City of Adelaide
Your council pays towards solar, batteries and EV charging
If your property sits in the City of Adelaide, postcode 5000 or 5006, the council's Sustainability Incentives Scheme pays a share of what you spend on solar, a battery, a switchboard upgrade and EV charging. Funding is limited and the scheme runs on the council's annual budget. Last financial year it was fully allocated before the year was out.
Last updated
Eligibility
Who can claim
The scheme is open to more people than most council programs.
- Owner-occupied houses
- Renters, with a letter of permission from the landlord
- Concession card holders
- Apartments and units under strata or body corporate, with approval from the body corporate
- Small and medium businesses
- Commercial properties
- Not-for-profit, community and sporting organisations
Your property needs to be inside the City of Adelaide municipal area. That is postcode 5000 or 5006.
Rebates
What you can claim
Four rebates apply to energy work. You can claim all four on the same property.
| What | Rebate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Solar PV, over 1.5kW | 20% of out-of-pocket cost | $5,000 |
| Battery storage | 50% of out-of-pocket cost | $1,000 |
| Switchboard upgrade | 50% of out-of-pocket cost | $5,000 |
| EV charging station, up to 50kW | 50% of out-of-pocket cost | $1,000 per charger |
Claim all four and the council contribution tops out at $12,000. Most people will not do all four at once, so the honest answer is that it depends on what you install. That is what the site review is for.
Businesses and strata buildings can go further. An EV charging application covering more than one station is capped at $10,000, and a whole-building project combining two or more upgrades can reach $20,000 for buildings up to four storeys or $40,000 for five storeys and above.
The order matters
Council pays last, and that is a good thing
The council rebate is calculated on your out-of-pocket cost, after every other incentive has already come off. Federal discounts, state schemes and any supplier discount all get deducted first, then the council pays its percentage of what is left.
So the sequence is federal, then state, then council.
This is worth understanding before you compare quotes. A cheaper system reduces your out-of-pocket cost, which reduces the council rebate as well. The number that matters is what you actually pay at the end, not the size of any single rebate.
Pre-commitment
Lock the funding in before the work starts
The scheme's funding is limited and the council can close it at any time. There is one exception: if your pre-commitment has been approved, your money is held aside.
A pre-commitment reserves your rebate before a panel goes on the roof. You apply with an itemised quote, the council assesses it, and if approved they set the funds aside for three months while the work happens.
Worth knowing
- Pre-commitments are optional for solar, battery, switchboard and EV charging. They are only mandatory for whole-building bundled projects.
- The default window is three months from approval.
- A pre-commitment does not carry into a new financial year. The work has to be finished and the paperwork lodged before 30 June.
- The council will not pre-commit more than 75% of unallocated funding at any point in the year.
Given the scheme was fully allocated last financial year, we recommend a pre-commitment for every City of Adelaide customer. The application is yours to lodge, and we prepare everything you need to lodge it.
Our part
What we handle
The application is made in your name through the council's SmartyGrants portal, and the rebate is paid into your account. We put the paperwork together and sit with you while you lodge it.
- A free site review, on site, to work out what your property can take
- An itemised quote in the format the council needs for a pre-commitment
- We walk you through the application and lodge it together, before work starts
- Certificates of Compliance for the electrical work
- Photos of the installed system, which the council requires as evidence
- A prompt from us when it is time to submit the final claim
Council payment lands in your account within about 30 working days of approval. Solar and battery installs under this scheme must be done by an SAA-accredited installer. Our installers are SAA-accredited.
Things to know
A few things worth knowing early
- One claim per meter. Solar, battery and EV charging are limited to one application per electricity meter (NMI). Switchboard upgrades are one per property.
- Claims close 12 months after the work is done. If you installed recently, you may still be able to claim.
- Heritage properties. If your home is heritage listed, the council asks for photos showing the panels are not visible from the street. Worth raising at the site review.
- Development approval. Some properties need a DA before installation. We flag this during the review.
- Batteries must be set up for self-consumption. A battery configured only as a mains backup is not eligible.
- Renters and strata. Landlord permission or body corporate approval has to be in writing and submitted with the application.
Federal and state
The other two layers
| Region | Program | Value | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal | Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) | Upfront discount, varies | All eligible solar installations nationally. Value based on system size, location, and years remaining to 2030. (cleanenergyregulator.gov.au) |
| Federal | Cheaper Home Batteries Program | ~30% off eligible batteries | Federal battery rebate. Steps down every six months from May 2026, runs to 2030. (cleanenergyregulator.gov.au) |
| SA | Federal schemes only | STCs and Cheaper Home Batteries Program | South Australia's Home Battery Scheme closed to new applicants in September 2022. SA households access federal STCs and the Cheaper Home Batteries Program. A virtual power plant incentive may be available under the Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS), with eligibility narrowed to priority households. Confirm current eligibility. (energy.gov.au) |
Questions
Common questions
No. Renters, concession card holders and strata properties are all eligible.
Renters can claim with a letter of permission from the landlord. Concession card holders and strata properties are eligible too, with body corporate approval where it applies.
Find out what your property qualifies for
A free site review, on site, no obligation. We work out what your roof and switchboard can take, what the council will pay, and get your pre-commitment in so the funding is held.
Figures from the City of Adelaide Sustainability Incentives Scheme Terms and Conditions, as of 1 July 2026. Rebate values, eligibility and funding availability change. Confirm current details with the City of Adelaide before relying on them.
Rebates change often.
Government and council rebates can change regularly. We'll let you know when something important changes.