You can keep your STCs. The right to create them starts with you as the system owner, so assigning it to your installer is a choice, not a requirement. The catch is that doing it yourself costs money upfront and takes effort that most households find outweighs the benefit.
What keeping them involves
First, you pay the full price of the system. No STC discount is taken off the quote, so a typical 6.6 kW system costs roughly $1,700 to $1,800 more upfront at the time of writing, depending on the zone and the STC price.
Second, the certificates have to be created in the Clean Energy Regulator’s registry. That needs a registry account, supporting documents such as photos and the installer’s details, and a valid claim. It is not a casual form. Many owners who go this route use a registered agent to lodge on their behalf, and the agent takes a fee or a share.
Third, the certificates need selling. You can sell to a trader or through the clearing house at the fixed ceiling price, which is $40 at the time of writing, though the clearing house can take time to pay.
Why most people assign
Assigning is simpler and the discount is immediate. The installer bears the claim risk, handles the registry, and has a trader relationship that settles quickly. They can only pass that on if they use the certificates in their price.
When keeping them makes sense
- You are a business with its own compliance team and an ABN registered for GST.
- You are installing several systems.
- Your installer has priced the discount well below the market value, and you want to compare.
From the desk: if you keep your STCs and later find the claim is rejected, the loss is yours. Under an assignment, that risk usually sits with the installer.
What this means for you
If you are a standard household, take the discount. Ask the installer to show the number of STCs and the dollar value applied. If you want to look at selling for yourself, can I sell my own STCs walks through that route, and the resources hub has the surrounding background and how it works shows where traders sit in the chain.