in the year your battery is installed, the fewer STCs it will earn and the smaller the rebate value will be. The installation date is what counts, so timing can make a big difference.

Battery Size & Tiered Rebates

Another major change from 1 May 2026 is how rebates are tiered by battery size. Rather than applying the STC factor equally across all battery capacities, the new rules use bands making smaller systems relatively more valuable under the rebate:

Battery Size (usable kWh) & Rebate Tiers

• 0 – 14 kWh: 100% of the STC factor
• >14 – 28 kWh: 60% of the STC factor
• >28 – 50 kWh: 15% of the STC factor

In simple terms, the first 14 kWh of your battery gets the full rebate value. Any capacity above that receives a reduced percentage, meaning larger batteries will attract less support per kWh added. This change is aimed at keeping incentives proportionate as battery costs fall and ensuring continued support across typical household systems.

Want to see exactly what this means for your own system? Check out our Solar Battery Rebate Calculator we’ve built it to reflect the May–December 2026 settings so you can plan ahead with transparency.

Will There Be More Changes in 2026?

As of now, no further changes are expected for the rest of 2026 according to current government modelling and our rebate calculator. This gives you a stable framework to plan with.

However, more adjustments are forecast for 2027, with the STC factor continuing to reduce every six months and potentially further tweaks to how rebates are applied through to 2030. That means delaying your install could significantly reduce your rebate. So if you’ve been on the fence, acting now could save you money.

Don’t delay – act now to secure the best rebate possible.

How to Qualify & Maximise Your Savings

To take advantage of solar battery rebates:

• Your battery must be between 5 kWh and 100 kWh nominal capacity (but rebate applies only to the first 50 kWh).
• It must be installed with new or existing solar PV.
• The installer will generally apply rebates upfront as a discount so you don’t need to claim separately.

Why Now Is the Right Time to Act

Rebates won’t last forever.

• STC values are declining every six months until at least 2030 meaning the sooner you install, the better.
• Rebates for larger batteries are reducing faster, so early installs can save far more on bigger systems.

Getting your solar battery now not only lowers your upfront cost, it speeds up your path to energy independence, reducing reliance on the grid and lowering power bills over the long term.

Need More Information? We Can Help

Understanding rebates, STCs, battery sizing, and timing can be overwhelming especially when the rules are changing. That’s why we offer a Free Consultation to help you:

1. Work out which battery size makes sense
2. Understand the true rebate value for your system
3. Maximise your savings and energy independence

Book your free solar battery consultation today.