Update, September 2026
This article was first written in April 2025, before the program started, and has been updated below. The program has been running since 1 July 2025, and the rates changed on 1 May 2026. For the current discount and who is eligible, see our guide to solar and battery rebates in Queensland.
The Cheaper Home Batteries Program is a national subsidy scheme designed to accelerate the uptake of household battery storage in Australia. The initiative reduces the upfront cost of home batteries, enabling more Australians to store solar energy generated during the day for use at night.
The program mirrors the success of rooftop solar subsidies, delivering longer-term cost-of-living relief and energy resilience for households, while helping to decarbonise the electricity grid and reduce pressure on peak demand.
With solar feed-in tariffs as low as 1 cent per kWh, batteries allow households to self-consume their solar energy and avoid buying power at peak rates, saving up to $1,100 a year.
How the Discount Works
The discount is delivered through small-scale technology certificates (STCs), the same mechanism used for the rooftop solar rebate. Your installer claims the certificates and takes their value off your price.
- Batteries installed between 1 May and 31 December 2026 earn 6.8 STCs per usable kWh of storage.
- From 1 January 2027 this drops to 5.7 STCs per usable kWh, and it steps down every six months until the program ends in 2030.
- The first 14 kWh of a battery earns the full rate, capacity from 14 to 28 kWh earns 60%, and capacity from 28 to 50 kWh earns 15%.
- At current certificate prices, that is roughly $2,500 to $2,700 off a 10 kWh battery.
Who Is Eligible
To claim the discount, the battery must be installed by an SAA-accredited installer, the battery must be on the Clean Energy Council's approved list, and it must be connected to a solar system.
A Note on the Original Article
When this article was first published in April 2025, the subsidy was expected to be around $350 per kWh of storage, and the program depended on the result of the 3 May 2025 federal election. It went ahead and started on 1 July 2025, and the rates have since changed as set out above.
If you would like a quote for a battery with the discount applied, leave your details on our contact page and we will be in touch.
