How the Cheaper Home Batteries discount works
14 August 2026 · Harrison Blake, SCE Solar
The Australian Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries program takes around 30% off an eligible home battery. It is a federal discount, not a NSW voucher. The value is created as small-scale technology certificates (STCs) and comes off the quote.
The factor that applies is the one on the day the battery is installed and certified. Not the day the quote is signed.
The scheme runs through 2030. The factor steps down on a published timetable so the discount stays around 30% as hardware gets cheaper. Fewer certificates does not mean the program has ended.
What is eligible
The battery has to be a stationary home battery, paired with new or existing rooftop solar. Nameplate size is 5 to 100 kWh. Certificates are only created on the first 50 kWh of usable capacity.
The product needs to be on the Clean Energy Council approved list, and a Solar Accreditation Australia accredited battery installer has to do the job.
Electric vehicles, portable batteries, and a charger on its own do not qualify. Only one solar battery system can claim STCs at a premises.
How the factor steps down
From 1 May 2026 the factor reduces every six months. Use the row that matches the install date.
| Period | STC factor per usable kWh |
|---|---|
| January – April 2026 | 8.4 |
| May – December 2026 | 6.8 |
| January – June 2027 | 5.7 |
| July – December 2027 | 5.2 |
| January – June 2028 | 4.6 |
| July – December 2028 | 4.1 |
| January – June 2029 | 3.6 |
| July – December 2029 | 3.1 |
| January – June 2030 | 2.6 |
| July – December 2030 | 2.1 |
Those figures are from the Clean Energy Regulator and DCCEEW. The dollar value of each STC still moves with the market, which is why the official wording stays “around 30%.”
The size taper
The factor is not applied flat:
- the first 14 kWh of usable capacity gets 100% of the factor
- every kWh above 14 and up to 28 kWh gets 60%
- every kWh above 28 and up to 50 kWh gets 15%
- nothing above 50 kWh usable creates certificates
A modest battery and a stacked system are not discounted on the same per-kWh basis. The first slice is supported most.
VPPs
For a grid-connected system, the battery and its inverter have to be technically capable of joining a virtual power plant. Joining is optional. You can enrol at install, later, or never.
NSW has a separate, optional incentive if you do connect an eligible battery to a VPP. That can sit on top of the federal discount. It is not automatic, and the amount depends on the provider.
A search for “battery rebate NSW” is usually this federal program. The same STC rules apply across Australia.
Official pages: Cheaper Home Batteries (DCCEEW) and the Clean Energy Regulator’s solar batteries page.