The federal battery discount is not a payment from the installer or from the customer’s pocket. It is the market value of the small-scale technology certificates the battery creates. The customer assigns those certificates to the installer, the installer deducts their value from the price, and then sells the certificates to recover it.
How the money actually moves
- The installer quotes a full price and shows the STC discount as a line item.
- The customer pays the reduced balance.
- The customer signs the STC assignment form, transferring ownership of the certificates.
- The installer lodges the claim, and once the STCs are created they sell them to a buyer.
- The sale proceeds replace the discount the installer already gave.
So on the day, the customer pays less. The installer is out of pocket by the discount until a trader settles. That gap is the cash-flow problem described in battery rebate installer cash flow.
Who carries which risk
| Risk | Who carries it |
|---|---|
| STC price falling between quote and sale | Installer |
| Claim rejected for evidence faults | Installer |
| Battery ineligible or not VPP-capable | Installer, and the customer’s price expectation |
| Slow trader settlement | Installer |
| Paperwork not signed | Both, but the installer cannot claim |
What the discount is worth
For a battery installed in 2026 the factor is 6.8 STCs per kWh at the time of writing, stepping down to 5.7 on 1 January 2027 and to 5.2 on 1 July 2027. The first 14 kWh counts at 100 percent, 14 to 28 kWh at 60 percent and 28 to 50 kWh at 15 percent. At the STC spot range of roughly $38 to $40, a 10 kWh battery produces 68 STCs, so a discount of roughly $2,600 to $2,700. Run your own sizes through the battery STC calculator.
What the customer should understand
The customer’s side is simple: they pay the balance and sign the assignment form. They should know that signing transfers the certificates, so they cannot also sell them or assign them to a second party. They should also know the STC value on their invoice is the installer’s own estimate; if the market price moves, that is the installer’s gain or loss, not theirs, because the discount is fixed on the invoice.
What this means for installers
Price the discount off a rate you can lock, not off the spot price on quote day. If you sell STCs at a published rate that is locked on lodgement, you know your margin the moment a claim goes in. Pricing shows how Energy Merchants publishes its rate; the principle applies to any buyer you choose.
From the desk: show the STC discount as a separate invoice line labelled as an assignment of STCs. It keeps the customer’s expectations and your GST treatment clear. See how to show the discount on an invoice.
More on the scheme sits on the battery STCs page and the installer guide. When you are ready to turn claims into cash, start trading.