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The NBN fibre upgrade replaces the copper part of an FTTN or FTTC connection with fibre to your home, turning it into FTTP. If your address is eligible, you ask a participating provider for the upgrade and nbn installs the fibre and its standard equipment free. From 1 July 2026, FTTC homes no longer need to order a high-speed plan to qualify; FTTN homes need to order a plan on an eligible speed tier.
nbn says it made more than 3.5 million FTTN premises eligible by the end of 2025, and that more than 99% of the roughly 600,000 premises left in its FTTN program will be able to upgrade by December 2030. This page explains who qualifies, what you pay, how the installation works, what happens in apartment buildings, and whether it is worth doing.
By Better Rate Mate Editorial Team ยท Last reviewed
FTTN and FTTC connections use your old copper phone line for the last stretch. That copper is what limits them to up to 100 Mbps and, on FTTN, makes speeds depend on how far you are from the node. The upgrade runs a fibre line into your home, installs an nbn utility box outside and a connection box inside, and switches your service to FTTP.
Once you are on FTTP you can order any nbn tier, up to Home Hyperfast at 2,000 Mbps, from any provider. The fibre stays with the address, so you can change provider later. Read the provider's upgrade offer terms for any conditions attached to it, such as a minimum period on the plan.
nbn's upgrade page says selected homes and businesses on FTTN and FTTC can upgrade to FTTP with an eligible plan. The premises must also be one nbn designates as a "simple premises"; more complex sites, such as many apartment blocks, go through a separate building program. The quickest way to check is nbn's address checker, which shows whether an upgrade is available at your address.
| Your connection | Can you upgrade? | Plan you must order | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTTN (house or simple premises) | Yes, where nbn has made the address eligible | A plan on an eligible higher wholesale tier. When the FTTN program opened this meant Home Fast (up to 100 Mbps) or above; confirm with your provider | More than 3.5 million eligible by December 2025; more than 99% of the ~600,000 remaining by December 2030 |
| FTTC (house or simple premises) | Yes | No high-speed plan required from 1 July 2026 (previously 100/40 Mbps or above) | Open now |
| FTTN or FTTC apartment building or complex | Through the building program | Building-wide upgrade | $275 (inc. GST) co-contribution per unit; the whole building must upgrade |
| FTTB | Not yet | Not applicable | nbn says FTTB won't be eligible straight away |
| Any other premises | Possibly, for a fee | Technology Choice Program | Currently accepting some single-premises applications only |
The upgrade is triggered by ordering a qualifying plan. For FTTN, nbn's consumer page says you need a plan on an eligible wholesale speed tier; when the program for the remaining FTTN premises was announced in January 2025, nbn said that meant a service based on the Home Fast tier, up to 100 Mbps. Providers list the plans that qualify on their upgrade pages, so check there before you order.
For FTTC, nbn removed the high-speed plan requirement on 1 July 2026. Before that, FTTC homes needed a plan of 100/40 Mbps or above. Now an FTTC home can upgrade on a slower plan, which makes the upgrade worth considering even if you don't want to pay for a faster tier.
The standard installation is free. nbn says a full-fibre installation includes free installation of nbn-supplied equipment, meaning the fibre lead-in, the utility box outside and the connection box inside.
There can be costs around it. nbn says that depending on complexity and building type, additional costs may apply to providers, who may pass them on. You pay for the qualifying plan (which may cost more each month than your current one), and you may need a new modem or router, since FTTP connects by Ethernet rather than the phone socket. Some providers include a modem or waive setup fees; check the Critical Information Summary for the plan you choose.
nbn describes the process in five stages. How long it takes depends on your address and on whether nbn has already built fibre down your street; your provider will give you an installation date.
For apartment buildings and complexes on FTTN or FTTC, nbn runs a separate program. The upgrade must apply to the whole building or complex, and nbn asks for a co-contribution of $275 (including GST) per unit. The owners corporation or strata manager usually has to agree and arrange it.
Buildings on FTTB are not in the program yet: nbn says FTTB premises won't be eligible to connect to full fibre straight away. If you rent, you will usually need the owner's permission for installation work, and in a strata building the body corporate's as well.
nbn is still building fibre into FTTN areas. Its January 2025 plan, backed by up to $3 billion in government equity and more than $800 million from nbn itself, covers around 622,000 FTTN premises, with works expected to finish by the end of 2030. In September 2026 nbn said more than 99% of the roughly 600,000 remaining premises will have access to an upgrade by December 2030.
In April 2026 nbn also announced targeted upgrades for a limited number of premises, aiming at about 130,000 in the first year, where it will upgrade customers without them needing a high-speed plan. nbn said notifications would start from July 2027. In the meantime, the Technology Choice Program lets some single premises pay to switch to FTTP, and 5G home internet may be faster than a long FTTN line at some addresses.
For most FTTN homes, yes. Fibre removes the copper bottleneck, so the plan's speed is no longer capped by the length of your line, and you can move to 500 Mbps or faster if you ever want to. The installation is free for eligible simple premises.
The case is weaker if you are happy with your current speed, are on FTTC and already get close to 100 Mbps, or would need to pay more each month for a plan you don't need. Now that FTTC homes can upgrade without a high-speed plan, cost is less of a barrier there. Compare the ongoing plan cost against what you pay today before you order.
The standard installation is. nbn installs the fibre lead-in and its equipment free for eligible premises. You still pay for the qualifying plan, and nbn says extra costs may apply for complex installations or some building types, which providers may pass on. Apartment buildings pay a $275 co-contribution per unit.
For most FTTN homes it is: it removes the copper limit, lets you order any tier up to 2,000 Mbps and costs nothing to install on eligible simple premises. It matters less if you are happy with your current speed and would need to pay more each month for a qualifying plan.
It is nbn's program to replace the copper last stretch of FTTN and FTTC connections with fibre into the home, converting the connection to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). You arrange it through a participating provider by ordering an eligible plan.
The FTTP connection stays with your address, so you can later switch to any provider. Check the provider's upgrade offer terms before ordering, in case it attaches conditions such as a minimum period on the plan.
Yes. FTTC homes are eligible, and since 1 July 2026 they no longer need to order a high-speed plan to get the upgrade.
Eligibility changes as nbn builds fibre into new areas. The address checker on nbnco.com.au is the authoritative answer for your home; this page explains how the program works.
