Hot water rebates in Australia
There are two layers of assistance for a hot water upgrade in Australia: a federal certificate scheme available everywhere, and state schemes that exist in only four jurisdictions. Between them they can take $1,100 to $3,800 off a heat pump, depending entirely on which side of a state border you live.
Every figure here is indicative and carries the date it was verified. Rebate programs change with little notice — Victoria's income test arrived on 1 July 2026 and the New South Wales co-payment rule changed in September 2025 — so the number that counts is always the one on an accredited installer's quote.
What is available where
| State or territory | Federal STCs | State scheme | State value |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | $800–$1,200 | Hot water upgrade incentive | $330–$640 |
| Victoria | $800–$1,200 | Solar Homes hot water rebate Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) | $1,000–$1,400 $400–$1,200 |
| Queensland | $800–$1,200 | no state scheme | — |
| South Australia | $800–$1,200 | Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS) | $300–$600 |
| Western Australia | $800–$1,200 | no state scheme | — |
| Tasmania | $800–$1,200 | no state scheme | — |
| Australian Capital Territory | $800–$1,200 | Sustainable Household Scheme and ActewAGL water heater upgrade | interest-free loan |
| Northern Territory | $800–$1,200 | no state scheme | — |
Only Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and the ACT run a hot water scheme of their own. Everywhere else the federal certificates are the whole story, and saying so plainly is more use than pretending otherwise. Every figure is indicative — the real number comes from an accredited installer's quote. Last verified 5 September 2026.
The federal scheme, and why timing matters
Small-scale Technology Certificates are created when you install a heat pump or a solar thermal water heater — never for gas or electric resistance. An accredited installer claims them and discounts your quote, so there is nothing for you to lodge and nothing to wait for.
The part almost nobody explains is that the scheme is winding down on a published schedule. Systems are deemed to displace grid electricity for a set number of years, and that number drops by one every single 1 January until the scheme ends in 2030.
| Install year | Deeming period | Indicative value |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 years | — |
| 2026 (now) | 5 years | $800–$1,200 |
| 2027 | 4 years | $640–$960 |
| 2028 | 3 years | $480–$720 |
| 2029 | 2 years | $320–$480 |
| 2030 | 1 years | $160–$240 |
The certificates a heat pump creates are deemed over a period that shortens by one year every 1 January until the scheme ends in 2030. Waiting from December to January costs about a fifth of the discount, for exactly the same system. It is the one piece of timing advice on this site that is worth acting on.
In practice that means a system installed in December earns about a fifth more in certificates than the identical system installed a few weeks later. If a replacement is already on your list for the coming year, that is the one piece of timing advice on this site worth acting on.
Rebates by state and territory
Each page below covers that jurisdiction's schemes, what its energy actually costs, and how the local climate and grid change which system wins there. They are not the same page with the place name swapped — a heat pump behaves differently in Darwin than in Hobart, and two states have no off-peak tariff at all.
New South Wales
Hot water upgrade incentive. Electricity 33.1c/kWh.
Victoria
Solar Homes hot water rebate, Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU). Electricity 27.5c/kWh.
Queensland
Federal certificates only — no state scheme. Electricity 28.0c/kWh.
South Australia
Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS). Electricity 41.9c/kWh.
Western Australia
Federal certificates only — no state scheme. Electricity 33.3c/kWh, no controlled load tariff.
Tasmania
Federal certificates only — no state scheme. Electricity 28.0c/kWh.
Australian Capital Territory
Sustainable Household Scheme and ActewAGL water heater upgrade. Electricity 37.0c/kWh.
Northern Territory
Federal certificates only — no state scheme. Electricity 31.7c/kWh, no controlled load tariff.
How rebates are treated on this site
Every rebate is shown as a separate line item with the body that administers it named, and never folded into a headline price. That is a deliberate choice. A price with an invisible rebate inside it is how installer marketing makes a $5,500 system look like a $2,000 one, and it leaves the reader unable to see what they are actually committing to if their eligibility turns out to be different.
In the total cost of ownership figures, rebates are counted at the bottom of their published range. A calculator that flatters the rebate is exactly the failure this site exists to avoid.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim a federal and a state rebate on the same system?
Yes. The federal certificates and the state schemes are designed to stack, and in Victoria three separate programs can apply to one installation — Solar Homes, the Victorian Energy Upgrades discount and the federal certificates together. That is why the Victorian figure in the table above is so much larger than anywhere else's, and why some Victorian households genuinely do end up with very little to pay.
Do renters get anything?
Generally not directly. Victoria's Solar Homes hot water rebate is restricted to owner-occupiers, and the practical obstacle everywhere else is that the person who pays for the system is the landlord while the person who pays the running cost is the tenant. If you rent, the useful thing this site can give you is the number: what the current system is costing you a year, which is a concrete thing to put in front of an agent.
Why do gas systems get nothing?
Both the federal scheme and every state scheme are designed to reduce emissions and grid demand, and a gas water heater does neither relative to what it replaces. Electric resistance storage is excluded for the same reason. The schemes pay for heat pumps and solar thermal because those are the only two categories that deliver substantially more hot water than the energy they consume.
Is there a rebate for repairing my existing system?
No. Every scheme covered here pays for replacing a system with a more efficient type, not for keeping an existing one going. If your current system is repairable and you are happy with what it costs to run, there is no assistance available and usually no financial case for changing.
How current is this information?
Everything on this page was last verified on 5 September 2026, and every scheme entry carries its own verification date and a link to the administering body. The schemes are reviewed quarterly. If you are reading this well after that date, follow the official link before relying on a figure — that is what it is there for.