Victorian jobs can create two kinds of certificate, and two different kinds of business sit behind them. Mixing up the roles leads to claims lodged with the wrong party or payments chased from the wrong desk.
The VEEC accredited provider
Victorian Energy Upgrades is run by the Essential Services Commission. A business must be accredited to create Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates for particular activities, such as installing a heat pump water heater. The provider meets the activity requirements, keeps the customer records, registers the certificates and can be audited by the ESC. To find one, see who the accredited providers are.
VEEC prices are set by the market. At the time of writing the spot price has been roughly $85 to $95 in 2026, with a record near $110. A VEEC aggregator collects certificates from many providers and sells them in volume to liable retailers.
The STC trader
STCs come from the federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme through the Clean Energy Regulator. A registered agent or trader takes assignment of the STCs from the system owner, creates them in the registry and sells them. At the time of writing the spot market has been roughly $38 to $40, against a clearing house ceiling of $40. For the agent side, see registered agent obligations and how agent fees work.
Side by side
| VEEC accredited provider | STC trader or agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Scheme | Victorian Energy Upgrades | Federal SRES |
| Regulator | Essential Services Commission | Clean Energy Regulator |
| Who qualifies | Accredited per activity | Registered agent or trader |
| Customer paperwork | VEEC consent and records | STC assignment form |
| Buyers | Liable retailers, aggregators | Liable entities via the clearing house or market |
When a business is both
Some companies hold both an ESC accreditation and CER agent registration, and a heat pump installer in Victoria may use one party for each certificate. That is fine, but the paperwork must name the correct entity on each form. See how heat pump jobs earn both and the paperwork checklist.
From the desk: Ask a prospective buyer which entity will appear on the VEEC creation and which on the STC registration. If they cannot answer plainly, the claim is likely to stall.
What this means for installers
Choose each counterparty on its own merits: settlement time, fees, audit support and clarity about who carries risk. Our checklist for choosing a certificate trader applies equally to both. For STCs, see the STC trading pillar, how it works and pricing; for Victorian certificates, the VEEC trading page.