Solar Export Limits by State: What Your DNSP Allows in 2026

Almost every distribution network service provider (DNSP) in Australia caps solar exports at 5kW per phase. That means a typical single-phase home can push a maximum of 5kW to the grid at any moment, regardless of how large the solar system is. Three-phase homes get 15kW. If your system produces more than the limit, the inverter throttles back and the surplus generation is lost.

This matters more than most people realise. A 6.6kW system on a sunny day can easily produce 5.5-6kW at peak, and a 10kW system will be curtailed for several hours. Understanding your local export limit helps you size your system correctly, decide whether a battery makes sense, and avoid paying for capacity you can't actually use.

When your solar panels produce more electricity than your home is using, the surplus flows back into the grid. Your DNSP, the company that owns and manages the poles and wires in your area, sets a cap on how much power you can send back at any given moment. This cap is your export limit.

The limit exists because local transformers and power lines have finite capacity. When too many homes in a street export at the same time, voltage on the network rises. If it rises too far, it can damage equipment and affect power quality for everyone on that circuit. Export limits are the simplest way to manage this.

The standard across most of Australia is 5kW per phase. Your inverter handles the enforcement automatically. It monitors how much you're exporting and reduces output if you're about to exceed the threshold. You don't get a warning or a notification. It just happens.

When your solar system tries to export more than the allowed limit, the inverter automatically reduces its power output. This is called curtailment, or throttling. The inverter ramps down until the export level sits at or below the cap.

The energy that gets curtailed is simply lost. Your panels are still producing it, but the inverter converts less of it into usable AC power. On a 10kW system at midday, it's not unusual to lose 2-3kW of potential generation for several hours. Over a year, that can add up to hundreds of dollars in missed feed-in tariff income.

The frustrating part is that you often don't notice unless you're watching your monitoring app closely. Your system looks like it's running fine, just producing less than it could.

The 5kW static limit is a blunt instrument. It applies all the time, even when the grid could easily absorb more. On a mild autumn day when nobody is running air conditioning, the network has plenty of headroom. On a scorching January afternoon when every house on the street is exporting, it doesn't.

Flexible exports (sometimes called dynamic exports) solve this by adjusting the limit in real time. Your inverter communicates with the DNSP and receives instructions about how much it can export right now. When the grid has spare capacity, you might be allowed to export 8kW or even 10kW. When the network is congested, it drops back to 1.5kW or lower.

SA Power Networks was the first in Australia to roll this out at scale. From late 2023, new solar installations in South Australia have been required to have flexible export capability. The trade-off is that your export limit can dip below 5kW during congestion, but on average, most households export more total energy across the year than they would under a static 5kW cap.

Several Victorian DNSPs, including AusNet Services, are now trialling similar schemes. The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has signalled that flexible exports will become the standard nationwide over the next few years. If you're installing solar now, it's worth choosing an inverter that supports dynamic export control.

WA update (May 2026): Western Power is introducing a two-pathway export model from 1 May 2026. New systems on the SWIS network must choose between full export access (requires remote disconnection capability, enables DEBS and future VPP participation) or a fixed 1.5 kW export cap (no remote disconnection needed). All inverters must use AS/NZS 4777.2:2020 “Australia Region B” settings and the CSIP-AUS communications protocol. This is WA's answer to managing the world's largest isolated grid with high rooftop solar penetration. Systems installed before May 2026 are not affected.

The 5kW limit is per phase, not per household. If your home has a single-phase connection (most older homes), you get one phase and a 5kW export cap. If you have three-phase power (common in newer builds, larger homes, or homes with big air conditioning units), you get three phases and a 15kW export cap.

This makes three-phase significantly more valuable for larger solar systems. A 10kW system on single-phase will be curtailed frequently. The same system on three-phase has plenty of export headroom and will rarely, if ever, hit the limit. If you're planning a system larger than 6.6kW, it's worth checking whether your property already has three-phase or what it would cost to upgrade. The upgrade typically runs $1,000-$3,000 depending on your DNSP and the distance from the street transformer.

When your inverter throttles because of the export limit, a battery captures what would otherwise be wasted. Instead of curtailing 2-3kW of generation at midday, that energy goes into storage and you use it in the evening when your panels aren't producing.

For homes with oversized solar systems relative to their export limit, a battery can be the difference between wasting a significant chunk of generation and actually using it. A 10kW system on single-phase with a 10kWh battery will capture most of the curtailed energy and shift it to the evening peak, saving 25-35c per kWh on what you would have bought from the grid.

This is one of the strongest financial cases for batteries in Australia. You're not just storing cheap solar to avoid expensive grid power. You're capturing energy that would have been thrown away entirely.

In some areas, particularly remote or grid-constrained locations, the DNSP may impose a zero export requirement. This means your inverter must be configured to send absolutely no power to the grid. You can only use solar energy on-site or store it in a battery.

Zero export is most common with Horizon Power in remote Western Australia and Power and Water Corporation in the Northern Territory, where the local grid is small and can't absorb much distributed generation. It can also be required for very large commercial installations in metropolitan areas.

If you're subject to zero export, a battery becomes almost essential. Without one, any generation beyond your real-time consumption is wasted. With a battery, you store the surplus and use it later. You won't earn any feed-in tariff, but you maximise the value of every kilowatt-hour your panels produce.