Not strictly to get paid at all, but increasingly yes to get the most out of solar. Under the Clean Export Guarantee you're entitled to export payments even before a smart meter is fitted: until you have one, suppliers pay on a "deemed" basis — an estimate of what a system your size would typically export — so you're not left unpaid while you wait. Once a smart meter is installed and reading, you move to metered export, paid on your actual measured units, which usually works out better if you genuinely export a lot.
The bigger reason to want a smart meter in 2026 is that it's now the gateway to the tariffs that make a battery and EV really pay. Time-of-use and the new dynamic (half-hourly wholesale) tariffs — the ones that let you load-shift charging into the cheapest windows — require a smart meter capable of half-hourly reads with a strong signal. Without one, you're limited to flat-rate or basic plans and you can't access the cheap-window arbitrage that often makes the battery economics stack up.
So: you'll still be paid for export on a deemed basis without one, but a smart meter gets you accurate metered export and unlocks the day/night, EV and dynamic tariffs that are central to getting value from storage. If you've gone solar (or are about to) and don't yet have a smart meter, it's worth requesting one — and it's free to have fitted. Just be aware that moving onto a smart tariff can change your standing charge, so model the whole package against your usage.