System owner

Written and checked by the Energy Merchants desk · Reviewed 3 October 2026

The system owner is the party who owns the system when it is installed. For a home, that is typically the homeowner. For a business, it is the company that holds the title. Whoever the owner is, they are entitled to the STCs the system creates.

Why this matters

In practice, almost no owner sells their own STCs. They assign the right to the installer, a retailer or an agent, often in return for a lower upfront price. The assignment is documented on a signed form. See assignment form and the STC assignment form guide.

In practice

The details must be accurate. The owner’s name, address and contact, and for a business the ABN, should match the registry entry and the other paperwork. For tenants, landlords or companies, check who the owner really is before the owner signs. If the signatory is not the owner, the assignment can be invalid.

Worked example

A customer signs a quote and a form assigning their STCs to the installer. The installer then discounts the price by the STC value at the point of sale. The owner has been paid in a different form, through the lower price, and has no further claim. See point of sale discount.

Common confusion

The owner is not necessarily the person who paid, or the one who lives there. A leased system may belong to a finance company, and the customer is only the occupant. Similarly, the owner is not the installer or the retailer, though they may receive the rights by assignment.

For the GST and invoicing side see RCTI, GST and ABN for STC payments. More in the glossary and STC trading.