Knowledge/What earns a certificate/There's no Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) rebate for hydronic
There's no Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) rebate for hydronic
There's no VEU activity for hydronic space heating. In a separate consultation in April 2026, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) asked whether to add incentives for replacing gas hydronic with reverse cycle or hydronic heat pumps. That consultation hasn't produced a claimable activity.
- Hydronic activity
- Doesn't existas at 24 Sep 2026
- Status
- Consulted onApril 2026
- What was asked
- Gas hydronic outreverse cycle or hydronic heat pump in
- Can you claim it?
- Nodon't quote it
What do I tell a customer with gas hydronic?
If a customer with gas hydronic asks what the rebate is for replacing it with new hydronic, the honest answer is there isn't one.
There is something, though. If the job is gas hydronic out and reverse cycle in, that's claimable under Part 6, the space heating and cooling activity, like any other gas-to-electric heating swap. What comes out sets the scenario, and gas hydronic counts as gas space heating.
What doesn't exist is an activity for putting a hydronic heat pump in. Swapping a gas boiler for an air-to-water heat pump on the existing emitters, the radiators or panels already in the house, isn't a claimable VEU activity.
Where did the hydronic consultation get to?
As far as we can tell, it hasn't moved past that April 2026 consultation. That's a consultation, not an activity.
We got this from an industry body's submission, the Energy Efficiency Council's, not from the government itself. So treat even our description of the consultation as second-hand.
It could become a new Part. If it does, you'll see it in the Essential Services Commission (ESC) updates and in the Victoria Government Gazette, where new rules are officially published. It'd be worth hearing about early, because hydronic doesn't seem to be work many Victorian contractors chase.
What does the rental rule say about hydronic?
Get this straight before you advise a landlord. Under Victoria's rental minimum standards, from 1 March 2027 a rental heating appliance that breaks and can't be repaired has to be replaced with an efficient electric reverse cycle air conditioner in the main living area.
As the rule is described, it points at reverse cycle, not electric heating in general. So a landlord whose gas hydronic has failed is being pointed at reverse cycle, not at a heat pump fitted to the radiators they already have.
Check this against the final regulations and the exemptions before you advise anyone. The detail could still change, and it makes a big difference to what you quote. Our rental minimum standards timeline page goes through the dates.
Not sure which activity your job sits under?
Getting the activity and the scenario right is what sets the money, and you need to get it right before you quote, not after you install.
If you're looking at a job and the answer isn't obvious, ask Kevin.
Who this is for: small and medium HVAC contractors in Victoria. If you're a homeowner after a rebate or a repair, you need a licensed contractor, not us, and yours can point you the right way.
Related
- Which Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) activities cover HVAC workNobody maps the activity numbers for installers, so here they are. Which one your job sits under, and the one that keeps getting mixed up with lighting.
- Activity 6 categories, 6A to 6H, and their kW bandsEvery Part 6 category with its capacity band, the two that are for business premises only, and the multi-split rule about matching the manufacturer.
- The eleven Part 6 scenarios, and why they set the moneyWhat you take out decides how many certificates a job earns. All eleven scenarios, the caps on four of them, and how long the scheme assumes each lasts.
- The Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) efficiency floors, by categoryMinimum heating and cooling efficiency ratings for every Part 6 category, on GEMS Cold Zone figures, and why a GEMS 2013 registration rules a unit out.
Review date: 1 January 2027. Figures in this area change without much notice and this page carries some that will go stale. Every number above is dated and sourced so you can check it yourself. If you find something out of date here, tell us and we will fix it.