Australian Rebates
This page details all the Australian Federal Government rebate schemes to assist people to reduce energy consumption, conserve water, and generally live more sustainably.
Energy Efficient Homes Package
The Australian Government recently announced the new Energy Efficient Homes Package. Under this program you can get:
- free ceiling insulation worth up to $1600; or
- a $1600 rebate on the costs of installing a new solar hot water system
- an insulation rebate for landlords to upgrade rental properties
The insulation and solar hot water rebates are not means tested, which is great news. The Australian Government estimates that up to 40% of homes in Australia are not insulated.
Solar Homes And Communities Plan
The Solar Homes And Communities Plan (SHCP) subsidises the cost of retrofitting solar electricity panels to residential buildings.
Install a 1 kW grid-connected PV solar power system on your home’s roof, and the Government will give you a rebate of $8,000 (as long as your household income is below $100,000/year). This is a fantastic deal, but be quick because the scheme runs out on 30 June 2009 and it will be replaced with a slightly less attractive scheme.
We recently signed up for just such a system for $2,500 installed.
A 1 kW system isn’t likely to meet all your energy requirements unless you’re a very low-use household, but it will meet 25-30% of the average household’s electricity consumption. And with a solar feed-in tariff potentially on the way, it could cover an even greater percentage of your electricity bill.
If your household earns over $100,000/year, don’t worry. You just have to wait a little while until 1 July 2009, when you can access the new 5xRECs scheme that isn’t means tested. It’s not as good as the current rebate scheme, but if you earn more than the threshold it’s worth waiting for.
You can sell the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) your installation receives to further offset the cost of your system.
Under this scheme, you can also apply for funding for solar panels on community buildings.
Renewable Remote Power Generation Program
The Renewable Remote Power Generation Program is for people living in remote areas of Australia.
You can receive a rebate for up to 50% of the capital cost of your renewable generation system, up to a maximum of $200,000. Not bad!
This scheme isn’t limited to individuals, either. It can be accessed by communities, not-for-profit organisations, businesses, government and other organisations. Just as long as you aren’t close to the main electricity grid.
National Rainwater And Greywater Initiative
The National Rainwater And Greywater Initiative provides rebates of up to $500 for households to install rainwater tanks or greywater systems.
This program also provides funding for Surf Live Saving Clubs of up to $10,000 to install rainwater tanks or other water saving projecs.
National Solar Schools Program
Why limit your retrofits to just your home? The National Solar Schools Program offers grants of up to $50,000 to install solar and other renewable power systems, solar hot water systems, rainwater tanks and other energy efficiency measures.
State Rebates
In addition to all those federal rebates, most states offer lots of rebates too. You can usually claim both the state and the federal rebate for qualifying systems.
- New South Wales (NSW) rebates
- Victoria (Vic) rebates
- Queensland (Qld) rebates
- South Australia (SA) rebates
- Western Australia (WA) rebates
- Tasmania (Tas) rebates
- Northern Territory (NT) rebates
- Australian Capital Territory (ACT) rebates
[...] can make some of your purchases green. Check to see if you are eligible for any of the fantastic environmental grants and rebates in your [...]
[...] can make some of your purchases green. Check to see if you are eligible for any of the fantastic environmental grants and rebates in your [...]
ive read through this at great velocity so if what i am looking for is utterly obvious please forgive my disposition, but from what i have read i identify rebates towards green products such as solar power and other various products aimed at lessening green gases through supplying the household with alternate energy sources.My question is why is there no rebate for green friendly household power sources.Apart from sufficing your household power bill with minute savings from these hot water generators why isn’t there more awareness raised for household power providers such as jackgreen energy and a rebate given to these users.I have read about this and was surprised that there was no rebate for thos who utilise this 100 % enviro friendly energy source instead of supporting ebergy companies who perpetuate the greenhouse gas emissions.?
@christian: What I think you’re asking is: why does the government give you rebates to install solar power and solar hot water, but they don’t subsidise green electricity? Correct me if I’m wrong.
I saw some figures recently about government subsidies. In 2005-06, Australian government subsidies totalled about $10 billion just in the energy sector alone. Of that, less than 4% was spent on renewables (i.e. less than $400 million). So your question should really be why does the government subsidise fossil-fuel-based electricity generation to make it cheaper than green electricity? If they stopped supporting the coal industry so much, the price difference would be a lot less – renewables may even come out cheaper!
What’s new on this rebate front, Darren?
Sent this page out via Twitter so hopefully you’ll get a spike.
@Darcy: Thanks! I just read this morning that the insulation rebate has been lowered from $1600 to $1200. Probably a good move – it was uncanny how many insulation quotes were coming back at right on $1600.
[...] http://green-change.com/australian-rebates/ Energy Efficient Homes Package The Australian Government recently announced the new Energy Efficient Homes Package. Under this program you can get: * free ceiling insulation worth up to $1600; or * a $1600 rebate on the costs of installing a new solar hot water system * an insulation rebate for landlords to upgrade rental properties The insulation and solar hot water rebates are not means tested, which is great news. The Australian Government estimates that up to 40% of homes in Australia are not insulated. [...]
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