A feed-in tariff is the rate your electricity retailer pays for surplus solar you export to the grid. In 2026 most Australian FiTs are modest retailer offers — often a few cents per kWh — not the legacy premium schemes of the early 2010s. That is why modern solar design centres on self-consumption, batteries and tariff structure rather than export income alone.
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Indicative 2026 pricing: a typical 6.6kW system often quotes around $5,000–$8,000 after the STC discount (metro installs often $5,000–$7,500; premium/regional can run higher). See our solar cost guide.
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Indicative residential ranges used in MrSolar planning: NSW about 2–8c/kWh, Victoria 4–10c, Queensland 6–10c, South Australia 5–10c, WA 7–10c, Tasmania 4–8c, ACT 7–11c, with NT/Jacana arrangements quoted around 8.3c in common references. These move with retailer competition. Always read the specific plan, not a state average tweet.
Importing grid power commonly costs 25–45c/kWh depending on plan and time-of-use band. Offsetting that import with on-site solar is usually worth several times more per kWh than exporting the same unit for a single-digit FiT. Shift dishwashers, EV charging and heat-pump loads into sunny hours where practical.
Almost all new residential systems settle on net metering: you use solar first, export only the surplus, and import at night. Gross metering (exporting everything for a special tariff) is largely a legacy arrangement. If a salesperson leans on gross-FiT nostalgia, ask for the actual meter configuration your DNSP will approve.
DNSPs increasingly apply export limits on constrained feeders. A generous FiT on paper means little if your inverter is throttled to 1.5–5kW export. Get the export assumption in writing before you size a 10–13kW array purely for feed-in income.
With the Cheaper Home Batteries Program (~$372/kWh usable since 1 July 2025), many households store afternoon surplus for evening peaks instead of exporting cheaply. VPPs may pay credits for controlled discharge — separate from the retail FiT. Model both paths; do not double-count the same kWh.
Use Energy Made Easy or your state comparator for the whole bill: supply charge, import rates, FiT, controlled load and any solar fit conditions. A slightly higher FiT can be worthless if the import rate jumps. After install, revisit the plan within three months once you have real export data.
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Written and reviewed by Daniel (Marketplace lead, Epic Unicorn Pty Ltd). We build pages from Australian solar datasets and regulatory references, then map you to CEC-accredited installers only.
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