Solar incentives in NSW and Victoria

Solar support in Australia comes from two directions. A federal scheme that discounts almost every eligible system, and state programs that come and go. The federal part is stable enough to explain. The state part changes often enough that any dollar figure printed here would be wrong within months.

So this guide explains the machinery. For the numbers, go to the current program page. Every one of these programs publishes its own eligibility and amounts, and those are the only figures worth relying on.

The federal certificate scheme

The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme is the reason a solar quote already looks discounted before any state program is mentioned. It is administered by the Clean Energy Regulator.

How it works. An eligible small system creates small-scale technology certificates, usually called STCs, based on how much electricity it is deemed to generate over the remaining years of the scheme. The certificates have a market value. In practice you assign them to the installer or retailer, and they take the value off your invoice. That is why quotes talk about the price after STCs.

Three consequences follow.

1. It is a point of sale discount, not a cash payment. You do not receive money later.
2. The number of certificates falls each year, because the deeming period shortens as the scheme runs down towards its legislated end. A system installed next year creates fewer certificates than the same system this year.
3. The value of a certificate moves with the market. Two quotes prepared weeks apart can show different discounts for identical hardware.

Eligibility conditions apply, including the requirement that the system is installed and designed by an accredited installer under the scheme, using approved components. The body running installer accreditation has changed in recent years, so ask the installer to name their current accreditation and check it. Batteries were brought into the federal arrangements more recently, and the terms of that support have their own eligibility rules. Check the Clean Energy Regulator's current page.

Victoria

Victoria runs its household support through Solar Victoria, the state body set up for that purpose. Over the years the Solar Homes program has offered rebates and interest free loans across rooftop solar, solar hot water and batteries, with eligibility tests that have included household income, property value, whether the property is owner occupied or rented, and whether the address has claimed before.

The amounts, the eligibility tests and which technologies are covered have all changed several times. Some streams have closed and reopened. Do not budget from a figure someone quoted you last year and do not budget from a figure in a sales brochure. Check the Solar Victoria site for the current program before you sign anything.

One mechanical detail matters. Where a state rebate applies, the process usually requires an eligibility application and an approval before installation, and it requires the installer to be on the program's approved list. Signing a contract first can disqualify you.

New South Wales

New South Wales has not run a broad rooftop solar rebate for owner occupiers in the way Victoria has. Instead it delivers incentives through schemes that work at the industry level, including the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme and the Energy Savings Scheme, which create discounts delivered by accredited providers on things such as batteries and efficient appliances.

The practical effect for a household is a discount offered by a participating supplier rather than a rebate you apply for yourself. Programs targeted at low income households and at social housing have also run at various times.

Because these are delivered through providers, the offer you see depends on which provider you talk to. Get more than one quote and ask each of them to identify the scheme the discount comes from. Check the current position on the New South Wales Government energy pages.

Feed in tariffs

What you get paid for exported power is separate from any rebate and it is not fixed.

In Victoria, minimum feed in tariff arrangements have been set by the Essential Services Commission and the framework has been under review, so the current position needs checking. In New South Wales there is no mandated minimum. IPART publishes an annual benchmark range as guidance, and retailers set their own rates.

Either way, retailer offers vary widely and a high feed in rate is often paired with a higher daily supply charge. Compare the whole plan, not the export rate on its own. For most households now, self consumption is worth more than export.

Grid connection in the regions

Before anything is installed, the system needs approval from the network distributor. In most of regional New South Wales that is Essential Energy. In north east Victoria it is generally AusNet, and in western Victoria it is generally Powercor.

Distributors commonly limit how much you can export, and the limit depends on the local network, the phase configuration and sometimes the specific feeder. Rural areas with single wire earth return supply have tighter limits again. A good installer handles the application and tells you the export limit before you sign. A bad one installs a large system and tells you afterwards that most of it cannot export.

How to not get burnt

• Get three written quotes with the panel and inverter make and model on each, not just a total kilowatt figure.
• Ask which scheme every discount comes from and whether it is the federal certificate discount, a state program, or a retailer offer.
• Confirm the installer's accreditation and the electrical licence of the person doing the work. Run it through the licence check tool, and read how to check a tradie licence if you want the steps.
• Do not sign at the door. Doorknocking and high pressure phone sales are still common in regional towns.
• Ask what happens to your existing hot water and whether the roof needs work first. Putting panels on a roof that needs replacing in four years is an expensive mistake.
• Get the warranty terms for the panels, the inverter and the installation workmanship as three separate figures, and find out who honours each one.

Start with solar installers, or the local listings for electricians in Wodonga if the job is a battery or switchboard upgrade alongside the panels.