More Australians to benefit from Cheaper Home Batteries

The Albanese Labor Government will help more households, small businesses and community groups bring down their energy bills for good through sensible changes to expand and secure the sustainability of our Cheaper Home Batteries program.

The Government will expand the program to an estimated $7.2 billion over four years, an increase from the initial $2.3 billion. This is expected to see more than 2 million Australians install a battery by 2030, delivering around 40 gigawatt hours of capacity, doubling our election estimate of 1 million batteries and increasing the expected capacity by almost four times.  

In less than six months, the Cheaper Home Batteries program has helped more than 155,000 households and small businesses cut their power bills and take control of their energy, with around three-quarters of installations in our suburbs and regions.

The 3.5 GWh of battery storage delivered over this period has increased home battery capacity in Australia to almost twice the level before the program – with half of these households also installing solar panels for the first time or upgrading existing systems.

Stored rooftop solar via batteries is good for the grid, playing an increasingly important role in smoothing out evening demand and reducing peak pricing which benefits all bill payers. Data from the Australian Energy Market Commission found, even on a conservative outlook, increased home battery uptake could deliver a 3% reduction in bills annually across the energy system as it evens out those expensive peaks.

Alongside increased support for the program, from 1 May 2026, the Government will make adjustments to ensure the around 30% discount is encouraging households to get the right sized battery for their needs and the program remains sustainable.  

Under this tiered system, support will be staggered in line with the size of the battery, with support moderating per kWh for medium and larger batteries. It remains that the first 50kWh of a system is eligible for support, for battery systems sized up to 100kWh.  

With declining battery costs and more choice for consumers, this tiered support will enable more Australians to install batteries in their homes.  

Rooftop solar is a Labor legacy – with one in three households now having solar. Our suburbs are solar champions – with ten times more solar in Blacktown than Bondi, and seven times more in Frankston than St Kilda.  

Cheaper Home Batteries is now being delivered through that same tried-and-tested way via the existing Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.  

With these responsible policy adjustments, we’re ensuring batteries can be the next lasting Labor legacy, just like rooftop solar.  

Quotes attributable to Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen:

“Australia is a solar nation – we've got more solar on our roofs than pools in our backyards, and we want to match that success with home batteries to cut bills for everyone, for good.

“We want more Aussie households to have access to batteries that are good for bills and good for the grid - because it means more cheap, fast, safe solar energy is available in our homes night or day, when and where it’s needed.

“By responsibly managing the budget, we’re able to fund the things that matter most to Australians such as strengthening Medicare, cheaper medicines, slashing student debt, expanding our Cheaper Home Batteries program and tax cuts for every taxpayer.”