Cheaper Home Batteries Program–What’s Changed and What’s Coming

The Australian Government has published updated guidance on the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, including planned changes to how battery incentives will be calculated in future. Here’s a summary of the key points that matter for installers and customers.

Changes planned from 1 May 2026

The Government has announced its intention to adjust the Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) settings for battery systems, with a particular impact on larger batteries.

Under the proposed changes:

• The STC factor for larger battery systems will be reduced, meaning fewer STCs per kilowatt-hour as system size increases

• Battery support will be structured across different capacity bands, rather than applying a single factor across all sizes

• The STC factor will decline more frequently over time, reflecting falling battery costs

These changes are intended to keep overall battery discounts broadly consistent while reducing incentives for oversized systems.

Proposed STC support by battery size (indicative)

Based on current Government guidance, the redesigned framework is intended to apply different STC factors by capacity band, rather than a flat rate across all battery sizes:

• Up to 14 kWh: 100% STC factor (full incentive rate)

• 14–28 kWh: 60% STC factor

• 28–50 kWh: 15% STC factor

The policy intent is to continue supporting typical household battery sizes while progressively reducing incentives for larger and potentially oversized systems that exceed standard residential needs.

Pylon handles the new STC calculations

You don’t need to track the capacity bands or the declining STC factors yourself. Pylon handles the new battery STC calculations for you, so every quote applies the right incentive for that system size and that period without any manual adjustment.