For more in depth information on the available rebates in Victoria, click here to read more.

Solar Victoria is one of the largest solar incentive programs in Australia – since the program was launched in August 2018, over 150,000 Victorian homes have participated. The program provides incentives for solar panels, water heaters and batteries in the residential sector. Since June 2021, there is also a small business incentive that covers solar power systems up to 30 kW. The Solar Victoria program releases its incentives on the second Wednesday of each month.

Unfortunately, many incentive programs reduce their incentives over time as their targets are met.

This is the case for Solar Victoria, and their incentive for solar panel systems was reduced from $1,850 to $1,400 on 1 July 2021. This change was applied for both homeowners and landlords.

Solar Victoria has also been offering interest-free loans equivalent to the incentive amount. These loans are still available, but their limit has also been reduced from $1,850 to $1,400. This means you can get total funding of up to $2,800 when going solar – 50% corresponds to the incentive, and the other 50% is repaid at zero interest over four years. This benefit can be combined with the nationwide STC incentive, making solar power very affordable for Victorian households.

How did the Solar Victoria changes affect PV installations?

Homeowners and landlords who submitted a solar quote and incentive application by 30 June 2021 remained eligible for the $1,850 incentive, even if the solar panels were not installed by the end of June.

• Property owners with expired quotes or without an incentive application before July 2021 missed the chance to get the $1,850 incentive.
• Participants who had partial applications in process were given 14 days to complete them and still get the higher incentive amount.

Any quotes with an effective date of 1 July 2021 or later are only eligible for the $1,400 incentive. A new quote is required if an existing one is allowed to expire on the platform, but there is a requote function to save time – customer details are conserved, and solar installers only need to upload the new quote.

Solar Victoria has updated the Retailer Portal, and the $1,400 incentive is now applied automatically for all new solar quotes and incentives applications.

Have other Solar Victoria incentives changed since July 2021?

As previously mentioned, Solar Victoria also includes incentives for solar batteries and water heaters in homes, and solar panel systems in small businesses. While these incentives can also change over time, they were not modified on 1 July 2021.

The Solar for Business program became available in June 2021, and there were no changes in July. The incentive amount is up to $3,500 per solar installation, until the first 5,000 incentives are allocated. At this point, the incentive drops to $1,750 per system (50% less).

The solar battery incentive will drop from $4,174 to $3,500, but the change is not subject to a specific date. Instead, the reduction will be applied when all the incentives planned for 2020-2021 have been awarded. By the end of June 2021, there were still around 1,500 solar battery incentives available at $4,174.

The solar hot water incentive is currently up to $1,000 per system, and Solar Victoria has not announced any changes in the short term. Unlike the solar panel and battery incentives, this one is not subject to the fixed release dates on the second Wednesday of each month.

Final recommendations

Incentive programs like Solar Victoria can greatly reduce the cost of solar installations, which improves their return on investment while shortening their payback period. The solar incentive for Victorian homeowners and landlords has decreased from $1,850 to $1,400 per system, but going solar is still an excellent investment. You can combine this incentive with the nationwide STC program, and you can get an interest-free loan to reduce your upfront cost even more.

Solar incentive programs have stringent requirements, which means that only high-quality installations can get their benefits. To ensure that your home or business is eligible, the best recommendation is working with a qualified installer like Nectr.

Want to learn more? Contact us on 1300 133 556.

Next Steps…

Interested in solar? By clicking below you can use our smart solar calculator to find out just how much you could save with solar, what rebate you are eligible for, and the impact you will have on the environment.

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Otherwise, you can always contact us on 1300 133 556, or email if you prefer at sales@instylesolar.com.au.