We consulted with manufacturers, industry peak bodies and unions to establish the criteria hot water products must meet to be eligible for the higher rebate.
Important information about marketing
All hot water products on our eligible product list are carefully assessed for quality and performance and come with a comprehensive five-year product warranty – not just locally made products.
Manufacturers and suppliers should not use our listing as a locally made hot water product to market a product as ‘Australian Made’ or as a higher quality product.
Products do not need to be 100% made in Australia to attract the higher rebate of up to $1,400. Businesses must comply with Australian Consumer Law when making claims about the country of origin of their goods and services. For more information, go to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission website.
Who can apply
To apply for listing as a hot water product with local content, applicants must:
- be the manufacturer or supplier of the hot water product; and
- be financially responsible for the product warranty obligations in Australia.
Definition of local content
We will use this definition of local content in our assessment of your product for listing:
| Definition of local content | Industry guidance |
| Systems or components produced or transformed in Australia or New Zealand. | ‘Produced’ means that all the main components for the product come from Australia or New Zealand, and almost all processing occurred in Australia or New Zealand. ‘Transformed’ means the goods were processed to be fundamentally different in identity, nature or essential character from all their imported parts. |
Check if the product is eligible
To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate that the hot water product comprises at least 50 per cent local content.
Manufacturers and suppliers can apply at any time for existing and new hot water products entering the market, provided they are on our hot water product list. Requirements for listing are specified in Solar Victoria’s Notice to Market.
Before applying, please review the local content eligibility criteria.
To be eligible, hot water products must have major components that meet our definition of local content above.
Examples of major components eligible for assessment for local content:
| For hot water heat pumps | For solar hot water units |
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Other components not listed above may also be considered for assessment.
Note: We may amend the eligibility criteria for the hot water rebate locally made incentive and will publish any changes to this page.
Process for applications – how to apply
To apply, please respond to the eligibility criteria and validate your claims by providing the following with your application.
How we assess your application
To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate that the hot water product comprises at least 50 per cent local content.
Our assessment will be based on information and evidence provided for each product make and model using our definition of local content.
We may request a site inspection of the manufacturing facility to confirm the eligibility of the hot water product.
If the product is approved, we will assign the higher rebate value to it in our retailer portal and tag it as eligible in our hot water product list. We update and publish our product list weekly.
Following the application outcome:
- Hot water products quoted and installed on or after 1 July 2025 are eligible for our hot water rebate locally made incentive.
- Customers can receive our hot water locally made rebate for eligible products installed on or after the date the product is tagged as having local content in our retailer portal.
- The hot water locally made rebate will not be retrospectively applied to installations that occurred prior to the hot water product being tagged in our retailer portal as having local content.
If you need assistance
If you have any questions about the application process, please email us at hotwater@deeca.vic.gov.au.
Resources
Product lists for our programs
Use the products listed on this page to qualify for a Solar Homes Program rebate or loan.
Hot water rebate
Hot water rebates of up to $1,000 are available for eligible heat pump and solar hot water products. From 1 July, a rebate of up to $1,400 will be available under a new locally made incentive.
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