What Australia is doing

For New Zealand, see the tracker: not yet legal, expected around mid-2027, no date set.

Where Australia stands

Plug-in solar isn't allowed in Australia. AS/NZS 4777.1, the joint installation standard, requires fixed wiring and rules out three-pin plugs on both sides of the Tasman (RenewEconomy).

On 11 September 2026 the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council, which New Zealand's energy minister sits on, "agreed to explore pathways to support the safe deployment of plug-in consumer energy resource (CER) devices in Australia", with a report back on next steps this year (the communique). We found no draft Australian standard.

Why it matters here

• The same standard. If the joint committee changes AS/NZS 4777.1, both countries move; New Zealand's review says it can enable plug-in solar before a full standard is finished.
• The same shops. Bunnings, Harvey Norman and the battery brands sell on both sides, and a bigger joint market brings more kits.
• New Zealand looks set to go first. The government has agreed to legalise it; Australia has agreed to explore it.

National says it has "teamed up with Australia on shared rules". We haven't found a government document that confirms it.

What a kit could save here: the payback calculator.

More guides

• What plug-in solar is

  One or two panels, a small inverter and a cable to a normal socket.

• Why it is banned now

  A 2012 prohibition notice and one clause in AS/NZS 4777.1.

• Cost and savings

  Kit prices overseas, what NZ sellers expect to charge, and payback by city.

• Plug-in batteries

  What a battery adds, what it costs, and what the rules say so far.

• Renters and body corporates

  Why this matters most to people who can't put panels on a roof.

• Plug-in or rooftop

  Size, price, payback and who each one suits.