Lodging a battery claim is a sequence of small, dull steps where the order matters. Do them in sequence and the claim clears. Skip one and the failure shows up days later, in the registry or at your buyer’s checklist, when the customer has long since left and the job file is the only witness.
This guide covers the whole path for the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, from the first eligibility check to the transfer that gets you paid. It also answers the common search “how to lodge battery STCs in the REC Registry”. The registry’s screens and labels change, so use this as the logic and check the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) guidance for the current wording.
Step 1: confirm the job is eligible
Before the install, not after. The program, running from 1 July 2025, gives STCs for batteries with 5 to 100 kWh of usable capacity, with up to 50 kWh eligible for certificates. The battery must be CEC-approved and VPP-capable. The installer must be accredited. There is one battery per property, and it can be paired with new or existing solar.
Check three things on the day you quote: the battery model against the approved list, your own accreditation status, and whether the property already has a battery that has claimed STCs. Our answer on the CEC eligible battery list shows where to check.
Step 2: capture the evidence on site
New photo and evidence rules applied from 1 March 2026, so older checklists are out of date. Capture, at minimum, clear photographs of the installed battery and its location, the battery’s serial and compliance labels, the inverter or hybrid unit, the isolation and protection arrangements, and the finished installation context. The detailed list is in our battery photo guide and the battery submission guide.
Take the photos while you are still on the roof or in the garage. A return visit to retake a blurred serial costs more than the certificates are worth on a small job.
Step 3: get the assignment signed
If the customer has taken the discount on the invoice, they must assign the right to the certificates, in the form required by the scheme. The form needs names, the address and the system details, and it needs to be signed and dated correctly. See the STC assignment form and our answer on the battery assignment form. An unsigned or mismatched form is among the most common reasons a claim stalls.
Step 4: calculate the certificate count
Use usable kWh, not nameplate. The count is usable kWh times the factor for the installation period, with tiers: 100 per cent for the first 14 kWh, 60 per cent for 14 to 28 kWh, and 15 per cent for 28 to 50 kWh. The factor is 6.8 for May to December 2026, then 5.7 for January to June 2027 and 5.2 for July to December 2027. Round down.
| Usable kWh | Factor 6.8 | STCs | Value at $38 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 6.8 | 68 | $2,584 |
| 14 | 6.8 | 95 | $3,610 |
| 20 | 6.8 | 119 | $4,522 |
The battery STC calculator does this for you. A mismatch between your figure and the registry’s is a flag worth chasing before you lodge, not after.
Step 5: create the certificates in the REC Registry
This is where the data goes in. Whether you do it yourself or through an agent, the logic is the same.
- Log in to the REC Registry with an account that has the right to create certificates for the system.
- Enter the installation details: address, installation date (the date of the certificate of compliance counts), the installer’s accreditation, the battery make, model, serials and usable capacity.
- Upload the supporting documents: photos, the assignment form, the certificate of electrical compliance, and any other evidence the registry asks for.
- Check the calculated STCs against yours.
- Submit the creation request. The registry returns a status for the certificates, which moves through validation.
If you do not hold registry access, an agent or trader with access can lodge on your behalf, using the documents you send. That is the common route for installers who do not want to run the registry themselves.
Step 6: wait for validation, then transfer
The CER checks submissions, and some are selected for closer review. A clean claim moves through quickly. A claim with missing or poor evidence is queried, and the clock stops. For the timing question, see how long STC payment should take and battery STC payment time.
When the certificates are valid and registered, you transfer them to the buyer in the registry, and the buyer pays. If your buyer locks a rate when you lodge a complete claim, the price is fixed from that point and the registry timing no longer affects what you receive. See today’s rate for how that works at Energy Merchants.
Common stumbles
Installation date confusion. The date on the contract, the date of the install and the date of the certificate of compliance can all differ. The one that counts for the factor is the installation date, so make sure it is consistent across documents.
Usable versus nameplate capacity. Using the nameplate overstates the certificates and invites a query.
Duplicate claims. Only one battery per property. If a previous claim exists, the second will fail.
Wrong accreditation details. An expired or mistyped accreditation number can stop a claim at the first check.
Missing VPP-capability evidence. The battery must be VPP-capable, and the claim needs to show it. Our rejection reasons guide goes through the pattern.
A worked lodgement, start to finish
Take a 13 kWh usable battery installed on 12 November 2026 at a house in Brisbane, paired with an existing solar system. The factor for the period is 6.8, and the battery is under the 14 kWh tier cap, so all 13 kWh earn at 100 per cent: 13 x 6.8 = 88.4, which rounds down to 88 STCs. At $38, that is $3,344.
The installer takes the photos on the day, gets the assignment form signed at handover, and enters the details in the registry two days later. The model, serial and usable capacity come from the datasheet and the label photo. The creation request goes in with the photos, the assignment form and the compliance certificate attached. The registry shows 88 STCs, matching the installer’s sum, so there is nothing to chase.
If the same job were installed on 8 January 2027, the factor would be 5.7: 13 x 5.7 = 74.1, which rounds down to 74 STCs, $2,812. The only difference between the two claims is the date, and it is worth $532. That is why the installation date has to be exact and consistent on every document.
Who should lodge
There are three sensible choices. Lodge yourself, if you have registry access and the time, and keep the margin you would otherwise pay an agent. Use a trader with registry access, which suits crews that would rather spend the day on roofs than in a portal. Or use an accredited provider with its own compliance team, which suits larger volumes. Whichever you choose, the evidence you collect on site is the same, and the quality of it decides how smoothly the claim runs.
What to do next
- Make a one-page lodgement checklist from the six steps above, and use it on every job.
- Decide who lodges: you, or an agent or trader with registry access.
- Run each claim through a pre-check, such as the battery STC submission checklist.
- Read the battery STC pillar and how it works.
- Ready to hand it over? Start trading and the compliance desk checks the claim before lodgement.