Solar panels are an increasingly popular way to save on energy bills and run your home in a more sustainable way. To encourage more Canberrans to add solar panels to their homes, there are a range of rebates and other incentives on offer from the ACT and federal government.

In this guide, we’ll explain what each of these incentives offer and how you can take advantage of them.

What solar rebates and incentives are available to ACT residents?

Here are the solar rebates and government incentives on offer for ACT residents:

Read on for a more comprehensive rundown of each incentive.

Home Energy Support Program explained

The Home Energy Support Program offers rebates on the installation of energy efficient products like solar panels. The program can only be accessed hold one of a number of concession cards.

 Under the program, you can get a rebate of 50% of the total cost of the supply and installation of rooftop solar systems. The total value of the rebate will not exceed $2,500.

Under the program, you can also get a zero-interest loan of up to $10,000. Combined with the rebate, you can save a significant sum when it comes to installing rooftop solar.

If you’re making wider upgrades on your home, you can also get an additional rebate of 50% of the total cost of supply and installation for other energy efficient products, including:

• Reverse cycle heating and cooling.
• Hot water heat pumps and evacuated tube solar hot water systems.
• Electric stove tops and ovens.
• Ceiling insulation.

Home Energy Support Program eligibility criteria

To be eligible for this program, you must hold one of the following concession cards:

• Australian Government Pensioner Concession Card.
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card.
• Australian Government Health Care Card.

You must also:

• Be a resident of the ACT.
• Own and live in the home where the product will be installed.
• Have attended a free online Everyday Climate Choices workshop.

Additionally, freestanding homes and units, and dual occupancies must have an Unimproved Value (UV) at or below $750,000 to be eligible. This applies at the time of application in any year from 2022.

For unit titled multi-story apartments, the UV must be at or below $300,000 in any year from 2022. You can find the full eligibility criteria here.

Sustainable Household Scheme explained

The second major ACT government scheme for solar systems is the Sustainable Household Scheme. The scheme offers low-interest loans to install renewable technologies in your home.

As of 1 July 2025, solar panels are no longer eligible for loans under the scheme. However, household battery storage systems are eligible.

Installing these systems in your home compounds the energy efficiency and cost savings of your panels, as they allow you to store excess energy your panels generate.

Under the scheme, you can get a loan between $2,000 and $15,000 to install this technology, or other renewable systems like electric heating and cooling systems, electric vehicles and ceiling insulation. You can repay this loan for up to 10 years.

An interest rate of 3% applies to loans for households. Standard credit criteria is required for the loan, including good credit history and the ability to repay the loan without hardship.

Sustainable Household Scheme eligibility criteria

To be eligible to install a household battery under this scheme, you must:

• Be an ACT resident.
• Own a home in which the installation is to occur, or live with a person who owns the home.
• Attend a free one-hour live workshop.
• For freestanding houses and similar properties, the UV must be at or below $750,000 in any year from 2022.
• For unit titled multi-story apartments, the UV must be at or below $300,000 in any year from 2022.

You can check out the full eligibility criteria for the scheme here.

Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme explained

There are also federal government schemes Canberrans can use to affordably install solar panels. The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme offers benefits for installing renewable systems like solar panels.

Under the scheme, eligible systems earn small-scale technology certificates. The number of certificates you get for installing a system depends on how much electricity your system generates or stores.

You can sell your certificates to earn a financial benefit. If you participate in the scheme, your retailer or installer will typically sell your certificates on your behalf. This provides you with a discount on the installation cost of your system.

Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme eligibility criteria

To be eligible for this scheme when installing rooftop solar, the following criteria apply:

• Your system must be installed by a Solar Accreditation Australia accredited installer.
• The solar panels and inverter must be on the lists of Clean Energy Council approved modules and inverters.
• System capacity must be no more than 100 kW.
• Annual electricity output must be less than 250 MWh.

You can see more comprehensive eligibility criteria here.

Cheaper Home Batteries Program explained

The Small-scale renewable Energy Scheme also extends to solar batteries. This aspect of the scheme is known as the Cheaper Home Batteries Program.

You can get around 30% off on the upfront cost of battery systems under the program. It applies to batteries connected to new or existing solar PV systems.

It’s important to note that this discount gradually decreases each calendar year. So, the sooner you install a battery in your home, the more of a benefit you get through the program.

Cheaper Home Batteries Program eligibility criteria

The following criteria apply to the program:

• The battery must be approved by the Clean Energy Council.
• The battery’s nominal capacity must be no less than 5 kWh and no more than 100 kWh.

How to access panel rebates in Canberra

Each government incentive has a slightly different process for accessing it. Here’s a general guide to how you can access these policies:

1. Ensure you meet all eligibility criteria. This may involve additional steps like attending workshops.
2. Get in touch with an eligible supplier and installer. Suppliers must meet minimum standards like being accredited with Solar Accreditation Australia. Climate Plus is accredited to help you access the incentives listed on this page.
3. Your supplier should be able to guide you through the rest of the process, including selecting eligible products and successfully accessing your incentive.
4. Fill out any relevant forms. Forms like the Home Energy Support Program Application Form must be partially filled out by your supplier.
5. Ensure all other pre-installation steps have been taken. With the help of your supplier, ensure the product is installed in a compliant way.
6. Complete any final steps required to receive your benefit.

Get in touch with our friendly team today. With our expertise and guidance, you can access the right rebates and incentives to install solar technology in your home as affordably as possible.

Can you use multiple solar system incentives at once?

It’s simple to take advantage of different rebates at the same time. There are very few barriers stopping you from taking advantage of multiple incentives at once.

Here’s how it could work for you:

• The Cheaper Home Batteries Program is part of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme. If you are installing solar panels and a solar battery, you can get benefits for both.
• There’s no issue with getting a loan for a household battery under the Sustainable Household Scheme if you are also getting benefits through the Cheaper Home Batteries Program.
• If you hold a concession card that makes you eligible for the Home Energy Support Program, you can also “stack” these benefits with other incentives.

How else can you save on solar systems in Canberra?

On top of these government incentives, here are some further ways to save more money on running solar systems in your home:

• Feed-in tariffs: Feed-in tariffs are payments made by electricity retailers for unused electricity generated by your panels that is exported to the grid. Consider market options and export caps to find the best tariff set-up for you.
• Cleaning and maintenance: Properly maintained and clean panels generate electricity more efficiently. Having your panels professionally maintained and cleaned over time will maximise their functionality, saving you more money.
• Maximise self-consumption: Generally, the most cost-effective way to use your solar panels is to use as much energy as you can directly, yourself, without exporting to the grid. By shifting more of your electricity usage to daytime hours, you can use energy as it’s generated by your system. You can also maximise self-consumption by installing solar batteries.

Expert solar installation in Canberra

If you need a trusted partner to take advantage of solar panel rebates in Canberra, you can rely on Climate Plus. We are accredited for solar PV and battery installation with Solar Accreditation Australian, allowing us to participate in solar rebate schemes.

We have the experience to guide you through the process of claiming solar rebates. We use our manufacturer relationships to provide competitive pricing on solar panels, and to do the best possible job of installing them in your home.

Find out why we’ve earned an average Google review score of 4.9/5 from over 900 reviews. Get in touch with our team today and see how affordably you can have a solar system installed in your home.