What a two-way tariff is
A two-way network tariff prices power in both directions. At midday, when rooftop solar floods the grid, exports above a free allowance carry a small charge. In the late afternoon and evening, when the grid needs power, exports earn a credit. The aim is to encourage batteries and systems that export when it helps the network.
This is a charge between the network and your retailer. How it reaches you depends on your retail plan: some retailers absorb it, others build it into their feed-in tariffs or pass it through on wholesale-style plans.
An example: Ausgrid
Ausgrid introduced a two-way tariff for solar customers on 1 July 2025. Exports above a free daily threshold between 10am and 3pm attract a network charge of around a cent or so per kWh, while exports between 4pm and 9pm earn a credit. Most households exporting a few kilowatt-hours at midday stay under the free threshold. Check Ausgrid's two-way pricing page for the current rates and threshold.
The rules protect a free export level
Networks cannot charge for exports up to their basic export level in any tariff for 10 years from the 2021 rule, and each network needs an AER-approved export tariff transition strategy before phasing in export pricing.
What it means for your solar
Check your feed-in tariff
Your retailer's feed-in rate is what you actually see. Compare it across plans, not the network tariff. See feed-in tariffs by retailer.
Use more at midday
Running the dishwasher, washing machine or pool pump while the sun is out uses solar that would earn little.
Consider a battery
Storing midday solar and using or exporting it in the evening is exactly what two-way tariffs reward.
Common questions
Not a tax. Since a 2021 AEMC rule change, networks may charge retailers for solar exports above a free basic export level, and reward exports at busy times. Whether you pay anything depends on your network and your retailer.
The rule allowed export pricing from its commencement, but existing solar customers could not be put on export pricing before 1 July 2025 unless they opted in. Ausgrid's two-way tariff began on 1 July 2025.
Most households export little enough at midday to stay within free thresholds, and many retailers do not pass the charge through directly. Check your retailer's feed-in tariff and plan terms.
Sources
Every rate on this page comes from the regulator or the regulated retailer. Last checked October 2026. Prices include GST unless we say otherwise.