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Comparison

How to compare STC traders: 10 questions to ask

In short

Compare STC providers on written answers to ten questions: payment day, net dollars, rate lock, claim checks, invalidation, named contact, lock-ins and what is published. The scheme is federal, so the same checklist applies in every state.

Written and checked by the Energy Merchants desk · Reviewed 2 October 2026

Choosing where to send your STCs is a business decision with real money attached, and the checklist is the same whether you install in Perth, Brisbane or Hobart. This page gives you ten questions to put to any provider, a way to score the answers, and a table you can fill in. It names no one as better or worse. It also answers the common search “STC trade WA”: the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme is federal, so the same questions apply in Western Australia, and the point is to get written answers from whichever provider you choose.

First, know what type you are talking to

Providers differ in kind, and the right questions shift with the type.

Type What it does Example self-descriptions
Software platform Creates and manages certificates and compliance records Formbay: “AI-enabled renewable energy certificate and compliance technology platform”
Creator and auditor Generates certificates, audits projects Ecovantage: “certificate creator and project auditing specialist”
Trader or buyer Purchases certificates and pays you Green Energy Trading, Demand Manager, REC Traders
Wholesaler with trading Equipment distributor that offers an STC service One Stop Warehouse

Those are the providers’ own descriptions as published on their sites on 2 Oct 2026. More on the categories in what an STC aggregator is.

The ten questions

  1. When, exactly, will I be paid? Ask for the business day counted from a complete claim, in writing.
  2. What is deducted? Every fee, charge or subscription, so you can see net dollars per certificate.
  3. When is the rate fixed? On lodgement, on registration, or on the day of payment?
  4. Who checks my claim before it is lodged? Photos, forms, serials.
  5. What happens if a certificate is invalidated or audited? Who bears the cost, and what support do I get?
  6. Who is the registered person creating my certificates, and who is paying me? They may be different businesses.
  7. Do I deal with a named person? And can I reach them by phone?
  8. How do payment terms differ for batteries, hot water and VEECs? Evidence rules and values differ by claim type.
  9. Are there lock-ins, exclusivity or minimum volumes? Check how you would leave.
  10. What do you publish, and what is only in a quote? Prices, fees and payment times that are published are easier to hold a provider to.

Scoring the answers

Do not weight questions equally. For most installers, questions 1, 2 and 5 carry the most weight because they decide how much money arrives and how safe it is. For batteries, add weight to 4 and 8. For high-volume businesses, add weight to 7 and 9.

Score each provider 0, 1 or 2 per question: 0 for no answer, 1 for a verbal answer, 2 for a written answer you can point to. A written answer is worth more than a good-sounding one.

From the desk. Ask for the answers by email. A provider that answers all ten promptly and in writing is telling you how it will behave when a claim is stuck.

Side by side: what to check

What to check Energy Merchants Provider you are checking
When you are paid 24-hour settlement for established partners; first claim 48-72 hours Ask, in writing; not covered in what we read
Fees and deductions Zero fees Ask for the net dollars per certificate; not covered in what we read
Rate Published daily, locked on lodgement of a complete claim Ask when the rate is fixed; not covered in what we read
Who checks the claim Compliance desk pre-checks every claim Ask who reviews photos, forms and serials; not covered in what we read
Who you deal with Named account manager Ask; not covered in what we read
Backing REC Traders, trading since 2004, Smart Energy Council member Ask who the buyer of the certificates is; not covered in what we read

Energy Merchants’ column holds only what we can state and stand behind. Several competitors say little about fees or payment times on their public pages; that is a prompt to ask, not a conclusion.

What the public record shows

Rely on regulator statements for standing. The Clean Energy Regulator suspended Greenbot in June 2024; the lesson is covered in Greenbot alternatives. For any provider, you can ask who the registered person is and look up the regulator’s published information. Related reading: how STC audits work and top STC claim rejection reasons.

Where Energy Merchants fits

Answers from us: 24-hour settlement for established partners (first claim 48-72 hours), a rate published daily on /pricing/ and locked on lodgement of a complete claim, zero fees, a named account manager and a compliance desk that pre-checks every claim. Settlement is backed by REC Traders, trading since 2004. If you want our answers on paper, start here.

Next steps

Run the ten questions against two or three providers. See the full trader checklist, the side-by-side map of providers and how to switch.

How we wrote this. Energy Merchants is a certificate trader, so we have a horse in this race. Statements about other providers are taken from their own public websites on the date shown above and are attributed. If something here is out of date, tell the desk and we will fix it.

Sources: Formbay website (homepage) · Ecovantage website · Green Energy Trading website · Demand Manager website · One Stop Warehouse (OSW) website, STC trading page (as indexed) · REC Traders website

Questions

Before you decide

What is the most important question to ask an STC trader?
Ask on which business day money reaches your account, counted from a complete claim, and what is deducted. Get both in writing.
Is STC trading different in Western Australia?
The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme is a federal scheme, so the questions are the same in WA. Provider terms and support can vary, so ask each for written answers.
Should I use more than one trader?
Some installers do, to compare terms. Keep separate records per job, and ask each provider whether any terms depend on exclusivity or minimum volume.

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Compare us on the thing that matters: when the money lands.

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