Victorian bushfire rebate

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The Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme—Solar Hot Water Rebate has been opened up to people who lost their homes in the February 2009 Victorian bushfires and have rebuilt. The rebate is not usually available for people building new homes, but the Government is making an exception for homes destroyed or left uninhabitable following the February 2009 bushfires.

  • To be eligible to obtain a rebate, the rebuilt dwelling must meet the Victorian 5 Star standard by having a compliant 2000-litre rainwater tank installed which is connected to the dwelling for toilet flushing. Information on the Victorian five-star standard is available from the Make your home green website.
  • This rebate extension is limited to affected properties in the 25 disaster-affected local government areas notified to the Australian Government by the Victorian Government under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements. These are: Alpine, Baw Baw, Cardinia, Casey, Corangamite, Greater Bendigo, Greater Dandenong, Hepburn, Horsham, Indigo, Knox, Latrobe, Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, Macedon Ranges, Mitchell, Mount Alexander, Murrindindi, Nillumbik, Southern Grampians, South Gippsland, Wangaratta, Wellington, West Wimmera, Whittlesea and Yarra Ranges.

Homes must be listed with the Victorian Department of Human Services as destroyed or uninhabitable.

The rebate will be capped to ensure that it, together with all other discounts, rebates and small-scale technology certificates (formerly renewable energy certificates), does not result in a benefit greater than the cost of the system.

You will need to declare on the Victorian bushfire cover sheet that the total payments you will receive will not exceed the total cost of the solar hot water system.

Eligible households (in addition to standard eligibility requirements)

  • The dwelling must be rebuilt on the same site of a dwelling that was destroyed or left uninhabitable following the February 2009 Victorian bushfires
  • The dwelling must also include a 2000-litre rainwater tank (compliant with Victorian five-star building standards) which is connected to the dwelling for toilet flushing
  • The dwelling must have been a principal place of residence and must be rebuilt as a principal place of residence.

If your home was not listed with the Victorian Department of Human Services as destroyed or uninhabitable, but you have purchased land in this area and are building, you are not eligible for the rebate.

Important information (in addition to standard information)

Please attach the following to your Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme—Solar Hot Water Rebate application:

  • a copy of your plumber's compliance certificate issued under section 221zh of the Building Act (1993), confirming the installation of a compliant 2000-litre rainwater tank which is connected to the dwelling for toilet flushing
  • a copy of the Victorian bushfire cover sheet, and
  • a copy of your purchase receipts which clearly indicate whether you have installed a solar or heat pump hot-water system.

Please complete and sign the Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme—Solar Hot Water Rebate application form. Please disregard the system eligibility question: 'Did the new system replace an electric storage hot water system?' and attach it to the Victorian bushfire cover sheet.

Download the cover sheet

The Victorian bushfire cover sheet, needs to be attached to the front of your application.

Standard eligibility requirements and information