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In a very disappointing move, Solar Victoria has just ended their solar battery incentives just over a month away from the new Federal rebate from arriving.
The Victorian program offered interest-free loans of up to A$8,800 ($183 per month) for 4-year period, dramatically decreasing the up-front costs of a battery. The Federal Government policy promoted during the last election is scheduled to commence on July 1st.
Those Aussie home owners with solar systems who were looking at adding a battery home storage system could have stacked state and federal government incentives which could have seen the up-front cost of something like a Tesla Powerwall 3 reduced from A$15,000 (installed), to just a few thousand dollars.
Unfortunately, this will no longer be the case. The same Tesla Powerwall 3 offers 13.5 kWh in capacity and the program offers $330/kWh = resulting in around 30% discount of $4,455 in savings.
This means the upfront net cost after the discount would still be $10,545. The economics of this depend heavily on the annual cost of energy a household pays. With a higher cost, the return on investment is longer and grows closer to the duration of the warranty period.
The Victorian Solar Homes Program, which includes the solar battery incentive, began in August 2018. Initially, it offered rebates for solar PV systems, and the battery-specific incentive started in July 2019 with the introduction of battery rebates. The interest-free battery loan scheme, which replaced the battery rebate, was introduced on July 1, 2023, as part of the program’s expansion to make solar batteries more accessible to eligible Victorian households.
Victoria has a commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2045, as legislated under the Climate Change Act 2017 and updated in 2024. This target aligns with the state’s broader climate strategy, which includes interim emissions reduction targets of 75–80% by 2035 (from 2005 levels).
As you can see from the key initiatives below, battery rebates made up a key part of the Victorian Government’s plan to reach this goal:
Sector Pledges: Net-zero commitments for sectors like transport, agriculture, and industry, with initiatives like the $100 million Community Climate Change and Energy Action program to support local councils and communities.
Renewable Energy Targets: 65% renewable energy by 2030 and 95% by 2035, driven by projects like the Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) auctions and the Solar Homes Program.
Solar Homes Program: Since August 2018, it has supported over 360,000 households with solar PV, battery, and hot water system installations, including interest-free loans of up to $8,800 for batteries since July 2023.
Energy Transition: Phasing out coal-fired power (e.g., Yallourn by 2028, Loy Yang A by 2035) and expanding renewable energy capacity through offshore wind, solar, and battery storage projects.
Commonwealth Government battery discounts
In April, the Commonwealth Government announced that the Cheaper Homes Batteries Program will open on 1 July.
At the time of writing, Solar Victoria posted just 9 hours ago on their Facebook page announcing the loans would be closing soon, but on the same day, the loans have ended. The suggestion is that there was a fixed amount of loans that have now run out.
The Victorian Solar Homes Program allocated 4,500 interest-free battery loans, in late May 2025, it was recently reported there was more than 1,200 loans remaining for the 2024-25 financial year.
More information at Department of Climate Change Energy, the Environment and Water and Solar Victoria.
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