All Perth solar rebates and incentives in 2026: a complete guide
Perth homeowners installing solar and battery storage in 2026 can access four financial incentives: two separate federal STC rebates (one for solar, one for the battery), the WA Battery Scheme rebate via Synergy, and Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme export payments. Here's what each is worth and how they work.
If you're installing solar, or solar and a battery, in Perth this year, four separate financial incentives can apply. They land at different points in the project and come from different places: the federal government pays out through two separate STC mechanisms, one for the solar panels and one for the battery, the WA government adds a state top-up via Synergy, and Synergy pays you again, in its role as your retailer, for the power you export.
For a typical 6.6kW solar and 10kWh battery installation, that's roughly $1,796 off your invoice in solar STCs, a further $2,713 in battery STCs, up to $1,300 back as a Synergy bill credit, and around $154 a year in ongoing DEBS export payments (less than a solar-only system earns, because a battery keeps more of your generation at home instead of sending it to the grid). Here's how each one works, what you need to do to get it, and what commonly gets misunderstood.
How much are STCs worth for a Perth solar system?
Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) are a federal incentive under Australia's Renewable Energy Target. Each STC represents one megawatt-hour of electricity your system is expected to generate over its deeming period, currently 5 years from installation for a new system, based on your postcode's zone rating and your system size.
How they reach you: STCs almost always show up as a point-of-sale discount, not a cheque. You assign your STCs to your installer, the installer sells them, and the value comes straight off your invoice. You never handle the certificates yourself. There's no separate application either, your installer manages the paperwork as part of the sale.
What they're worth for a 6.6kW system in 2026:
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Zone rating (Perth, STC Zone 3) | 1.382 |
| Deeming period | 5 years |
| STC count | 45 (6.6kW × 5 years × 1.382, rounded down) |
| Market price per STC (mid-2026) | around $39.90 |
| Total discount | approximately $1,796 |
That discount is already baked into the price your installer quotes. If a quote shows a price "before" and "after" STCs, the "after" figure is what you actually pay.
Who qualifies: the property owner (homeowner or long-term leaseholder), for a system installed by an SAA-accredited installer using CEC-approved panels and inverters, no larger than 100kW, with the certificates created and assigned within 12 months of installation. Rental properties qualify too, though the landlord keeps the STCs, not the tenant.
This calculation covers the solar panels only. A battery installed alongside solar earns its own, separate set of STCs, under a different formula, so a solar-and-battery package claims both. The value is already netted off a compliant quote; to sanity-check that, run the quote through the quote checker.
How do battery STCs work, and how much is a 10kWh battery worth?
Batteries earn STCs too, through a separate federal mechanism, sometimes called the Cheaper Home Batteries Program. It runs alongside the solar STC scheme above but uses a different formula: no postcode zone rating, and no 5-year deeming period. Instead, usable battery capacity is multiplied by a per-kWh factor that steps down every six months as the scheme winds toward its 2030 close.
What a 10kWh battery installed in the second half of 2026 earns:
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Usable capacity | 10kWh |
| Half-yearly STC factor (2026, second half) | 6.8 |
| STC count | 68 (10kWh × 6.8, rounded down) |
| Market price per STC (mid-2026) | around $39.90 |
| Total discount | approximately $2,713 |
Larger batteries don't scale in a straight line. Above 14kWh, the federal scheme tapers how much capacity counts: the first 14kWh counts in full, the next 14kWh (up to 28kWh) counts at 60%, and the next 22kWh (up to the 50kWh cap) counts at 15%. Batteries under 5kWh of usable capacity aren't eligible at all. Most home batteries sit between those bounds, so most households get the full rate without the taper coming into play.
Like solar STCs, this shows up as a point-of-sale discount built into your installer's quote, not a separate payment to you.
What changed in 2026?
Three rebate changes have already hit this year, and each one leaves you with less than a year ago.
Federal solar STCs stepped down on 1 January. The solar deeming period shortened by one year, as it does every January. For a 6.6kW Perth system, the STC discount went from roughly $2,155 in 2025 to about $1,796 in 2026, around $360 less.
| System size | 2025 STC value | 2026 STC value | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5kW | ~$1,636 | ~$1,357 | -$279 |
| 6.6kW | ~$2,155 | ~$1,796 | -$359 |
| 10kW | ~$3,272 | ~$2,753 | -$519 |
| 13.2kW | ~$4,349 | ~$3,631 | -$718 |
The federal battery rebate restructured on 1 May. The Cheaper Home Batteries Program moved from a flat per-kWh rate to the tiered taper described above, and the half-yearly certificate factor stepped from 8.4 down to 6.8. Under the pre-May rates a 10kWh battery earned roughly $3,100; the same battery now earns roughly $2,713. For larger batteries the taper bites harder: a 20kWh system now receives roughly $4,748 versus around $6,200 under the earlier settings (part of that gap is the taper, part is movement in the certificate price itself).
The WA Battery Scheme held steady. Still $130/kWh, still capped at $1,300.
Here's what that adds up to for a 10kWh battery install:
| Component | Pre-1 May 2026 | Current (since 1 May) |
|---|---|---|
| Installed cost | ~$10,000 | ~$10,000 |
| Federal battery STCs | -$3,100 | -$2,713 |
| WA state rebate | -$1,300 | -$1,300 |
| Your net cost | $5,600 | $5,987 |
The practical takeaway: right-sizing the battery to your actual household needs now has the biggest impact on rebate value. A well-matched 10 to 13kWh system often beats an oversized one for return, because capacity above 14kWh earns certificates at a much lower rate.
Western Power's inverter connection rules also changed on 1 May, separately from the rebates: the single-phase inverter cap rose to 15kVA under the flexible-exports framework, while the standard export allowance stayed at 5kW per phase. If you're sizing a bigger system, what size solar system do I need in Perth? covers what the limits mean for your install.
How does the WA Battery Scheme rebate work?
The WA Battery Scheme is a state rebate for eligible battery storage installed alongside solar, paid as a credit on your Synergy account rather than cash in hand.
You're eligible if:
- You're a Synergy residential customer on the SWIS network. This scheme doesn't reach households outside the south west grid.
- Your system's inverter is approved for DER Storage on Synergy's Supported Solutions List (SSL) and your battery is paired with it, with at least 5kWh of usable battery capacity. The SSL is an inverter approval list, so eligibility follows the inverter pairing, not the battery badge.
- Your solar system is connected.
- An SAA-accredited installer does the work.
- The system complies with AS/NZS 5139.
- You enrol your battery in Synergy Battery Rewards, Synergy's virtual power plant program, for a minimum two-year term. This one catches people out: it's a mandatory condition of the rebate, not an optional extra. Synergy gets some say over when your battery charges and discharges, and pays you for the capacity it uses. Ask your installer, or Synergy directly, what Battery Rewards pays before you commit.
What it pays: $130 per kilowatt-hour of eligible battery capacity, capped at $1,300, which caps out at 10kWh of eligible capacity. A 5kWh battery earns $650. A 10kWh battery hits the $1,300 cap. A 13.5kWh battery still only earns $1,300, the cap doesn't move for the extra capacity.
The loan on top: eligible households (income under $210,000) can also access an interest-free loan of up to $10,000 through the scheme to spread the remaining cost. For households that would otherwise finance through a typical personal loan, the interest saved can end up worth more than the $1,300 rebate itself.
Tesla Powerwall 3: the Powerwall 3 doesn't currently qualify for the $1,300 rebate. Its integrated inverter isn't approved for DER Storage on the SSL, even though the hardware is approved for grid connection. Listings change as Synergy reviews products, so ask your installer to confirm current SSL status and rebate eligibility in writing for any battery and inverter pairing, Powerwall 3 included, before you sign anything.
How you get paid: your SAA-accredited installer lodges the rebate application with Synergy on your behalf. You don't file anything yourself. The credit lands on your account once Synergy has registered and approved the installation. There's no fixed turnaround, it depends on Synergy's workload at the time, so ask your installer for a current estimate rather than counting on a specific date.
For the full eligibility checklist and application walkthrough, see the WA battery scheme explainer.
What is DEBS and how much do export payments add up to?
The Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS) isn't an upfront rebate. It's an ongoing payment for the electricity your solar system exports to the grid. New solar connections from 6 November 2020 onward are automatically enrolled.
DEBS pays a time-of-use rate:
- Peak: 10c per kWh exported between 3pm and 9pm
- Off-peak: 2c per kWh exported all other hours
Credits are capped at 50kWh of exports per day, and a one-off $7.85 application fee applies when you first register. To qualify, your system needs a Western Power network connection approval and a Synergy meter configured with an export register; your installer arranges both as part of a standard install.
For a 6.6kW Perth system with moderate self-consumption, around 35%, annual export typically runs to roughly 6,000 to 7,000 kWh. How much of that lands in the 10c peak window rather than the 2c off-peak window depends on your own household's usage pattern. A home that's out at 5pm exports more into the peak rate than one running the aircon at that hour. Across a typical export profile, that credits roughly $213 a year against your Synergy bill.
Add a battery to the same system and DEBS income drops, not rises. A battery stores the power you'd otherwise export, so self-consumption climbs toward 75% and export volume falls to roughly a quarter of generation, well under half of what a solar-only system exports. Less exported power means a smaller DEBS credit, typically around $154 a year for a 6.6kW solar and 10kWh battery combination, even though the battery itself unlocks the separate battery STC and WA Battery Scheme incentives above.
What if I connected before DEBS started?
If you connected before 6 November 2020 and haven't switched, you're likely still on the Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme (REBS): a flat 7.135c/kWh for every exported unit, no time-of-use split. REBS beats DEBS off-peak (2c) but loses to DEBS peak (10c), so which one pays more depends on your export profile. You can switch to DEBS, but the move is permanent. There's no going back to REBS once you do.
Can you finance what the rebates don't cover?
Two options sit alongside the rebates themselves.
The WA Battery Scheme loan. As above: interest-free, up to $10,000, income-tested at $210,000, tied to an eligible battery installation.
Synergy's HEEL loan. A Synergy-backed subsidised loan for eligible solar and energy-efficiency purchases (solar panels, battery storage, heat pump hot water, insulation, and a handful of other upgrades), repaid through your electricity bill rather than as a separate bank loan. It suits households who'd rather spread the cost across their power bill than find a large upfront payment; the repayment eats into some of your solar savings, but you're not fronting the full system cost on day one. Loan amounts, rates, and availability are set by Synergy and can shift over time, so confirm current terms directly with Synergy before you count on it.
If you're weighing these against cash, a solar loan, or a lease, how to finance solar in Perth breaks down the trade-offs.
What doesn't count as a rebate?
A few things get called "rebates" that aren't, and it's worth knowing the difference before a salesperson leans on the word.
There's no state cash grant. WA doesn't offer a direct upfront payment for residential solar panels, unlike some rebate programs interstate. Both STC schemes, solar and battery, are federal, not state-funded, and the WA Battery Scheme only covers the battery, not the panels.
"Rebates ending soon" is a sales tactic. STCs exist under legislation and step down on a published schedule. They don't vanish overnight. Treat any claim of an urgent government deadline with scepticism.
A lower Synergy bill isn't a rebate. The bill reduction you get from using your own solar power is cost avoidance, not a government payment. It's real money in your pocket, just not one of the four schemes above.
Concessions and hardship support are separate programs. The Energy Assistance Payment, the Hardship Utility Grant Scheme, and card-based concessions help with electricity bills regardless of whether you install solar, and they stack with everything above. Check your eligibility with Synergy and Concessions WA directly.
How much are all four incentives worth together?
| Incentive | Source | Type | Solar only (6.6kW) | Solar + 10kWh battery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar STCs | Federal government | Upfront price reduction | approximately $1,796 | approximately $1,796 |
| Battery STCs | Federal government | Upfront price reduction | not applicable | approximately $2,713 |
| WA Battery Scheme | WA Government via Synergy | Bill credit, post-install | not applicable | up to $1,300, subject to SSL eligibility and Battery Rewards enrolment |
| DEBS | Synergy | Ongoing export payment | approximately $213 a year | approximately $154 a year |
Solar only, no battery: around $2,000 in year one, from solar STCs plus DEBS. Solar and a 10kWh battery: around $5,960 in year one, once both federal STC payments and the WA Battery Scheme rebate land. The battery raises self-consumption and so lowers your DEBS income compared to a solar-only system, but the battery STC and WA Battery Scheme amounts together far outweigh that difference, assuming your battery model qualifies.
These figures are indicative for a typical Perth household. Your actual solar STC count depends on your system size, your battery STC count depends on your battery's usable capacity and the half-yearly factor in effect when you install, your DEBS income depends on your export volume and timing, and your WA Battery Scheme rebate depends on your battery being paired with an inverter the SSL approves for DER Storage, not just installed capacity.
Rebate amounts, eligibility, and scheme availability are current as at July 2026 and can change without notice. Verify current terms directly with the Clean Energy Regulator (both STC programs), Synergy (WA Battery Scheme, Battery Rewards, and HEEL), and Energy Policy WA before you install.