The owner of a small-scale system holds the right to create STCs. They can create them themselves or assign that right to someone else, usually the installer, a retailer or a registered agent, in exchange for a discount. The assignment form is the evidence that the transfer happened, and so it is one of the first documents the Clean Energy Regulator asks for in an audit.
What the form must include
The Regulator publishes a sample assignment form for solar and battery systems, and the structure below follows it. Use the current sample as your base and check it for updates.
- The owner’s details. Full name, address and contact details. For a business, the legal name and ABN.
- The system. Type, size, brand, model and the installation address.
- The assignment statement. Wording that makes it clear the owner assigns the right to create the certificates, and to whom.
- What the owner receives. The discount or consideration, usually shown as an STC discount on the quote.
- The owner’s acknowledgements. That they understand they are giving up the certificates and that the information given is true.
- Signature and date. The owner’s signature, with the date.
Details differ for batteries and hot water, where the capacity and eligibility fields change. See our step-by-step form guide and the general requirements.
Should it be signed before installation?
Yes, as a working rule. There are three reasons:
- The sale and the discount are agreed at the same time. A form signed with the contract means the customer understood the discount before the work started.
- Auditors check the sequence. A form dated well after the installation, or after the certificates were created, looks like paperwork done to fit a claim.
- Once the job is finished, owners are harder to chase. See what to do when a form is not returned.
If the circumstances mean a form is signed on the day of installation, that is fine as long as the signature genuinely happens before the claim is created. Do not backdate. If it is signed late, leave the real date on it.
From the desk: match the form to the final job. If the quote said 6.6 kW and the roof took 6.1 kW, the form needs the real figure, not the quote.
Common faults
- Missing or illegible signature.
- Wrong owner, such as the person who paid the deposit and not the property owner. See tenants and landlords.
- A blank or “TBC” system field filled in later by someone else.
- Different serial numbers on the form and in the registry.
What this means for installers
Build the form into the quote acceptance, so it exists before anything is bought. If you want digital signing, the electronic signature page covers what to check. Energy Merchants’ compliance desk reads the form against the claim before lodgement. For more on how that works see how it works, STC trading and the resources hub.