Heating and cooling rebates in Western Australia
No state scheme, and no federal one either.
What you can claim towards heating or cooling in Western Australia, what the systems actually cost to run here, and the local facts that change the answer — the climate, the tariff structure and the grid.
What you can claim in Western Australia
There is nothing available in Western Australia
Western Australia runs no state rebate for heating or cooling, and there is no federal scheme either — Small-scale Technology Certificates cover water heaters and solar panels only. So unlike a hot water upgrade, where every Australian gets $800 to $1,200 regardless of postcode, there is no national floor here.
That is the complete answer as at 5 September 2026, and it is worth stating plainly rather than burying.
Why Western Australia is different
Western Australia has no state rebate for heating or cooling, and because there is no federal scheme either, that means there is nothing at all. Saying so plainly is more use than a page of hedging: if you have been searching for a WA air conditioning rebate and finding only installer pages that imply one exists, this is why.
What Western Australia does have is a genuinely different set of underlying economics. Synergy's standard residential plan has no controlled load or off-peak rate, so there is no cheap overnight window to shift load into. And Perth's climate is close to balanced — 545 heating degree days against 872 cooling — so a system needs to do both jobs.
The one strong recommendation for Western Australia is evaporative cooling. Perth's summer is dry, which is exactly the condition evaporative needs, and it runs at roughly a quarter of the cost of refrigerated cooling. It is the closest thing to free money available here, and it does not need a rebate.
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 Western Australia's reference rates. On these assumptions the cheapest option in Western Australia is single split system at about $419 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 | $419 | $2,600 | $6,787 |
| Multi-split system | Most of the house | $949 | $8,500 | $17,985 |
| Ducted reverse cycle | The whole house | $1,369 | $15,500 | $29,190 |
| Ceiling fans | Cools only — you would still need something for winter. | |||
| Ducted evaporative cooling | Cools only — you would still need something for winter. | |||
| Electric panel or fan heater | Heats only — you would still need something for summer. | |||
| Gas space 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 Western Australia — 545 heating and 872 cooling degree days — at 33.3c/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 calculator and every figure recalculates.
Every state, for comparison
| State or territory | Scheme | Indicative value | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) | $1,000–$3,500 | Changes 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
What air conditioning rebate can I get in Western Australia?
None. Western Australia has no state scheme and there is no federal rebate for heating or cooling, so there is nothing available regardless of what system you choose or who installs it.
Is Perth a heating or a cooling climate?
545 heating degree days against 872 cooling, so decisively a cooling climate — buy for summer, and treat winter performance as a secondary consideration.
How much does it cost to run a ducted system in Western Australia?
About $1,369 a year for a 160 m² pre-2005 house at 33.3c per kilowatt hour, heating and cooling combined. A multi-split in the same house comes to about $949, but it is conditioning less of the house — that is most of the difference, not better hardware.
Would insulation save more than a new system in Western Australia?
Almost certainly. Taking the same house from pre-2005 to a 6-star standard cuts heating energy to 30% and cooling energy to 60% — a bigger reduction than any system change on the market, and it applies whichever system you end up with. No scheme in Western Australia pays for it, which is precisely why it gets overlooked.