Green home loan: who offers one and what qualifies
A green home loan is either a discounted rate on your whole mortgage because the home meets an energy standard, or a separate low-rate loan added to your mortgage to pay for solar, a battery, insulation or other efficiency upgrades. Gateway Bank publishes at least 0.15% off for a home rated 4 to 6.9 stars, about $900 a year on $600,000, and Westpac's Sustainable Upgrades add-on lends $4,000 to $50,000. The discount is only worth having if the lender's ongoing rate is competitive anyway; the add-on loans suit owners already with, or willing to move to, a lender that offers one.
- Whole-of-loan discounts: Gateway publishes at least 0.15% off for a 4 to 6.9 star home; Bank Australia publishes a reduced rate for a qualifying new or renovated home at up to 90% LVR
- Add-on upgrade loans: ING publishes a 5-year fixed Green Upgrade Loan at 3.74% p.a.; Westpac publishes a $4,000 to $50,000 Sustainable Upgrades loan over up to 10 years at 4.49% p.a. variable, no establishment or monthly fees
- What qualifies: an energy rating or efficient features for the discount; a quote for approved upgrades (solar, batteries, insulation, glazing, EV chargers, resilience works) for the add-on
- The CEFC’s Household Energy Upgrades Fund sits behind Plenti and Brighte green loans; state rebates reduce the purchase separately
- A 0.15% discount on $600,000 is about $900 a year; only worth switching for if the lender’s ongoing rate is competitive anyway
WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the example given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees, or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Comparison rates are calculated on a secured loan of $150,000 over 25 years for home loans, a loan of $30,000 over 5 years for car and personal loans, and $50,000 over 5 years for equipment finance, unless the lender states another basis.
What is a green home loan?
Two products share the name. The first is a discounted home loan: the lender takes something off its standard rate on the whole mortgage because the property meets an energy-efficiency standard. Gateway Bank and Bank Australia publish this kind. The second is a green upgrade loan: a separate, smaller loan added to an existing mortgage, at a low fixed or variable rate, to pay for specific upgrades such as solar panels, a battery, insulation or double glazing. ING and Westpac publish this kind, and the CEFC-backed loans from Plenti and Brighte are unsecured versions of it. The first rewards a home that is already efficient; the second funds making it so.
What do lenders publish on green home loans?
Checked against each lender's published page on 20 September 2026; "Not published" means the page does not state it. Rates change without notice, so treat the published rates as a snapshot and confirm before relying on them.
| Lender and product | Type | Rate or discount as published | Amount and term | Eligibility as published | Other published terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Australia Clean Energy Home Loan | Discounted whole-of-loan rate | Reduced variable and fixed rates for owner-occupiers and investors on principal and interest at LVR of 90% or less | Minimum new borrowings of $10,000 | Two paths, for a newly built or a renovated green home; evidence dated before the application date; a property can qualify only once | May decline if eligibility cannot be verified; comparison rate on $150,000 over 25 years |
| Gateway Bank Green Home Loan | Discounted whole-of-loan rate | At least 0.15% off the Premium Package variable rate at 80% LVR | Purchase, refinance or construction | Home Energy Rating of at least 4 stars up to 6.9 stars, or at least three environmental and energy-efficient elements (three options published) | 100% offset, redraw, unlimited repayments, 0.10% bonus on term deposits |
| ING Green Upgrade Loan | Add-on loan to an existing ING home loan | 5-year fixed 3.74% p.a. (comparison rate 5.18% p.a. owner-occupier P&I; 5.27% p.a. investor) | Added to the existing home loan | Eligible ING home loan; approved energy-efficient upgrades; a quote from an installer on its Home Energy Helper platform or an eligible BYO installer | No upfront fees on the green loan; can apply again for further eligible upgrades |
| Westpac Sustainable Upgrades home or investment loan | Add-on loan secured against the property | 4.49% p.a. variable (4.49% p.a. comparison rate) on its loan increase page | $4,000 to $50,000; principal and interest; 10-year maximum term; one per property | An existing or approved Westpac home or investment loan over $150,000; a quote for eligible upgrades for unconditional approval | No establishment or monthly account fees; upgrades named include solar, batteries and bushfire, storm and flood resilience; excluded from portability |
| CommBank Green Loan | Add-on loan | Published in a factsheet rather than a product page; not restated here | Not restated | Not restated | CommBank publishes that Green Loan applications are not eligible for rate lock |
| Plenti and Brighte (CEFC Household Energy Upgrades Fund) | Discounted unsecured green loans | Discounted rates off their standard green loans, funded by the CEFC | Not published on the CEFC page | Eligible technologies as agreed with the CEFC: solar and batteries, solar hot water, EV chargers, double glazing, insulation | CEFC reports CSIRO analysis of $1,700 to $2,300 a year in electricity savings for upgraded households; Brighte's CEFC discount is fully utilised but the program remains available |
Is the discount worth switching for?
A 0.15 point discount on $600,000 is about $900 a year. That is worth having on a loan whose ongoing rate is competitive, and worth nothing if the lender's standard rate is 0.3 points above the market before the discount. Compare the discounted rate with the best standard rate you can get, not with the same lender's undiscounted rate, and include the switching costs in the refinancing costs guide. For an upgrade loan the comparison is different: ING's 3.74% fixed or Westpac's 4.49% variable against a top-up at your home loan rate or a personal loan at a personal loan rate. Both green add-ons win that comparison comfortably, provided the upgrade qualifies and you are with, or willing to move to, that lender.
What you need to apply
For a discounted rate: evidence that the home qualifies, dated before the application. Gateway's paths are a Home Energy Rating certificate or documentation of the efficient elements; Bank Australia refers to its key information document and warns that an unverifiable property may be declined. For an upgrade loan: an existing loan with the lender (Westpac requires one over $150,000), the usual income and expense documents, and a quote from an eligible installer for the specific products. ING routes quotes through its Home Energy Helper platform or an eligible installer of your own. Check state rebates first, because they reduce the amount you need to borrow.
How a broker helps
The green products are few and their conditions are precise, so the question is usually whether a green discount at one lender beats a plain competitive rate at another, and whether an upgrade is better funded by an add-on loan, a top-up or a rebate-plus-savings. A broker prices all of it in one pass. Get matched with a licensed broker who works this kind of lending and they contact you.
Funding an upgrade
Green and non-green routes to the same solar panels.
Green home loan FAQs
Which banks offer green loans in Australia?
What qualifies for a green loan?
Are green loans a good idea?
Can I add a green loan to my existing home loan?
Do I need an energy rating certificate?
Is there government money behind green loans?
Fund the upgrade at the lowest rate available
Tell us what you are installing and who your loan is with, and we refer you to one licensed broker partner who compares the green add-on loans, a top-up and the rebates on total cost. Free for borrowers, no obligation.