Feed-in Tariff Changes: What They Mean for You

First, what is a feed-in tariff?

A feed-in tariff (FiT) is the rate your energy retailer pays you for surplus solar power you send back to the grid. For years it was the headline number everyone chased: the higher your FiT, the more you earned for exporting.

What's changed in Queensland

The picture in 2026 looks very different to the early solar boom years.

In regional Queensland (the Ergon network), the rate is set each year by the Queensland Competition Authority. It has fallen to around 6 cents per kilowatt-hour for 2026-27, down from over 12 cents a few years before, and a long way from the generous legacy rates of a decade ago.

In South-East Queensland (the Energex network, which covers Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast), there's no regulated minimum at all. Retailers set their own rates in a competitive market, so what you're paid depends entirely on your plan, and the headline rate often comes with a daily export cap that limits how much you actually earn. The average we see now is around 3 cents per kilowatt-hour. 

If you signed up to the old 44-cent Solar Bonus Scheme before it closed in 2013 and have kept meeting the eligibility rules, that rate continues, but be careful, as adding a battery or extra panels, or changing the names on your account, can void it. Always check before making changes.

Why the drop is happening

It comes down to supply and demand. So much rooftop solar now floods the grid during the middle of the day that daytime energy has simply become less valuable. When everyone is exporting at once, the price of that exported power falls. That's the mechanism behind the shrinking tariffs.

What it actually means for you

Here's the crucial shift: the game has moved from selling your solar to using it yourself.

Think about the numbers. You might export a kilowatt-hour for 3 cents, but you'll pay 30 cents or more to buy that same kilowatt-hour back from the grid in the evening. Exporting cheaply and buying back expensively is a losing trade. The real value now lies in self-consumption: using as much of your own solar as you can, and storing the rest.

That's why a battery has become the biggest single lever on most solar households' bills. It lets you keep your daytime solar and use it through the evening peak, instead of handing it to the grid for a few cents and buying it back at full price.

How to respond

• Shift big loads to daylight: run the pool pump, dishwasher, washing and EV charging while the sun's up and you're using your own free power.
• Consider a battery: to capture your surplus solar and use it when grid power is dearest.
• Check your plan: compare the usage rate, not just the export rate, and watch for export caps.

The bottom line

Falling feed-in tariffs aren't the blow they first appear. They're a signal to change strategy. The households doing best in 2026 aren't chasing the highest export rate; they're using more of their own energy and buying less from the grid. If your solar setup was built for the old world of high feed-in tariffs, it may be time to rethink how you capture value.