Heating and cooling rebates in Australian Capital Territory
The most expensive house in Australia to heat, and the narrowest case for switching.
The short answer is the Home Energy Support Program — up to 50% of supply and installation, capped at $2,500, but only for concession card holders — plus a separate ActewAGL gas-to-electric program and zero-interest loans for everyone else. It is the deepest support in the country, and it needs to be: below is why Canberra is the most expensive house in Australia to heat and the narrowest case for switching.
What you can claim in Australian Capital Territory
Home Energy Support Program
Up to 50% of supply and installation, capped at $2,500, for eligible concession holders — indicatively $0 to $2,500.
- You must own and live in the home.
- The 50% rebate is for holders of an eligible concession card.
- A separate ActewAGL program discounts upgrades from ducted gas heating to reverse cycle for households generally.
- Zero-interest loans are available through the Sustainable Household Scheme for households that do not qualify for the rebate.
The ACT is the most expensive place in Australia to heat a house — the coldest capital and the second dearest electricity — so the rebate is doing more work here than anywhere else.
Administered by ACT Government. Official scheme page. Last verified 5 September 2026.
Why Australian Capital Territory is different
The ACT approaches this differently from the certificate schemes. The Home Energy Support Program pays up to 50% of supply and installation, capped at $2,500, for households holding an eligible concession card — a much deeper subsidy than anywhere else, but for a narrower group. A separate ActewAGL program discounts upgrades from ducted gas to reverse cycle for households generally, and zero-interest loans are available through the Sustainable Household Scheme for those who do not qualify for the rebate.
The rebate is doing more work here than anywhere else, because the ACT is the most expensive place in Australia to heat a house. Canberra has 1,833 heating degree days, the most of any capital, and ActewAGL electricity at 37.0c per kilowatt hour is the second dearest in the country. Heating a 160 m² pre-2005 Canberra house with ducted reverse cycle costs around $2,431 a year — about 1.8 times the Melbourne figure for the identical house and system, and $2,635 once you add the cooling.
Reverse cycle still beats ducted gas here, but by the narrowest margin in the country: about 13%, against 31% in Victoria and 53% in Western Australia. Dear electricity erodes the heat pump's advantage, and Canberra has the dearest electricity of any state with mains gas.
So the honest position for Canberra: switching is still the right call on running cost, on emissions and for the long term, but the saving is smaller here than the national story suggests and the payback is correspondingly longer. If you qualify for the concession rebate it is a straightforward yes. If you do not, run your own numbers rather than assuming the headline applies.
What it costs to heat and cool a house here
A 160 m² house built before 2005, heated and cooled for a full year at Australian Capital Territory's reference rates. On these assumptions the cheapest option in Australian Capital Territory is single split system at about $807 a year — though read the conditions column, because it is not conditioning the same amount of house as the ones below it.
| System | Conditions | Per year | Installed | 10-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single split system | One main living area | $807 | $2,600 | $10,670 |
| Multi-split system | Most of the house | $1,846 | $8,500 | $26,957 |
| Ducted reverse cycle | The whole house | $2,635 | $15,500 | $41,848 |
| Ceiling fans | Cools only — you would still need something for winter. | |||
| Ducted evaporative cooling | Cools only — you would still need something for winter. | |||
| Gas space heater | Heats only — you would still need something for summer. | |||
| Electric panel or fan heater | Heats only — you would still need something for summer. | |||
| Ducted gas heating | Heats only — you would still need something for summer. |
A 160 m² pre-2005 house in Australian Capital Territory — 1,833 heating and 210 cooling degree days — at 37.0c/kWh, heating and cooling for a full year. Read the conditions column: the cheap options are partly cheap because they condition less of the house.
Your own house will differ. Put your floor area, insulation and rates into the heating and cooling cost calculator and every figure recalculates.
Every state, for comparison
| State or territory | Scheme | Indicative value | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) | $1,000–$3,500 | Co-payment rose 30/09/2026 |
| New South Wales | Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) | $200–$2,600 | — |
| Australian Capital Territory | Home Energy Support Program | $0–$2,500 | — |
| South Australia | Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS) | $300–$1,500 | — |
| Queensland | Climate Smart Energy Savers | $0–$1,000 | — |
| Western Australia | no state scheme | — | — |
| Tasmania | no state scheme | — | — |
| Northern Territory | no state scheme | — | — |
There is no federal rebate for heating or cooling. Small-scale Technology Certificates apply to water heaters and solar panels only, so unlike a hot water upgrade there is no national floor — what you get depends entirely on your state. Every figure is indicative and delivered as a discount by an accredited installer rather than claimed back. Last verified 5 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much of an air conditioner does the ACT rebate actually cover?
Up to $2,500 — but only half the job, and only if you hold an eligible concession card. The Home Energy Support Program pays 50% of supply and installation to that cap; without the card there is a zero-interest loan instead of a discount.
Why does Canberra's rebate need to be this generous?
Because the city gives it no choice — 1833 heating degree days, the coldest capital by a wide margin, against a run of only 210 cooling degree days. A heat pump has to work through winters most of the country doesn't have, which is why the subsidy here goes deeper than anywhere else.
What does a ducted system actually cost to run in Canberra?
Around $2,635 a year for a 160 m² pre-2005 house, at 37.0c per kilowatt hour — the second-dearest power in the country layered on the coldest capital. Scaling back to a multi-split covering less of the house brings that to about $1,846, which is most of the saving; the hardware itself is not much more efficient.
Is insulation worth more than the rebate itself in the ACT?
For a lot of Canberra houses, yes. Bringing a pre-2005 home to a 6-star standard cuts heating energy to 30% of its old level and cooling to 60% — a bigger swing than switching systems achieves alone — and no ACT scheme currently pays for it, concession card or not.