The STC scheme pays real money for certificates created at the moment an installation is lodged, which is exactly why it attracts bad actors. The Clean Energy Regulator takes a firm line and has prosecuted solar installers in recent years.
What counts as STC fraud
Fraud in the scheme generally means dishonestly obtaining certificates, or the money they represent, through false information. In practice it covers:
- Phantom installations. Claims for systems that do not exist; see phantom installs.
- False attendance. An installer states they installed or supervised a system when they were elsewhere, including overseas.
- False photos and declarations. Photos from other jobs, edited images or untrue statutory declarations; see penalties.
- Duplicate claims. The same system claimed twice or at two traders; see duplicate claims.
- Inflated systems. Claiming more panels or capacity than installed.
- Ineligible products or sites. Using products not on the approved lists, or systems that are not fixed installations.
“Rorting” is the everyday word for gaming the scheme. Whether it is a compliance breach or a crime turns on intent and evidence.
Real cases
CER has publicly reported convictions of installers who claimed to have installed or supervised systems when they were overseas or interstate, and of an installer who claimed for systems that did not exist, creating well over a thousand STCs. Penalties reported have included community correction orders, a fine of $10,000 for a false statutory declaration and a good behaviour bond. In each of these cases, the money at stake was tens of thousands of dollars and the consequences included a criminal conviction. CER publishes these outcomes on its news pages.
How it is detected
CER uses data analysis to identify patterns, such as an installer claiming impossible numbers of jobs, installs in two places at once or repeat serial numbers. It also uses photo review, including automated checking of battery photos, physical site inspections, audits and tip-offs; see how to report STC fraud. It has suspended companies for false or misleading statements; see CER suspensions.
What this means for installers
Honest mistakes are far more common than fraud, but they sit near each other in the data. A claim with a photo from the wrong job looks the same on the surface as a faked claim. The way to stay clear is good records, a second review, and taking corrections seriously. Read the top rejection reasons and the checklist in our compliance page.
For homeowners, the equivalent warning is in how to spot a solar installer scam.
Our compliance desk pre-checks claims before lodgement; see how it works. The wider market is covered in the STC trading overview.