If you’re a solar panel owner in Sydney, the Central Coast, or the Hunter region, you’re on the Ausgrid network, which means you’re subject to the “sun tax,” Ausgrid’s solar export charge. It’s been fully in effect since July 2025, and if you haven’t adjusted how you use your solar energy since then, there’s a good chance you’re leaving savings on the table.
This guide breaks down exactly how Ausgrid’s export charge works – the rates, the time windows, the free threshold – and walks through practical ways to minimise its impact.
Understanding Ausgrid’s Solar Export Charges
Ausgrid’s two-way tariff (sometimes called the “sun tax”) charges a small fee for solar energy exported to the grid during the middle of the day, and pays a reward for energy exported in the early evening. Here’s exactly how it works:
- The charge: 1.23 cents/kWh for exports between 10 am and 3 pm, but only once you exceed a free monthly threshold.
- The free threshold: Around 200 kWh per month (it varies slightly by month length – roughly 192 – 212 kWh), which works out to about 6.85 kWh per day. Most households with a modestly sized solar system rarely exceed this on an average day, so the charge tends to bite the hardest for larger systems or low-usage households that export most of what they generate.
- The reward: 3.85 cents/kWh for exports between 4 pm and 9 pm. That’s third the amount of the midday charge rate.
Because the evening reward is worth so much more than the midday charge, the core strategy for minimising your costs under this scheme isn’t really to avoid exports altogether. It’s wiser to shift when you use and export your solar energy instead.
Ausgrid publishes its current rates on its network pricing page; rates are reviewed annually, so it’s worth checking there if you’re reading this well after 2026. One more thing worth knowing: this charge is applied to your retailer, not directly to you, so your actual bill impact depends on how your specific retailer chooses to pass it through.
Solar Energy Optimisation for Ausgrid’s Charging Windows
The single most effective free strategy is shifting your energy consumption to line up with Ausgrid’s specific charging windows.
Run high-draw appliances between 10 am and 3 pm
This is the exact window Ausgrid charges for exports, so anything you can shift into this window reduces how much solar you export (avoiding the charge) and increases how much you self-consume. This helps you avoid buying that same energy back from the grid later at retail rates, which are typically many times higher than the export charge itself.
Avoid drawing heavily from the grid outside 4 pm to 9 pm
Since this is when Ausgrid’s reward window applies to any exports you do send – a battery discharging into the grid during this window earns the higher rate, while unmanaged usage during this time doesn’t take advantage of it.
Have Excess Energy? Making the Numbers Work
Home battery storage is where the real financial upside sits. Not so much from avoiding the sun tax itself, but from self-consuming solar you’d otherwise export, and optionally capturing the reward rate on stored exports.
The Neovolt Hybrid Battery System, is a solid fit for an Ausgrid household. It’s built from modular 9.6 kWh units – the entry configuration pairs two modules for 19.2 kWh of storage with a 5 kW single-phase inverter, starting at $5,300 installed (federal rebate included).
It’s also expandable up to 48 kWh if your household’s energy needs grow. Here’s how the sizing and cost actually play out against Ausgrid’s tariff structure:
- A 19.2 kWh battery can typically absorb well beyond a full day’s worth of midday solar surplus for an average NSW household, which means that energy gets used at night instead of being bought back from the grid at retail rates (commonly 30+ cents per kWh). It’s a far bigger saving than the 1.23c/kWh export charge you’d otherwise pay on that same energy.
- If you’d rather export some of that stored energy instead of using it yourself, discharging into the grid during Ausgrid’s 4 pm – 9 pm window earns 3.85c/kWh, more than three times the 1.23c/kWh midday charge rate.
- At around $5,300 installed for the entry 19 kWh configuration, the Neovolt system’s payback comes primarily from these avoided retail purchases and self-consumption gains, not from avoiding the sun tax alone. It’s worth running the numbers on your own household’s usage pattern rather than assuming the battery pays for itself purely by dodging export charges.
Learn more about the benefits of pairing a battery with your on-grid solar setup in our dedicated guide.
Community Batteries: An Option for Households Without Their Own Battery
If a home battery isn’t your budget right now, community batteries are worth knowing about. Ausgrid has been rolling these out across its network as part of the Federal Government’s Community Batteries for Households Program. It’s shared storage that absorbs excess neighbourhood solar during the day and feeds it back out at peak times, rather than sitting in any one household’s garage.
This matters directly for the sun tax conversion: community batteries reduce the amount of local rooftop solar hitting the grid during Ausgrid’s 10 am – 3 pm charge window in the first place, which is part of why they’re being deployed specifically in areas with high solar uptake. Check with Ausgrid or your retailer to see whether a community battery has been installed in your area.
Dynamic Pricing Plans Built Around Ausgrid’s Tariff Structure
Some retailers now offer dynamic or wholesale-linked pricing plans that pass Ausgrid’s two-way tariff straight through to your bill, rather than bundling it into a flat rate. On these plans:
- Your export earnings automatically reflect the 4 pm – 9 pm reward window, so you don’t need to manually track when to export.
- Charging a battery during cheap midday wholesale periods and using or exporting it strategically around Ausgrid’s windows can turn the sun tax into a net credit rather than a net cost, particularly for battery-equipped households.
If you’re on flat feed-in tariff plan, it’s worth checking whether a time-varying or wholesale-linked plan available in the Ausgrid network area would work better for your usage pattern – the value of doing so is directly tied to how much of your export currently falls in the charged window versus the reward window.
Solar Power Incentives Still Available in NSW
Despite the export charge, the financial case for solar, and for batteries specifically, remains strong for most NSW households.
The Cheaper Home Batteries Program
This federal rebate currently discounts around 30% off the upfront cost of eligible battery systems, which meaningfully improves the payback math on a system like the Neovolt, on top of any savings from self-consumption and evening export.
Check for any federal, state, or local government incentives available for solar installations, battery storage systems, or energy-efficient appliances. These can significantly reduce your initial investment costs.
Feed-in Tariffs
IPART’s benchmark feed-in tariff range for NSW still applies to exports outside Ausgrid’s charged window, so there’s ongoing value in exporting when it makes sense to.
State and Local Incentives
It’s worth checking for any current NSW-specific rebates or low-income solar and battery programs, since these change periodically and can further reduce your upfront costs.
Smart Energy Solutions Worth Considering
A few tools can help automate the shifting described above, rather than relying on manually remembering Ausgrid’s windows.
Smart Thermostats and Plugs
These devices can be scheduled to run heating, cooling, and other appliances specifically between 10 am and 3 pm, so your home absorbs more of your own solar during exactly the window Ausgrid charges for exports.
Home Energy Management Systems
These systems can use your solar production data and Ausgrid’s tariff windows to decide in real time whether to use, store, or export your energy.
Invest in a Battery Storage System with VoltX Energy Today
Ausgrid’s solar export charges are here to stay, but with the right approach, like shifting your usage, storing your surplus, or tapping into community and dynamic pricing options, most NSW solar households can minimise the impact and keep their solar investment paying off.
As Australia’s leading battery storage solutions provider since 2012, VoltX Energy offers battery systems designed to work with your on-grid setup and help you get ahead of the sun tax, not just around it.
Ready to take charge of your energy savings? Explore VoltX Energy’s range of battery storage systems and find the right fit for your NSW home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay Ausgrid’s export charge if I don’t have a battery?
Yes, if you export solar to the grid above the free monthly threshold (around 200 kWh) during the 10 am – 3 pm window, that charge applies whether or not you have a battery, though a battery gives you an easy way to reduce how much you export during that window.
How much will the sun tax actually cost me?
For a typical 5 kW solar household, Ausgrid’s own modelling estimates an annual bill increase of around $6.60 if a retailer fully passes the charge through. It’s a relatively small amount for most households, though it varies based on your export volume and how your specific retailer structures the charge.
Does the export charge apply to all of NSW, or just Ausgrid customers?
It applies specifically to Ausgrid’s network area (Sydney, the Central Coast, and the Hunter). Essential Energy and Endeavour Energy, the other two NSW distributors, run their own separate versions of a two-way tariff with different rates and thresholds.
Is it better to use my solar during the day or export it for the evening reward?
For most households, self-consuming your solar during the day is more valuable than either the midday charge or the evening reward, since it avoids buying that same energy back from the grid at retail rates. The evening reward is mainly useful if you have a battery and genuine surplus beyond your own daytime and evening usage.
Will Ausgrid’s export charge rates change again?
Yes. Network tariffs are reviewed annually, so the exact charge, reward, and threshold figures can shift each financial year. Check Ausgrid’s published network pricing for the current rates before making major decisions based on this guide.
