The STC assignment form

What the form does

When a solar or battery system is installed, the certificates do not exist yet. What exists is a right to create them, and it belongs to the system owner. The assignment form transfers that right to a registered agent for the system's deeming period, starting on the installation date. The agent then creates the certificates in the REC Registry, carries the audit and sells them. In return the owner gets the financial incentive written on the form: usually a discount off the system price, sometimes a delayed cash payment.

Two things follow. The form is the legal root of every claim, so the regulator can fail certificates created on an incomplete one. And an owner can assign only once: the declaration states that they have not previously assigned or created STCs for the system.

Who is involved

• The system owner, who assigns the right. For a home that is the householder. For a business it is the company, and the person signing gives their position.
• The registered agent, named in the declaration, who receives the right and creates the certificates. When you send a job to us, that is GetSolar Pty Ltd.
• The retailer that sold the system, which gives its own written statement.
• The installer and the designer, each accredited, each giving a written statement, plus the licensed electrician's details.
• Witnesses, one for each signature.

What must be on it

The Clean Energy Regulator's sample form for solar PV (version 2.0, 14 February 2024) is an example, not an official form. Agents may add their own logo, explanatory text, privacy wording and GST status, but the form must contain every field below, including the mandatory declaration.

The declaration is the part that trips people up. It must name the agent, the deeming period, the installation date, the number of STCs the system is eligible for and the financial incentive the owner receives, whether from the retailer, the installer or the agent. A form without the incentive does not match the regulator's sample, and the regulator can fail certificates created on an incomplete claim. The address must be complete enough for the regulator to find the site if it decides to visit.

Who signs, and who witnesses

The system owner signs the mandatory declaration, with a witness, and both date it. The designer, the installer and the retailer's representative each sign their own written statement, again with a witness and a date. Each statement ends with the same warning: penalties apply under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 and the Regulations for false or misleading information, and giving it is an offence under the Criminal Code.

The installer's statement is the longest. It confirms the accreditation type, that state and local requirements were met, that an electrician with an unrestricted licence did the wiring, that the owner was given the documents the state requires, whether the design was followed or modified, that the inverter and panels are approved models, and that the installer was on site as the accreditation scheme requires. The retailer's statement covers the contract: that the installer works for the retailer, that the system is complete and connected, that feed-in tariff, export limit and savings information was given in writing and is true, and that conflicts of interest were disclosed.

What happens after signing

1. The agent creates the certificates in the REC Registry within 12 months of the installation date and uploads the form, the statements, the electrical safety certificate and the photos.
2. The regulator checks the claim. It can fail certificates that are incomplete, incorrect or ineligible.
3. Once registered, the certificates are sold on the open market or through the clearing house, and the agent or the trader behind it pays the retailer. We pay within 1 business day of approving a complete claim.
4. Everyone keeps their records for at least 5 years, because the regulator can ask for them even on an approved claim.

The whole chain, step by step.

For homeowners: should I sign it?

If you want the discount, yes. The discount is paid for by the certificates, and the retailer cannot create them without your signature. Before you sign, check four things:

• The agent named in the declaration is the business you are dealing with, or the agent it told you it uses. A certificate belongs to the agent that creates it.
• The number of STCs and the financial incentive are filled in, not blank, and the incentive matches your quote.
• You are the owner of the system, and you have not assigned STCs for it before.
• The installation address and date are right.

What you give up is the right to create the certificates yourself. You could do that instead, with a REC Registry account, and sell them for up to $40 each before GST in the clearing house, with no guarantee of when they sell. Almost nobody does, because the discount arrives on day one. If you decline to sign, expect to pay the undiscounted price. Buying a system from Get Solar? We handle the form for you: rebates for your home.

For retailers and installers: where the form comes from

You do not type one up. Your agent or trader supplies the form, built from the regulator's sample with its own details on it, and in practice the software fills it from the job. With us, BridgeSelect generates the form from the job you entered, the installer captures the owner's signature in the app on install day alongside the serial numbers and photos, and the completed form comes to us with the claim. The right is assigned to GetSolar Pty Ltd, a registered agent. How a job runs with us.

If you work with more than one trader, check the agent's name on the form for each job. BridgeSelect says one login can work with several traders, which is convenient, and also how a job ends up assigned to the wrong agent.

Mistakes that fail audits

• The incentive is missing. The declaration requires it, and a claim on an incomplete form can be failed.
• The wrong agent. The right went to an agent you have no contract with, so your route to payment is unclear. Check the assignment before the customer signs.
• The wrong signer. Someone other than the owner signs: a tenant, a family member, or an employee who is not authorised to act for the company.
• No witness, or a signature with no date.
• Details that do not match. An installation date, address or serial number list that differs from the electrical safety certificate, the photos or the panel validation record.
• An STC count the system is not entitled to, from the wrong zone, the wrong deeming year or the wrong capacity. Check the count before it goes on the form.

Battery jobs and GST status

A battery has its own sample assignment form on the regulator's site, and a battery claim needs its own written statements even when panels go in on the same day. The retailer's battery statement covers more ground, including that the battery can take part in a virtual power plant and that sizing and warranty information was given in writing. Battery STCs, in full.

The sample form lets agents add GST status, and it matters. A householder's assignment carries no GST. A GST-registered business owner's assignment is a taxable supply, so the owner issues a tax invoice for the incentive. GST on STCs explains both cases.