The Coalition has made election promises to temporarily cut taxes and regulations on petrol-guzzling cars. But you could save a lot more through existing Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemptions for EVs, which even encompass charging gear and electricity consumed. Here’s how to zoom past both the tax collector and the petrol pump.
About Max Opray
Journalist Max Opray joined SolarQuotes in 2025 as editor, bringing with him over a decade of experience covering green energy. Across his career Max has won multiple awards for his feature stories for The Guardian and The Saturday Paper, fact-checked energy claims for Australian Associated Press, launched the climate solutions newsletter Climactic, and covered the circular economy for sustainability thinktank Metabolic. Max also reported on table tennis at the 2016 Rio Olympics — and is patiently waiting for any tenuous excuse to include his ping pong expertise in a SolarQuotes story.
EVs Leave Election Petrol Promises In The Dust With FBT Exemptions
Double-Dipping Labor’s Battery Incentive: Big Savings, Big Problems
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus spruiks Labor’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program.
Labor’s election promise of a federal battery incentive is eye-catching enough on its own, but especially lucrative is how it can potentially be combined with state-level schemes. We’ve run the numbers to calculate the savings from double-dipping, and they’re big — but so are the potential issues.
Sunshine On Tap: Turn Your Hot Water System Into A Battery
Don’t you hate it when you’re out and realise you’ve left the gas on at home? It’s a nightmare when we do it with a gas stove, yet millions of Australians are essentially doing this every day to keep their water piping hot. There’s a more efficient alternative: use a hot water heat pump as a thermal battery.
Got An Eye For Detail? SolarQuotes Needs A Lead Investigator
Every day, people come to SolarQuotes to ask for quotes for their home electrification needs: whether that’s solar panels, batteries, EV chargers or hot water heat pumps.
And just about every day, something goes a little bit wrong with those requests for quotes. That’s where our Lead Investigator & Customer Service Hero comes in.
Community Battery Grants Worth $46.3m Up For Grabs
The first battery installed under the Community Battery Funding program, located in Bexley North.
Expressions of interest are now open for the $46.3m second round of a national funding program for community batteries. Here’s what it all means and how to apply.
Apartment Solar Set To SoAR With New $25m NSW Grant
A new $25m Solar for Apartment Residents (SoAR) scheme backing shared rooftop systems has launched, offering to cover half the cost of solar for multi-unit dwellings in NSW.
Five Star Performance? How To Spot Fake Solar Reviews
A bunch of reviews of an installer all being published at the same time can be a red flag.
Every fortnight, the SolarQuotes Vetting Council convenes to undertake a forensic analysis of the companies asking to join our list of approved installers of solar, batteries and EV chargers. The investigation pours over every clue available, including the most obvious: online reviews. But in this age of bot farms and customer incentives, how can you tell if a review is legitimate or not?
Australia Finally Charts Course To Bidirectional EV Charging Bounty
Bidirectional charging has long been the white whale of electric vehicle owners in Australia, and at long last ARENA has released a chart revealing where this elusive leviathan of energy storage can be found.
Solar Batteries On Special: Should You Trust Aldi To Power Your Home?
An Aldi supermarket in Adelaide.
Good old Aldi — the home of supermarket savings, shelves lined with classic grocery staples like milk, bread, cheese, and… wait… is that an entire solar-and-battery system on sale next to the dog food?
Aiko Launches Its Most Ruthlessly Efficient Solar Panel Yet
If you’ve only just had the most efficient residential solar panels in Australia installed on your roof, unfortunately you won’t be able to enjoy that bragging point for much longer: Aiko Solar claims to have (again) broken their own record with what they claim is the first residential panel in Australia to exceed 24% module efficiency.
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