An additional 5,000 rebates of up to $2,800 per apartment (or up to $140,000 per property) are available until Friday 6 December 2024, or until all rebates are exhausted, whichever comes first.
Building eligibility now includes strata townhouses and units under the control of an Owners Corporation and sharing a common property rooftop.
In Round 2, authorised retailers will apply the rebate as a discount on the applicant’s invoice. We will then pay the retailer post installation, and the owners corporation will pay any outstanding balance to the retailer.
Installations must be completed by authorised solar retailers and accredited installers, unless expressly agreed to by Solar Victoria in writing.
The Solar for Apartments Program is jointly funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth governments.
Round 2 application and quote process
Applicants will check their eligibility through our online Eligibility Check and Application Form before they engage a Solar Victoria authorised retailer. Information for applicants is available here.
Applicants will provide details of their nominated retailer when they submit their application.
Authorised retailers must use the Solar Victoria retailer portal to upload applicant quotes and claim rebate payment. Once you submit the quote, rebate funding is held for 70 calendar days. Please allow sufficient time for the OC to approve the quote when you set the quote expiry date.
Download the Solar for Apartments retailer portal user guide and follow the step-by-step process:
Retailers must seek approval from the applicant’s Distributed Network Service Provider (DNSP) to connect and export self-generated solar to the grid. The process and technical details for grid connection vary depending on the DNSP.
You must also advise the applicant of any export constraints. This needs to happen before you submit the quote through the portal.
Nominated authorised retailers will be contacted to upload a quote in the portal. Information you must provide at this step includes:
the final solar PV system design (including the eligible products to be installed and the system’s capacity and expected energy generation)
the total costs for supply and installation of the solar panel (PV) system
the value of small-scale technology certificates (STCs) applied to the project
the location on the building where the solar panel (PV) system will be installed
the final number of participating lots
any relevant connection details
the annualised return on investment/payback period for the total purchase and installation in accordance with the New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NETCC)
quote expiry date (please allow sufficient time for the OC to approve the quote when you set the quote expiry date).
Payback period assessment – how to prepare it
To be eligible, a demonstrated payback period within 10 years for the cost of the solar panel (PV) system and installation is required. This must be calculated at the apartment level and stated on the final quote. You must:
base the payback period assessment on the total cost for supply and installation of the system after any small-scale technology certificates (STCs) have been applied and prior to application of the program funding
You will be asked in the portal to provide information about how you prepared the payback period assessment. This includes stating the solar energy self-consumption rate used for the system performance estimate.
We will email the applicant with the quote details. The applicant’s owners corporation will need to approve the quote, or ask for any changes.
When the quote is uploaded, we will allocate funding towards the installation. The applicant then has 70 days to approve the quote by completing an OC Quote Approval Form (mandatory) which we email to them.
If the quote is not approved within this timeframe the rebate funding allocation will be cancelled.
If the quote expiry date is set earlier than the 70-day rebate expiry date, the retailer must update/cancel the quote. The applicant will then be prompted to approve the new quote.
We will assess the application and notify the applicant and retailer of the outcome. The installation must be completed within 120 days of the funding being approved.
At least 24 hours before the installation, the retailer must enter this information in the retailer portal:
the installation location
the installation date
certifications of the installer involved.
We may take compliance action if this information is not provided. Information on how to provide this information is in the user guide.
Once the installation is complete, the retailer needs to submit a payment request and upload compliance documentation with the final invoice.
For direct connected systems you must provide:
1 small-scale technology (STC) Assignment form per residential lot
1 Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES) per residential lot
For solar sharing systems you must provide:
1 STC Assignment form for the building/whole system
1 COES per residential lot
Both technology types require an itemised invoice.
We will then pay the retailer, and the OC will pay any outstanding balance to the retailer. We will update retailers with more detail in October 2024 when the payment process is finalised.
Round 1 closed to new applications on 31 May 2024.
Applications in the first round will not be impacted by the updated Round 2 application process. We will still require the same information from retailers to process Round 1 applications. Please be mindful of applications for both rounds happening concurrently.
Round 1 grants are delivered directly to Owners Corporations (OCs) who will enter into a funding agreement with Solar Victoria.
The grant discount is not applied by the retailer and OCs will need to pay the upfront costs of the installation with grant funding provided to them after milestones are met.
The application and approval process followed these steps:
We received 438 applications from owners corporations in Round 1. Conditionally approved applicants have 90 days to now provide their final application. This needs to include a final quote.
Prior to this, we had requested an initial quote from the retailer and endorsement from the OC. A feasibility report was also accepted at that time, instead of a quote.
We will confirm the final funding amount and invite the OC to sign a funding agreement. The retailer must provide a final quote and payback period assessment.
Example of final quote
Grants are provided to OCs once milestones are met.
Milestone 1
The first payment is made to the OC after an invoice from the retailer to the applicant that the eligible system has been ordered.
It must include:
the costs for the eligible system;
and any deposits/payments made towards installation for the project.
Example of milestone 1 invoice
Milestone 2
The second and final payment is made to the OC when evidence of installation is provided.
To support this, the retailer should provide an invoice detailing a summary of the activity undertaken the following to the OC.
Example of milestone 2 invoice
An STC Assignment form for each participating apartment lot for direct connect systems, or per building/whole of system level for solar sharing connections.
A Certificate of Electrical Safety for the supply and installation of the Solar System for each participating apartment lot.
Retailers must provide us with an installation schedule for compliance and audit purposes. This is required by the Retailer Terms and Conditions.
After the customer signs the funding agreement, retailers will receive an email from us with an online form requesting:
the installation location
the installation date and time
certifications of the retailers and installers involved.
We may take compliance action if you fail to provide the information requested.
Understand solar sharing requirements
Solar sharing technologies are eligible under the Solar for Apartments program, where agreed to by Solar Victoria.
Under this program, an interface protection system must be installed for all eligible systems based on inverter power sharing devices where the connected inverter energy system nameplate KiloVolt Amps (kVA) capacity is greater than 30.
Retailers must also ensure that the original equipment manufacturer provides a minimum 5 year whole-of-product warranty on all solar sharing technology or major components that may be used in the eligible system. Go to the Notice to Market section 3.2.1 for more information.
Safety installation guidance
We are working with regulators to ensure safety and compliance standards are met. Your installation may be audited under our audit program during or after the installation.
Installers can use the technical guidance and solution sheets developed with WorkSafe Victoria, Energy Safe Victoria and TechSafe Australia to keep everyone safe and put industry standards into practice. This guidance covers issues that may arise when installing solar at height on apartment buildings, including:
Safe work practices using elevated platforms
Working safely at height (including specific references to increased risks for multi-level buildings)
