Get energy efficiency costs to upgrade your home reimbursed with Better Score grants.

The Better Score Program aims to fund a total of up to $75,000 across all successful applications.

The maximum an individual grant can be awarded is $1,000, plus the cost of 2 energy audits and an energy assessor report.

Eligible upgrades will be funded up to 60% of the total invoice value.

Applications will be open for three weeks with successful applicants chosen by ballot if the program is oversubscribed. Previous recipients of a Better Score grant are not be eligible for the 2024/2025 round.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply for the Better Score Energy Efficiency Upgrade Project,

individual household applicant must:

• Be a Banyule resident
• Be an owner occupier and the property is worth less than $3 million
• Have a combined income of less than $210,000 per year (based on a Tax Office Notice of Assessment)
• Have written approval from the landlord to undertake upgrades if you are renting and the property is worth less than $3 Million
• Use funding to undertake upgrades for your primary residence only
• Engage licensed trades to complete upgrade works
• Be willing to complete a Variation Victorian Household Energy Scorecard Assessment after the upgrades have been completed
• Agree to the terms and conditions of the program.

General terms and conditions

• Eligible upgrade options must be recommended in the Scorecard Assessment Certificate or the assessor report
• Applicants must supply relevant compliance certificate for all electrical and plumbing work and tax invoices for the completed work as a part of their acquittal
• You agree to share your household energy efficiency scorecard assessment result and the variation assessment result for reporting purposes 
• Council may use information from your application for report wring/ case studies
• Hot Water Heat Pumps must contain only low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants, i.e. below 700 as per Victorian Government's guidelines. 
• Council Officers may inspect your upgrade project
• Applicants must ensure all Statutory legal and insurance obligations will be complied for all funded upgrade works
• All upgrades undertaken remains property of the Applicants, Council does not take any ownership nor liability of the funded upgrades
• Applicants must take sole responsibility of the complete work and liaise with their selected trade professionals for future repair and warranty works.
• Information collected from you is required for the delivery of Council Services in accordance with Council’s powers, functions and purposes under the Local Government Act 1989 and other relevant legislation. It may also be used by Council to conduct research and customer satisfaction surveys so that we may better understand community needs and can improve service delivery. 

Please note: Council makes certain information publicly available in accordance with legislation and the Banyule Public Transparency Policy. A listing of donations and grants including the names or persons or bodies that have received grants are made publicly available. This information is available on Council's website. Individual names are not published on Council’s website; this information is only available at Council offices.

Funding will be awarded to successful applicants as a reimbursement for completed works. No advanced funding will be provided.

• Phone: 03 9242 3451
• Email: energy.info@banyule.vic.gov.au