How do these rebates work?
None of them is a cheque from the government. Each state sets a target for energy saving, and an accredited provider who installs an eligible upgrade earns certificates for the energy it saves. The provider sells the certificates and passes some of the value on as a discount on the quote.
Two things follow. The discount depends on the certificate price on the day, so it moves. And only an accredited provider, installing products on the scheme's accepted list, can create the certificates.
What is available in each state?
| State | Scheme | Store lighting, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Energy Savings Scheme | The Commercial Lighting method ended on 31 March 2026. LED lighting upgrades are still listed for small businesses; eligibility is checked by an accredited provider |
| Victoria | Victorian Energy Upgrades | Business lighting is still covered (activities 34 and 35). Indoor upgrades qualify only where the existing lights are fluorescent. Outdoor lighting, including car parks, is covered |
| South Australia | Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme | Second period runs 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030. Store lighting goes through one activity, the Commercial Lighting Upgrade (CL1), which is open to retail premises. Energy retailers choose whether to offer it |
| ACT | Energy Efficiency Improvement Scheme | Runs to 31 December 2030. Retailers deliver upgrades to households and small to medium businesses |
| QLD, WA, TAS, NT | None of this kind | No state certificate scheme for store lighting |
What changed in NSW?
The NSW Energy Savings Scheme paid for commercial LED upgrades through its Commercial Lighting method for years. IPART stopped accepting new accreditations for the method from 12 September 2025, and the method ended on 31 March 2026. Upgrades and certificate registrations had to be completed by that date.
IPART's list of activities for commercial and industrial sites now covers lighting only for roads, public spaces and traffic signals. LED lighting upgrades are still on its list for households and small businesses, so a small store may qualify where a large one does not.
A quote for a NSW store that still shows a commercial lighting certificate discount should be questioned before it is signed. Ask which method the certificates are being created under.
How does the Victorian scheme work for a store?
Victorian Energy Upgrades still covers commercial and industrial lighting. A business replacing fluorescent lighting, or upgrading outdoor lighting, can get a discount when approved LED products are installed by a provider accredited by the Essential Services Commission. Incentives to replace other types of indoor lighting have ended, and the state's largest energy users are only eligible if they opt in to the program.
The discount is funded by Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs). The accredited provider creates the certificates for the upgrade and sells them, and that value comes off the price. The business does not claim anything itself.
The Victorian Government publishes indicative discounts for business lighting (page updated 16 June 2026). They move with the certificate price, so treat them as a guide to scale, not a quote:
| Old lighting | Replaced with | Indicative discount |
|---|---|---|
| 100 fluorescent tubes, 24 W each, in an office building | 50 LED luminaires, 16 W each | $1,260 |
| 20 metal halide lamps, 150 W each, in an open air car park | 20 LED high bays, 70 W each | $3,150 |
Residential lighting upgrades stopped qualifying on 1 February 2023, so the "free LED" offers still running in Victoria are for business premises. For a store fleet, ask any provider to show their accreditation and the certificate value in the quote, so it can be checked.
What changed in South Australia?
From 1 January 2026, South Australia's scheme revoked its separate specifications for LED downlights and halogen floodlight replacement, and varied the Commercial Lighting Upgrade (CL1). CL1 is now the one commercial lighting activity. ESCOSA lists retail spaces among the premises it covers.
A store does not need to be a customer of the retailer offering the upgrade. Not every retailer offers CL1, and the cost to the store varies by provider.
Fluorescent lamps are being phased out anyway
Rebates aside, the lamps being replaced are on their way out. From 1 July 2026, mercury and its compounds are listed in Schedule 6 of the national IChEMS Register, which prohibits their import, manufacture and use except for listed essential uses. Lamps are on that list, each with an end date:
| Lamp type | Allowed as an essential use until |
|---|---|
| Compact fluorescent lamps with non integrated ballasts | 31 December 2026 |
| Triband non linear fluorescent lamps, such as U bend and circular | 31 December 2027 |
| Linear fluorescent tubes for general lighting, triband types | 31 December 2027 |
| High pressure sodium and metal halide lamps | 1 June 2030 |
Lamps already in use before 1 July 2026 can stay in service. What tightens on those dates is the supply of replacements, so a store still running on fluorescent tubes is running on stock that will get harder to buy.
Should a rebate decide the upgrade?
No. A fleet upgrade should stand up on its own energy and maintenance savings, priced per store. Treat any certificate discount as a bonus that is confirmed in writing on the quote, for that store, at the time of signing.
It also pays to keep one fitting and colour standard across the fleet rather than let each state's rebate pick the product. A cheap fitting chosen for a discount is still the fitting the store looks at for the next ten years.
Doing it across a store fleet
Composite example
A retailer with stores in Victoria, NSW and Queensland plans an LED upgrade. The fitting schedule and colour temperature are set once for every store. Victorian stores are quoted with and without the VEU discount, and the discount is only counted once it appears on the provider's quote. NSW and Queensland stores are priced on their energy savings alone.
Stores are staged by energy use, worst first, and each one closes with before and after photos, plus energy readings where the retailer wants the saving evidenced.
