What LED downlights cost installed in Melbourne

What drives the price

Whether a light is already there. Replacing an existing halogen or old LED downlight with a new LED fitting is priced per point at about $60 to $160 in Melbourne guides, with sealed insulation-rated fittings at $95 to $195 where the ceiling insulation touches them. Cutting in a new downlight where there was no light, with the cable run, the hole and the switching, is more like $180 to $300 a point, and if the lighting circuit is full a new circuit costs more again.

Most of the labour is in the roof: a single-storey house with a manhole is quick, a two-storey house, a raked ceiling or a flat roof with no space above is not, which is what the access line covers. Dimmers are priced per switch, and the fittings need to be dimmable to suit. The call-out is on top of the per-point rate in most guides.

• Number of points, and whether each is new or a replacement
• Roof access: manhole and roof space, or none
• Insulation: sealed fittings, or clearances kept around standard ones
• Dimmers, and dimmable fittings to match
• Fitting quality: a basic kit versus gimbal or smart fittings

A licensed electrician, every time

Energy Safe Victoria is blunt: electrical work isn’t a DIY job, even changing a light fitting, and unlicensed work is illegal. Book a Registered Electrical Contractor and check the licence on Energy Safe’s register. Downlights are non-prescribed work, so there’s no separate inspection, but every job must end with a Certificate of Electrical Safety, which the electrician must give you within 30 days. See power points and switches and checking a tradie’s licence.

Recessed lights push heat into the ceiling. The wiring rules set clearances from insulation and timber unless the fitting is rated for insulation contact, so tell the electrician what’s up there. In a home built before 1990, cement-sheet ceilings and eaves can contain asbestos; nobody should cut into them until they’ve been checked.

What the quote should list

• Price per point, and whether the call-out is separate
• The fittings: brand, wattage, colour temperature and whether they’re dimmable
• New points: the cable run, cut-outs and switching
• Dimmers, per switch
• Patching and painting, or a note that they’re excluded
• The Certificate of Electrical Safety

Example brief

“Replace ten old halogen downlights with LED fittings in the living room and hallway of a single-storey house in Oakleigh, roof access through a manhole, ceiling insulated. Add a dimmer for the living room. Please quote the fittings, labour, the dimmer, and the Certificate of Electrical Safety.”

Before you ask for quotes

• Count the points room by room, and note which are new
• Check the roof access and the insulation
• Decide which rooms need dimmers
• Ask for a per-point price so quotes line up
• Keep the certificate with the invoice

The estimator’s Get quotes button carries your details into the job form as a draft. You can also start a job request from scratch, read the power points and lighting guide, or compare the written quotes once they arrive. Availability depends on real postings, and registration must be enabled to submit.

How this estimate is built

Each line multiplies a per-unit range from the named sources by the quantity you entered, fixed items are added as their own lines, and the total is widened to round numbers. The sources were checked on 2 November 2026. It is an indicative range for comparing written quotes from a electrician who has seen the job, not a quote. See all cost guides for how the ranges are made.