Many Australian homes were not built to cope with a rapidly changing climate.
Author
- Christoph Brodnik
Research Knowledge Manager, Monash University
Compared to new homes, established houses tend to consume - and waste - significant amounts of energy.
That's where home energy upgrade programs come in. These programs help households boost the energy efficiency of their houses while cutting power costs, emissions and grid demand. They are mainly run by state and federal governments, but community-led programs are multiplying across Australia.
However, our recent research shows not all Australians can currently benefit from these programs. Let's unpack why.
Top down or bottom up
In Australia, home energy upgrade programs are largely developed and delivered by state, territory and federal governments. These programs assume that if households are given the right information and a financial incentive, they will decide to upgrade. This approach allows them to reach large numbers of people, with Victoria's scheme alone delivering more than 180,000 upgrades to households in 2025.
However, government-run programs tend to benefit households that can pay the residual cost of upgrades, are motivated to change and have the skills to navigate any practical or legal hurdles. This is because energy upgrades can be costly and complex to install.
Community-led programs are gaining traction in Australia. These programs - run by either communities or local government - are often much more attuned to what residents want and worry about. They are built on trust and relationships, and provide practical advice and hands-on support. These are often what so-called " hard-to-reach " households - such as renters, low-income Australians and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds - need most. Without such supports, these households tend to miss out .
One organiser told us:
"Developing a trustworthy relationship with the household is just key. Otherwise, you get very low uptake of these programs."
All about connection
Upgrading a house can involve making lots of complex decisions . Many local home energy upgrade programs are resource-poor and may have to rely on state or federal schemes, which are often difficult to navigate and apply for. This is particularly true for people whose first language is not English or who lack computer skills.
Research consistently shows trusted relationships make upgrading much smoother. They are also key to ensuring locally-led home energy upgrade programs actually work.
To cultivate such relationships, program managers must create opportunities for householders to interact with each other. This could be community forums, appliance demonstration events or open home days where people explain how they upgraded their home and what the results were.
We interviewed 19 people who design and deliver these programs, working in state government, local government, community groups, peak bodies and consultancies. Most were based in Victoria, with participants also in New South Wales and Queensland, and several working nationally.
A common theme was the value of "social work" in the delivery of home energy upgrade programs. Examples of social work include helping people identify which incentives they are eligible for or guiding them through the application process. Householders may also need help picking the right upgrade products for their home and finding tradies who can safely and effectively install them.
One organiser acknowledged:
"I really had to hold people's hand through a lot of it, which is fine if you're expecting that."
Another organiser shared:
"The solar installer that we had, they obviously don't work with a lot of low-income people because they can't afford the solar. They weren't used to working with that type of audience with all of these extra layers of needs."
Scaling up
One issue is many locally-led home energy upgrade programs don't have the funding or resources to last. But we can change that by:
recognising councils and community organisations as delivery partners in their own right, with a clear role in designing programs and funding that covers dedicated staff
offering more predictable, sustainable funding to give program managers the time to establish relationships with householders and build on long-term projects
rethinking how we measure success , by evaluating whether programs build trusted relationships and not just the number of upgrades installed or rebates claimed
creating ways to share knowledge between local programs by supporting initiatives that connect councils and community groups.
Locally-led home energy upgrade programs are popping up across the country. Our research team is building a platform to give organisers the tools and guidance they need. But to ensure these programs reach all Australian homes, we must recognise and fund them as a critical part of our nation's clean energy transition .
Christoph Brodnik receives funding for this research as part of the Energy Upgrades for Australian Homes project, which is led by Monash University and funded through the RACE for 2030 Cooperative Research Centre.
