“Spot” is a market reference, not a price you can simply take. The gap between spot and your payout is the cost of the service in between.
What spot actually is
Spot is the going price for STCs that are already created and ready to transfer. At the time of writing it has been roughly $38 to $40, and the clearing house ceiling is $40 (excluding GST). Spot is indicative: published by brokers and traders, with no official exchange. See is there an STC exchange.
Why your rate sits below it
1. You are selling unregistered STCs. The trader has not created them yet. It carries the chance the claim fails, and pays you now for something it can only sell later.
2. It funds the wait. If you are paid in 24 hours and the retailer pays in weeks, the trader is lending you money. That has a cost.
3. Admin and compliance. Pre-checks, lodging and chasing take staff time.
4. Registry fees. About 47 cents per STC to the CER at the time of writing.
5. Margin. The trader needs to make something for taking all this on.
Reading a $38 offer
If spot is $39.50 and a trader pays $38, the gap is $1.50. On 45 certificates that is $67 a job. What does the $1.50 buy: a locked rate, payment in a day, pre-checked claims? If yes, it may be good value. If you are being paid in 20 days with failure risk passed back, it is not.
Questions to ask:
- Is $38 net after every fee?
- When is the rate locked: at lodgement or on validation?
- How long until money lands?
- What happens if a claim fails?
A quick example
| Rate | Net on 45 STCs | Paid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trader A | $38.50, locked on lodgement | $1,732 | 1 to 2 days |
| Trader B | $39.00, fees deducted, unlocked | variable | 20 days |
The higher headline is not always the higher outcome. Our published rate is on pricing.
What this means for installers
Judge the gap by what it buys. Our rate is published daily, locked on lodgement of a complete claim, with zero fees and 24-hour settlement for established partners. See how it works, the STC trading pillar, and what an STC is worth in 2026.
Spot versus clearing house
The clearing house exists as a backstop, which is why spot rarely rises above $40 and why a trader quoting above it for long would be losing money. See trading price versus clearing house for how the mechanism works.