Solar Feed-in Tariffs by State: What Australia Pays in 2026

New South Wales

The default feed-in tariff benchmark set by IPART for 2025 to 2026 is 5.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Some retailers offer more. AGL, Origin, and Energy Australia all have competitive solar tariff products that may go higher depending on your plan and usage profile.

NSW has relatively high grid tariffs (around 34 cents per kilowatt-hour), which means the gap between what you pay for grid power and what you earn for exported power is large. Self-consumption (using solar directly rather than exporting) is more valuable than ever in NSW.

Victoria

Victoria pays among the lower feed-in rates in the country, currently sitting around 5.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for the regulated minimum. The state's solar buy-back schemes have evolved significantly, and some retailers offer time-varying tariffs that pay more during peak demand periods in the late afternoon.

Victoria has also been developing a "sun tax" on some networks, which penalises heavy midday export by charging households for feeding too much power into an already-stressed grid. This makes battery storage more appealing for Victorian households with larger systems.

Queensland

Queensland currently pays 6.8 cents per kilowatt-hour as the regulated rate, with some retailers going higher. Queensland has excellent solar irradiance and one of the most competitive solar installation markets in the country, which keeps prices down. The combination of lower install costs and reasonable feed-in rates makes Queensland one of the better states for solar economics.

South Australia

South Australia pays around 5 cents per kilowatt-hour in feed-in tariffs, but this needs to be understood in context. SA has the highest grid electricity prices in the country (around 42 cents per kilowatt-hour), which means every kilowatt-hour you generate and use yourself is extremely valuable. The self-consumption argument is strongest in SA.

SA also has a high penetration of solar and batteries, which has driven the development of virtual power plant (VPP) programs. Under these schemes, your battery is pooled with other households and dispatched to the grid during peak demand events. In return, you receive payments that can significantly improve battery payback periods.

Western Australia

Western Australia is different to the rest of the country. WA operates its own electricity grid, run by Western Power, and uses a separate pricing structure. The feed-in tariff through Synergy (the state-owned retailer) is approximately 2.25 cents per kilowatt-hour.

This is one of the lowest rates in the country, and it makes self-consumption the only real strategy for WA solar owners. A battery is more financially compelling in WA than in most other states simply because exporting power is so poorly rewarded.

Tasmania

Tasmania pays some of the highest feed-in tariffs in the country, currently around 8.8 cents per kilowatt-hour. However, Tasmania also has the lowest solar irradiance of any state, meaning systems produce less energy per kilowatt of installed capacity. The combination of lower production and higher per-unit returns means system sizing calculations in Tasmania are different from mainland Australia.

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory has among the most generous feed-in arrangements in the country at around 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, reflecting the cost of generating power in remote areas. Darwin and the NT have exceptional solar resources, with peak sun hours significantly higher than southern capitals. The economics of solar in the NT can be compelling.

ACT

The ACT pays around 5.7 cents per kilowatt-hour as the regulated feed-in rate. The ACT has been aggressive in its renewable energy targets and offers some additional programs for battery storage and virtual power plants through programs like NextGen and GridCredits.

How to maximise your feed-in earnings

Shop around for retailers. The regulated rate is the floor, not the ceiling. Many retailers pay above the regulated minimum to attract solar customers.

Consider time-of-use tariffs. Some states now offer tariffs where exports during peak demand periods (typically 3pm to 9pm) attract a higher rate than midday exports. If you have a battery, you can time your exports to coincide with these windows.

Size your system to match your consumption. A larger system generates more export, but only up to the point where you're exporting significantly more than you're using. Every kilowatt-hour you use yourself saves you the full grid tariff rather than earning you a fraction of it.

Sunlytics uses your state's current feed-in tariff in every savings calculation, so the annual earnings and payback periods in your quote reflect what you'll actually be paid, not a national average.