Does Solar Sharer cover regional Queensland?

No. The obligation covers south-east Queensland only; regional Queensland sits outside the Default Market Offer. Ergon Energy has extended its Tariff 12F into regional Queensland voluntarily, which offers a comparable free daytime block, but it has been reported as carrying a high daily fee — compare it against your own usage rather than assuming it is cheaper.

What is the Solar Sharer offer and when does it start?

The Solar Sharer offer is an Australian Government reform that, from 1 July 2026, requires larger electricity retailers in New South Wales, South-East Queensland and South Australia to offer at least one residential plan with a free block of electricity in the middle of the day — around three hours, capped at 24 kWh a day. It was introduced through amendments to the Electricity Retail Code, sitting alongside the Australian Energy Regulator's Default Market Offer, with the rules finalised in early March 2026. The free window is set at roughly 11am to 2pm in NSW and South-East Queensland and 12pm to 3pm in South Australia. Because start dates, regions, hours and the cap can change, confirm the current terms at aer.gov.au or dcceew.gov.au before relying on any figure.

Who is eligible for the Solar Sharer free power window?

It is deliberately broad. You do not need rooftop solar, and it is open to renters as well as owner-occupiers — the whole point is to share cheap midday solar with people who can't put panels on their own roof. What you do need is a smart meter and to opt in by choosing an eligible plan from a participating retailer; it is not applied automatically. The obligation to offer a plan falls on larger retailers in the three regions, so a very small retailer may not have one. Check your own retailer and confirm current eligibility at aer.gov.au, as details can change.

Is the Solar Sharer offer actually free, or is there a catch?

The midday energy itself is genuinely free within the cap — but the plan around it is not a giveaway. A retailer still has to recover its costs, and it typically does that elsewhere on the same plan: higher peak-rate usage charges, higher shoulder rates, or a higher daily supply charge. So an eligible plan is not automatically cheaper than your current one — it is a different shape. Whether you come out ahead depends entirely on whether you can move enough of your usage into the free window to outweigh the higher charges the rest of the day. For a house that's empty from 9 to 5, that can be hard, and the plan can quietly cost more than it saves.

Who does the Solar Sharer offer actually help?

Homes that already use — or can easily shift — a real chunk of power in the middle of the day. Think someone home during the day, a retiree household, shift workers, or anyone who can run the dishwasher, washing machine, pool pump, hot-water heating or an EV charge in the free window on a timer. Renters and non-solar homes are included, which is a genuine plus for people who've been locked out of rooftop solar. It helps least a household that leaves an empty house all day and does everything in the evening peak — for them the free window sits unused while the higher peak and supply charges do the work.

Should I switch to a Solar Sharer plan?

Only after you check your own usage — don't switch on the headline. Look at your smart-meter data or bill to see how much power you already use, or realistically could shift, into the free midday window, then compare a specific eligible plan's peak, shoulder and supply charges against your current plan across a whole bill, not just the free hours. If you can load a lot into the middle of the day, it can be a real saving; if your life runs in the evening, staying put — or a different time-of-use or flat plan — may cost less. Sometimes the honest answer is don't switch. Use an independent comparison and your real numbers, not the retailer's example household.

Which retailers are offering a Solar Sharer plan?

At the July 2026 launch, Origin, Red Energy, Engie, Dodo, Sumo and AGL had eligible plans in market across NSW, South-East Queensland and South Australia, with GloBird also running its own free-daytime offer and Ergon Energy offering one in Queensland via Tariff 12F. EnergyAustralia did not have a compliant offer in market on 1 July and delayed its launch. Alinta and ActewAGL were not offering a three-hour free window. The more useful question than who offers it is what they changed in exchange — several retailers raised the fixed daily supply charge sharply, with Origin's reported to have roughly doubled and Red Energy's rising from about 122c to about 185c a day. Retail pricing changes constantly, so check a specific plan for your postcode on the AER's Energy Made Easy site rather than relying on any list.

Does Victoria get the Solar Sharer offer?

No. Victoria is not part of the Solar Sharer offer, because Solar Sharer was delivered through the Electricity Retail Code under the Australian Energy Regulator's Default Market Offer, and Victoria runs its own retail framework under the Victorian Default Offer, regulated by the Essential Services Commission. Victoria legislated its own equivalent instead: the Victorian Midday Power Saver, available from 1 October 2026, with a free window of 11am to 2pm every day including weekends and a reported 24 kWh fair-use cap. Around 2.6 million Victorian households are expected to be eligible. As with Solar Sharer you need a smart meter, you must opt in, and you do not need solar or to own your home — and the Victorian Government states directly that prices outside the free window will be higher, so households that cannot shift usage could pay more than before.

Do I need solar or a battery to benefit from Solar Sharer?

No — that's the design. The offer exists precisely to share midday solar with homes that don't have their own panels, so renters and non-solar households can benefit purely by shifting usage into the free window with timers and habits. Solar and a battery aren't required and aren't the point of this reform. That said, if you already have solar you may find your own self-consumption is worth more than the free window, and if you have a battery the two need to be weighed together rather than assumed to stack — the best plan for a solar-and-battery home is often not a Solar Sharer plan at all.

Solar Sharer in Queensland

Free midday power in Queensland: south-east only — and what the rest of the state can get.

Solar Sharer has been live since 1 July 2026. In Queensland the free block runs 11am–2pm, capped at 24 kWh a day. You need a smart meter, you have to opt in, and the obligation lands on larger retailers. Below: why it exists here, who it genuinely helps, and the households it quietly costs.

Written by Juan Flinn, Content Editor · Reviewed by the Mission Green Energy Team · Updated September 2026

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The mechanics, briefly

South-east Queensland: free from 11am, opt-in.

In south-east Queensland the obligation has applied since 1 July 2026: a free block of roughly three hours from 11am, capped at 24 kWh a day. Outside the south-east corner the mandate does not reach you at all, which is the single most important thing to establish before you read any further.

The rules are the same everywhere it applies: a smart meter, an active opt-in, and an obligation that lands only on larger retailers. Rates outside the window may be higher, which is how the offer pays for itself. The full scheme and the retailer comparison →

Why here

The part that catches people: it stops at the south-east.

Solar Sharer applies to the Default Market Offer regions, and in Queensland that means south-east Queensland only. Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and the surrounding south-east are in. Townsville, Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and the rest of regional Queensland are not — they sit outside the Default Market Offer on the Queensland Government’s regulated tariffs, so the federal code does not reach them.

That is not the same as "nothing available". Ergon Energy extended its Tariff 12F into regional Queensland voluntarily, with a comparable free daytime block. It has been reported as carrying a high daily fee, so it is very much a compare-it-properly offer rather than a free win — but if you are regional, it is the thing to ask about rather than assuming you are locked out.

If you already have solar

Queensland sun makes the cap look smaller than it is.

Queensland has the longest, strongest midday sun in the country, which cuts two ways. A well-sized array in Brisbane is already covering the house comfortably between 11am and 2pm, so the free grid window is doing less work than it would in Melbourne.

Where it matters is air conditioning. Pre-cooling the house inside the free window on a hot day — running the system hard from 11am so it coasts through the afternoon — is one of the few loads big enough to use a real share of 24 kWh, and one of the few that genuinely shifts. Most other household demand still lands after 6pm.

The honest test

The Queensland test: find out which side of the line you are on.

First, confirm your region. South-east Queensland is covered; regional Queensland is not. If your retail options run through Ergon rather than the full retail market, you are regional and the mandated offer does not apply to you.

If regional, ask about Tariff 12F by name. It is the voluntary equivalent, and it has been reported as carrying a high daily fee, which can undo the free block entirely on a low-usage household. Get the fixed charge in writing.

Price the air conditioner, not the kettle. Pre-cooling from 11am on a hot day is one of the few Queensland loads big enough to use a real share of 24 kWh, and one of the few that genuinely shifts.

Check the pool pump timer. If it runs overnight on an off-peak setting, moving it into the free window is usually the easiest win available.

Questions

Solar Sharer in Queensland: common questions.

When did Solar Sharer start in Queensland?

1 July 2026. Larger retailers in the Default Market Offer regions have been required to offer at least one eligible residential plan since then. You are not moved onto one automatically — you have to opt in.

What are the Solar Sharer hours in Queensland?

11am to 2pm, with a reasonable-use cap of 24 kWh a day. The free block is around three hours and applies every day.

Do I need solar panels to get Solar Sharer in Queensland?

No. You do not need rooftop solar and you do not need to own your home — renters and non-solar households are explicitly included. You do need a smart meter, because the free window is measured on half-hourly data, and you need to actively opt in.

Can Solar Sharer cost me money in Queensland?

Yes, and in regional Queensland the usual culprit is the daily supply charge rather than the usage rate: Ergon's Tariff 12F has been reported as carrying a high fixed fee. On a low-usage household a high daily charge can wipe out a free midday block entirely, so get the fixed charge in writing before switching.