The Quarter 2 (Q2) 2023 small-scale technology certificates (STCs) surrender deadline for liable entities is Friday 28 July 2023.

Ensure you have the required amount of STCs to meet your certificate surrender obligations. You can buy STCs from the STC clearing house and surrender by the Q2 deadline of 28 July to avoid a shortfall charge of $65 per certificate not surrendered. The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) does not have any discretion to extend the surrender deadline.

How to buy STCs from the STC clearing house

  1. Ensure your REC Registry account details, user permissions and GST details are correct.
  2. Check you have the 'Buy from STC clearing house' permission enabled.
  3. Make your purchase as soon as possible. If your buy order payment is not cleared in time to meet your surrender obligations, you will incur a shortfall charge.

  4. Check payment is made to the correct STC clearing house bank account (shown on the clearing house purchase invoice) as these details are different to other transactions you may undertake with CER. This will help ensure there is no delay to the release of certificates into your account.

    Payment can only be made through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Use the real-time transfer option provided by your bank, otherwise funds can take up to 5 business days to clear.

The REC Registry Guideline explains how to upgrade your existing REC Registry account to include STC clearing house access.

Certificate vintage

Liable entities can only surrender certificates that were created in the assessment year or earlier. This is referred to as the certificate vintage rule. Generally, STCs purchased from the STC clearing house are not subject to the vintage rule.

Refer to the examples below on how this may impact your 2023 STC quarterly surrenders:

  • Certificates purchased from the STC clearing house in 2023 can be transferred and surrendered to acquit 2023 liability in Quarter’s 1-3, or Quarter 4 before the end of the calendar year.
  • Certificates purchased from the STC clearing house can only be used to acquit 2023 Quarter 4 liability in the following year if they have been purchased from the same liable entity account that will be surrendering the STCs.
  • Any STC clearing house purchases transferred from the original account into a different account in the following year will be stamped with the creation year at the time the transfer occurred, therefore forgoing an exemption to the vintage rule.

How to decrease the amount of STCs you are required to surrender

If you expect to acquire significantly less electricity in 2023 compared to 2022 you can apply to decrease the amount of STCs you are required to surrender for Quarters 1-3.

Simply submit an application to vary the required surrender amount to the Renewable Energy Target (RET) Liability team at least two weeks before the surrender deadline. Remember to include supporting data and calculations used to derive your new proposed amount with your application.

This process should not be used to delay surrender compliance. Please ensure you understand the potential risks outlined in the application form associated with recalculating the required surrender amount.

Steps to complete your surrender

You can surrender your STCs by logging into your REC Registry account and following these steps.

  1. Select 'Surrender' from the left side panel.
  2. Select 'Liability surrender' from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click the applicable assessment year (2023).
  4. Click the 'STC surrender' icon.
  5. Enter the number of certificates you need to surrender.

Visit forms and resources for liable entities and key reporting and surrender dates for liable entities under the RET scheme for more information.

Please contact us if you require support.