Solar for Apartment Residents
Grants help residential owners corporations in New South Wales install shared rooftop solar, with higher support for buildings in selected disadvantaged areas.
Diese Finanzierungsmöglichkeit ist derzeit auf Englisch beschrieben.
Install shared rooftop solar panels so residents, including renters, can use locally generated electricity and reduce energy bills and emissions. The standard grant covers up to 50% of eligible upfront purchase and installation costs, capped at AUD 150,000 per project. Solar for Apartment Residents – Boost covers up to 80%, capped at AUD 200,000, for buildings in qualifying disadvantaged locations. The owners corporation pays the remaining cost and all ineligible items.
Calculate the grant on eligible costs after small-scale technology certificate (STC) discounts and excluding goods and services tax (GST). STCs reduce the quoted solar system price. Grant payments include GST only if the recipient is registered for GST; any GST associated with STCs must be paid to the Australian Taxation Office.
Essential meter-board upgrades qualify only when needed for the solar system to function. Wiring upgrades must be for the solar connection, and roof waterproofing must be required because of the solar installation. Enabling works cannot exceed 10% of total project cost for the standard grant or 20% for Boost; expenditure above these limits is excluded. These works form part of the funded project, rather than an extra grant allowance. Batteries, electric vehicle chargers, ongoing maintenance and replacement of existing systems are excluded. Whole-roof waterproofing, whole-building rewiring and cabling unrelated to the solar connection are also excluded.
Interest, loan establishment fees and other financing costs are excluded. If the owners corporation finances installation, interest must be paid from its strata capital works fund and the grant calculation still uses the upfront system cost.
Eligibility
- Apply as the residential owners corporation responsible for a strata scheme under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. An authorised strata managing agent, building manager, consultant or nominated resident can apply on its behalf; individual owners and renters cannot apply independently.
- The completed building must be in New South Wales, registered as residential strata under the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015, and have active strata insurance. It must be a Class 2 residential apartment building or strata-managed Class 1a attached dwellings, such as townhouses, with a shared roof that is common property. The building must have at least 3 residential lots; the standard upper limit is 55 lots. For 56–99 lots, contact solar.banksnsw@dcceew.nsw.gov.au for advice on applying if all other criteria are met. Renters are not required.
- Boost additionally requires a suburb or location in deciles 1–4 of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage. These are areas ranked as experiencing greater relative disadvantage; check the programme’s eligible-suburb list linked from its questions and answers page.
- The building must not have had solar installed in the previous 10 years. There is an exception for residential lots not connected to an existing system: the owners corporation may apply to serve those lots. Funding cannot connect apartments already served by solar installed in the last 10 years, or maintain or replace an existing system.
- Retirement villages, commercial buildings, public housing, company-title dwellings and buildings owned by a council, developer or community housing organisation are excluded. Buildings under construction, already funded through this initiative, or with a roof in disrepair needing imminent repair or replacement are excluded. Government agencies, private businesses, educational institutions, councils, nonprofits, social housing tenants and community housing providers cannot apply in their own right.
- Installation costs must be shared among all owners in proportion to their shares in the strata scheme. Solar electricity and savings must benefit all residential lots proportionately. No more than 40% of estimated average annual electricity may serve common areas, and annual grid exports must average no more than 30%. Use the electricity in the building before exporting surplus. Third-party power purchase agreements, where electricity is bought from another party without owning the generating equipment, are excluded. Systems solely intended to earn export income are also excluded.
- The system must recover its total upfront cost through energy savings within 10 years. Calculate this simple payback by dividing total purchase and installation cost, including both grant and owners corporation contributions after STC discounts, by average annual energy-cost savings using a flat electricity tariff: the electricity price stays the same regardless of the time of day.
- Install on the common-property roof using products on the Clean Energy Council approved list current at installation. The designer and installer must hold Solar Accreditation Australia accreditation for designing and installing grid-connected photovoltaic systems; the seller must be approved under the New Energy Tech Consumer Code. Products must meet Australian Standards, including AS/NZS 1170.2 for wind loads.
- If electricity is supplied through a privately owned and managed network within the building (an embedded network) and sold to residents by a third-party retailer or exempt seller, obtain confirmation that its contract will not prevent residents sharing the solar benefits. Where shared-solar gateways are used, store their metering data and make it available to the owners corporation.
How to apply
- Status
- endet am 4. Dez. 2026
- Antragsschluss
- Beschränkungen dieser Antragsrunde
- New expressions of interest are accepted; intake may close earlier if funds are fully allocated.
- Installation and final reporting must be completed by 30 April 2027.
- Boost requires a location in SEIFA IRSD deciles 1–4.
Submit an expression of interest through the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s standard SmartyGrants portal, or the separate Boost portal if the building meets its location test. Both accept new submissions now; applications can close early when funding is fully allocated.
After the eligibility check, submit the full application within 60 business days of notification of a successful expression of interest. Obtain two quotes for comparable systems from accredited installers, identifying the preferred quote and its net upfront cost after STC discounts and excluding GST. Before submitting the full application, the owners corporation must pass a sustainability infrastructure resolution at a strata meeting approving the solar project; provide evidence of this approval and the proportionate costs and benefits for residents. Projects are assessed for effectiveness, value for money, delivery method and the applicant’s capacity. Each scored criterion needs at least 5 out of 10; an application is not a guarantee of funding.
If offered a funding deed, sign and return it within 20 business days of the department sending it or the offer may be withdrawn. Do not begin installation until both the owners corporation and department have signed. Grant payments are staged: 40% after the funding agreement and installation contract are signed, 50% after the installation’s halfway milestone, and 10% after completion, operation and final reporting.
Complete installation and submit the required final reporting by 30 April 2027. The final milestone report is due within 20 business days of completing the work; include electrical compliance confirmation, installation photographs and final costs. Return any unspent grant funds on project completion. Tell the department promptly if you cannot proceed; request department approval for any budget or timetable changes, which are considered only exceptionally. Successful applicants must authorise access to electricity bills and usage data for programme evaluation.