Is my home eligible for solar and solar rebates?

Solar Rebates (Credits) can only be claimed for one solar solution installed at each “eligible premises”. “Eligible premises” is defined in the regulations to mean any of the following:

• a house (including the land on which the house is located and any outbuildings on the land)
• a townhouse
• a residential apartment
• a shop (including the land on which the shop is located and any outbuildings on the land)
• other premises located at an address

An outbuilding is a detached building subordinate to a main building and is not considered to be an eligible premises in its own right.

• If a building is not an eligible premises under the following definitions, any solar solution installed on that building is still eligible to generate standard Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs)

House

A house is an eligible premises. However, the following separate buildings are not eligible:

• a home office located in the house or in an outbuilding on the land where the house is located; or
• a business operated from the house or in an outbuilding on the land where the house is located;

Townhouse, residential apartment

A townhouse, residential flat, unit or apartment is eligible to claim STCs on an installed solar solution. This includes townhouses or apartments located in a:

• multi-story apartment building; or
• retirement village.

It does not include a room in a nursing home, hostel or similar assisted living facility.  It also does not include:

• a home office located in the townhouse, residential flat, unit or apartment; or
• a business operated from the townhouse, residential flat, unit or apartment;

Shop

A shop is an eligible premises (except when located in a house, townhouse, residential flat, unit or apartment that is itself an eligible premises – see above).  Each shop in a shopping mall or other multi-shop type complex is an eligible premises.

Other premises located at an address

Business premises (eg factories and offices)

Each separate business which is located at an address will be a “premises located at an address”, except when located in a house (land or outbuilding), townhouse, residential flat, unit or apartment that is itself an eligible premises.

Some businesses may be located at an address which covers several numbers in a street (e.g. a factory might be at 42-56 Smith Street). In such a situation, there is only one eligible premises.

Alternatively, some businesses will occupy a separate unit at a single street address, where a different business is carried out in the separate units, (e.g. Unit 2 of 56 Smith Street). Each unit is a separate eligible premises.

Specific types of premises

Each of the following types of businesses are regarded as a single eligible premises:

• a motel, hotel, resort or caravan park.  However, individual room/cabin/villas  etc  in a motel, hotel or resort and each stationary caravan in a caravan park are not separate eligible premises.
• a nursing home, hostel.  Individual rooms in the home or hostel are not a separate eligible premises.
• a hospital
• a restaurant

Community and educational buildings

The building(s) located at an address where a community group or institution carries out its activities (including the land on which the building is located and any outbuildings on the land) is a single eligible premises (eg a scout hall, guides hall, sporting club, school, church or other religious building).

In the situation where the building(s) is or are used by more than one organisation, there is one eligible premises only.

More than one premises located at a single address

Where more than one separate premises (excluding outbuildings) is located at a single address, all of those premises are separate eligible premises. Examples might include a:

• dairy on a farm that is separate to the residential house on the same farm — both premises are eligible premises;
• owner/manager’s house that is separate to the rest of a caravan park but at the same address — the house is a separate eligible premises to the caravan park;
• green keeper’s house that is separate to the rest of the golf course at the same address  — the house and the business premises are separate eligible premises.

To be another ‘eligible premises’ at a single address, the premises must be clearly separate from the other eligible premises located at the address (e.g. the house). A building is not an eligible premises if it is an outbuilding associated with a house. For example:

• a garage, studio or other small building situated in close proximity to a house which itself is an eligible premises (where a small business may be carried out) is as an outbuilding and not another eligible premises;
• a larger business premises that is not subordinate to a house which itself is an eligible premises,  and which more commonly is located further from the house than is usual for a garage or studio, is not an outbuilding and therefore is a separate eligible premises.

The following structures are NOT eligible premises:

• street lights, street signs, mobile phone towers, boats, cars and trailers;
• mobile homes, caravans or similar wheeled vehicles not intended to be permanently attached to the land (these are not defined as eligible premises because they do not remain at a location for a long period of time).