Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio will announce on Wednesday the $180,000-a-year income eligibility cap will rise to $210,000,The Agehas confirmed. The change will take effect immediately.
Victoria’s combined income threshold for solar rebates is lifting from $180,000 to $210,000.Bloomberg
The adjusted income threshold,which applies to home owners and renters,means 10,000 extra homes will be able to access Victoria’s $1400 solar panel rebate.
Households that make the switch to solar will save up to $1200 on their power bills annually,according to the state government.
When the rebate program was established in 2018,more than 85 per cent of Victorian home owners were eligible. But that proportion has dropped to 82 per cent over the past five years.
That’s because the dollar value of household incomes has trended upwards even if the cost of everyday items has surged recently due to inflation. The median weekly income for Victorian families,according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics,up from $1715 in 2016.
The Andrews government hopes a higher threshold will nudge solar eligibility rates back up to 85 per cent.
More than 260,000 households have accessed the scheme since it was introduced. That figure includes those who have taken up related rebates for heat pumps,hot water systems and household batteries.
In a statement,D’Ambrosio said 61 per cent of solar rebates go to households with combined incomes of less than $100,000.
“We’re opening up these grants to 10,000 more households,” she said.
All new homes built in Victoria will be banned from connecting to gas from January 1,2024.
Senior RMIT University lecturer Trivess Moore welcomed the development,but said more could be done,particularly for households that rent.
“It’ll help more people access these rebates at a time when finances are stressed and stretched,” he said.
“But we also need to make sure there’s a focus on how we help those lower-income households. Given a third of households are rental,and solar take-up in rental is behind private occupiers,there’s potentially a missed opportunity there.”
Environment Victoria’s climate campaign manager Sarah Rogan agreed.
“We would like to see the Andrews government ensure low-income households can also have solar panels installed,” she said. “Clean renewable electricity should be available to all Victorians regardless of their income levels or living situation.”
The government will later this year update its gas substitution road map,which is expected to include more incentives for households to go electric and use more energy-efficient appliances.
Victorian landlords are eligible to receive the solar rebate,as long as those renting their property have a combined income below the income threshold.
Landlords with multiple rental properties are forbidden from receiving more than two rebates during the same financial year. Homes valued at or above $3 million,for landlords and owner-occupiers,are also excluded.
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