Starting an STC trading business is straightforward on paper and hard in practice. The rules are open, so the work is operational.
The set-up steps
- Structure and tax. A company or trust, an ABN, GST registration and an accountant who understands recipient-created tax invoices. See RCTI, GST and ABN for STC payments.
- Registry access. A registered person account in the REC Registry run by the Clean Energy Regulator, and, if you will act for others, the right agent registration. See do you need a licence.
- Supply. Installers who will lodge claims with you, which means winning trust without a track record.
- Demand. A way to sell: the Clearing House at $40, or buyers on the spot market, which has been roughly $38 to $40 at the time of writing.
- Compliance. People who know the photo and form rules, a process to review every claim, and a plan for audits. See how STC audits work.
- Contracts. Terms covering rate, recourse, fees and disputes.
The capital question
If you pay installers quickly, you fund each claim until the STCs are created and sold. A trader settling $200,000 a week of claims in 24 hours has a float in the hundreds of thousands. Facilities exist, but lenders want a track record. The economics are laid out in how traders fund and make money.
Why most new traders struggle
- Rejected claims eat margin faster than rate changes.
- Installers compare on rate and speed, and incumbents have both.
- Fraud and duplicate claims are an operational risk.
- Regulatory changes, such as battery rules and the mid-scale solar expansion, need constant attention.
From the desk: before building a trader, check whether your actual goal is better cash flow for your own installs. A good partner solves that without the capital risk.
What this means for installers
If you install, you can sell your own STCs, but see whether self-registering is worth it. If you want to sell to someone who has already built the machine, Energy Merchants publishes a rate on pricing, with a Partner Program that grows with volume. See start trading or the switch page.