Quick Answer
At Battery IQ, we confirm: the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program has no means test. No income test, no asset test, no pension card requirement. A 13.5kWh battery gets approximately $4,536 off in early 2026 regardless of your income. This is a stark contrast to Victorian solar rebates which excluded households earning over $210,000.
📢 December 2025 Update
On December 13, 2025, the federal government announced major changes to the Cheaper Home Batteries Program effective May 1, 2026:
- • New tiered structure: Larger batteries receive less rebate per kWh
- • Base rate drops 19%: From 8.4 to 6.8 STCs/kWh in May
- • 6-monthly reductions: Rebates now decrease twice per year
Is the Federal Battery Rebate Means Tested?
Let's be direct: If you earn too much to qualify for Victorian solar rebates, you've spent years watching neighbours get thousands off their solar systems while you paid full price. You wanted to do the right thing for the environment. You could afford to invest in clean energy. But you were explicitly excluded from participating.
That changes now.
The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program, launched July 1, 2025, has no income test. No household income threshold. No asset test. No pension card requirement. No jumping through bureaucratic hoops to prove you "deserve" help.
If you own a home in Australia and want to install a battery, you get the rebate. Simple as that.
The Bottom Line
A typical 13.5kWh battery (like a Tesla Powerwall 3) gets approximately $4,536 off through the federal program in early 2026. No income test. No application forms. Your installer claims it on your behalf, and the discount comes straight off your quote.
Why Did Victorian Solar Rebates Have Income Tests?
Victoria's Solar Homes program was meant to accelerate household solar adoption. It succeeded in that narrow goal. But its design created a perverse outcome that left ordinary working families on both sides of the threshold struggling.
The Income Cap Problem
To access Victorian solar rebates, your household income needed to be below $210,000. That might sound like a lot, but in 2024 Australia - with cost of living pressures making dual-income households the norm - it caught countless regular families.
Who got excluded from Victorian rebates?
Two teachers married to each other? Often excluded.
A nurse and a tradie both working full-time? Excluded.
Two public servants with a mortgage in the suburbs? Frequently excluded.
Any couple where both partners work and have more than a few years' experience? Quite possibly excluded.
The policy created a cruel irony: households below the threshold often couldn't afford the gap after the rebate anyway. And households above it - despite both partners working full-time - were locked out entirely while still facing the same cost of living pressures everyone else did.
The Lose-Lose Reality
A $210,000 household income sounds comfortable until you factor in Melbourne mortgages, childcare costs, and the reality that it often represents two people working demanding jobs just to stay afloat. These aren't wealthy households with money to burn. They're families where both parents work because they have to.
The means test didn't distinguish between a single high earner and two nurses working opposite shifts to manage childcare. It didn't account for HECS debts, or the fact that household income says nothing about household savings.
The Absurdity in Action
Here's the perverse outcome income-based means testing creates: retired couples with millions in assets but minimal taxable income qualified for full rebates. Literally more money than they knew what to do with - holiday homes, trips to Europe, investment portfolios - but because they'd structured their retirement to minimise taxable income, they got the discount.
Meanwhile, their adult children - young families with kids, mortgages, childcare costs, living month to month - were excluded because both parents worked. The grandparents got subsidised solar between trips to Italy. Their grandchildren's parents paid full price while counting every dollar.
Income is a terrible proxy for wealth. And wealth is a terrible proxy for who "deserves" to participate in the clean energy transition. The federal government got this right: everyone deserves access.
"My wife and I are both teachers. We've wanted solar for years but were told we earned too much for the rebate. Too much? We're not rich - we just both work. Meanwhile we're paying full price for electricity while trying to do the right thing."
— Sentiment echoed across suburban Melbourne
How Much Is the Federal Battery Rebate?
The federal battery rebate works through Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs). Your installer claims these on your behalf, and the value comes directly off your quote. No separate application. No waiting for reimbursement.
Rebate Amounts by Battery Size
| Battery | Capacity | Approx. Rebate |
|---|---|---|
| Enphase IQ Battery 5P | 5 kWh | ~$1,680 |
| BYD Battery-Box HVS | 10.2 kWh | ~$3,427 |
| Tesla Powerwall 3 | 13.5 kWh | ~$4,536 |
| Sungrow SBR | 19.2 kWh | ~$6,451 |
| Maximum (50 kWh cap) | 50 kWh | ~$16,800 |
*Based on STC Clearing House price of $40 and 8.4 STCs per kWh (Jan-Apr 2026 rate). Amounts will decrease from May 2026 with the new tiered structure.
What About State Rebates?
Victoria's battery loan program closed in May 2025. The federal rebate is now the primary incentive for Victorian households. For other states, stacking rules vary - see our rebate stacking guide for details.
Who Is Eligible for the Federal Battery Rebate?
Here's everything you need to qualify. Notice what's not on this list.
What's Required
- Australian residential property - house, apartment, or townhouse
- Grid-connected - off-grid has separate programs
- Existing or new solar PV system - grid-only batteries are not eligible
- Battery 5-100kWh - usable capacity
- VPP-capable system - most brands qualify (you don't have to join a VPP)
- CEC-accredited installer - standard for any reputable installation
- Commissioned on or after July 1, 2025
What's NOT Required
- No income test - earn $500K? $1M? Doesn't matter.
- No asset test - property portfolio is irrelevant
- No pension card - not a welfare program
- No previous rebate check - had solar rebate? Still eligible.
- No application form - your installer handles everything
This is what federal programs should look like. Universal access. Simple administration. Everyone who wants to contribute to the energy transition can participate.
When Should You Install a Battery?
The rebate started July 1, 2025 and declines approximately 10% per year until 2030. The STC factor drops from 9.3 in 2025 to 4.7 by 2030.
Rebate Timeline
For a 13.5kWh battery like the Tesla Powerwall 3, the rebate is approximately $4,536 in early 2026, dropping to around $3,672 from May 2026 with the new tiered structure. See our complete federal rebate guide for the full year-by-year breakdown.
What Actually Matters
Whether a battery makes sense for you depends on your specific situation: your electricity usage patterns, your solar system size, and what you're paying for electricity. These factors vary dramatically between households.
Get Personalised Numbers
Upload your electricity bill to our calculator and we'll analyse your actual usage patterns, identify savings opportunities, and show you what a battery would realistically save in your situation.
What Are Your Next Steps?
If you've been waiting for a rebate that doesn't exclude you, it's here. Here's how to proceed:
- Understand your current usage
Upload your electricity bill to our calculator. We'll analyse your consumption patterns, identify peak usage, and calculate realistic battery savings.
- Compare battery options
Read our 2026 battery comparison. Tesla Powerwall 3, BYD, Sungrow, Enphase, FoxESS, and Sigenergy all have different strengths depending on your situation.
- Get quotes from accredited installers
Ensure they're CEC-accredited and clearly show the STC discount on their quote. Three quotes minimum - prices vary significantly.
- Schedule installation
Confirm commissioning will occur on or after July 1, 2025. The rebate is applied automatically - no separate application required.
Why Does Universal Access to Clean Energy Matter?
Australia's electricity grid needs batteries. Not in five years. Now.
As coal plants retire and renewable generation increases, the grid faces a fundamental challenge: solar produces most of its energy in the middle of the day, but households use most of their energy in the evening. Batteries bridge that gap.
The Scale of the Problem
On a typical summer evening in Victoria, the grid experiences a "duck curve" - demand surges as people come home, turn on air conditioning, and cook dinner, exactly when solar generation drops to zero. Without storage, that evening demand gets met by gas peakers. With household batteries, it gets met by the solar you generated at lunchtime.
Why Universal Access Matters
When you exclude working families from clean energy programs based on arbitrary income thresholds, you lose:
- Volume - dual-income households are the norm, not the exception
- Word of mouth - people talk to colleagues, neighbours, family about what works
- Installer capacity - more installations means more trained installers, lower costs for everyone
- Grid stability - every battery helps manage evening peak demand
The fastest path to affordable clean energy is scale. Means testing slowed that down.
The Broader Frustration
Across Australia, working families who wanted to do the right thing were told they earned "too much" - even as they struggled with the same mortgage stress and childcare costs as everyone else. The federal program finally recognises that household income is a poor proxy for whether someone deserves help transitioning to clean energy.
Content reviewed by Battery IQ Energy Analysts | Sources: Clean Energy Regulator, Victorian Government Solar Homes program, ABS data | Last updated: 10 January 2026
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