SA to keep gas in the mix as Victorian bans gas connection to new homes from 2024

The state government has weighed in on Victoria’s decision to ban gas connections to new home builds from 2024 with all new homes to be powered entirely by electricity.

South Australia will not be following in the steps of Victoria and applying a state-wide new home gas ban, the Premier has confirmed.

Premier Peter Malinauskas confirmed South Australia would be holding onto its gas connection, which will be switched off in new Victorian homes from January 1, 2024.

Mr Malinauskas was quick to dismiss the notion saying the gas ban was “not currently our policy”.

In 2022 repeated Private Member Bills from the Greens have failed to ban gas connections to new homes from 2025 failed to garner support from the two major parties.

For those living across the border, new homes will be powered entirely by electricity, with electric or induction cooktops to be installed instead of gas ones.

Every new home in Victoria will be banned from connecting to gas from next year.

It will apply to new homes and residential subdivisions requiring a planning permit.

Public and social housing delivered by the government’s Homes Victoria scheme will also be affected by the gas ban.

New public buildings that haven’t reached design stage — including schools, hospitals, police stations and other government owned facilities — will also be fully electric.

The Victorian government said roughly $1,000 would be saved from household energy bills every year.

Energy Minister Lily d'ambrosio, makes a gas announcement during a press conference in Melbourne., Picture: Luis Enrique Ascu

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio and Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said reducing the state’s reliance on gas was critical to meeting Victoria’s emission reduction target of net zero by 2045.

“We know that with every bill that arrives, gas is only going to get more expensive,” she said.

The state opposition has claimed the ban will lead to higher energy bills by driving up demand for electricity.

Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell said gas should remain an important part of the energy mix as we transition towards renewables.

But he warned the changes were a case of “desperate policy on the run”.

“What the government has done today, with little to no notice, has imposed upon every Victorian family, and every Victorian household, higher energy costs at a time when they can least afford it.

“We need a sensible transition, not panic decisions that restrict choice and lead to higher energy prices.”

Meanwhile, deputy Greens leader Ellen Sandell welcomed the move but said such reforms would be undermined while the government backed coal and gas projects.

“Victorians use more gas in their homes than in any other state, so banning new connections is an important reform the Greens have been calling for years,” she said.

“But it is strange that Labor acknowledges gas is an expensive, polluting fossil fuel on the one hand, while on the other hand is changing the law to make it easier to open new mines and is approving new gas drilling across the state, including near the 12 Apostles.”