What a split system costs installed in Melbourne

What drives the price

Capacity sets the band. Melbourne guides put a 2.5 kW unit supplied and installed back-to-back at about $1,250 to $2,625, 3.5 kW at $1,475 to $2,950, 5 kW at $1,900 to $3,675, 7 kW at $2,300 to $4,725 and 8–9 kW at $3,150 to $5,800. Brand and efficiency rating move you within the band; a bigger unit isn’t automatically better, so ask how it was sized for the room, its windows and insulation.

“Back-to-back” means the outdoor unit sits on the other side of the wall from the indoor one, with about 3 m of pipe. Every metre beyond that is priced per metre, an upstairs room or a bracket-mounted outdoor unit adds height work, and a unit above about 4.5 kW usually needs its own circuit with a safety switch. If the switchboard has no spare way, that becomes a separate job: see the switchboard estimator.

• Capacity, and the number of units
• Pipe run beyond back-to-back, per metre
• Upstairs rooms, wall brackets or a roof-mounted outdoor unit
• A new dedicated circuit, and whether the switchboard can take it
• Removing and disposing of an old unit or heater

Victorian Energy Upgrades discounts

Every Victorian household, private rentals included, is eligible for a discount on an approved reverse-cycle unit through Victorian Energy Upgrades, applied by an accredited provider before work starts. The amount depends on what the unit replaces: the program lists indicative discounts of about $630 to $1,610 for a 3–9 kW unit replacing a non-ducted gas heater, up to $840 for replacing a hard-wired electric heater, and $70 to $140 for a new unit that replaces nothing. The product needs at least a five-year warranty and anything replaced must be more than two years old. The estimator shows this as a note rather than subtracting it, because the final figure is the provider’s. The air conditioning guide has more on choosing a system.

Two licences, one certificate

Anyone handling the refrigerant needs an Australian Refrigeration Council licence, and the Building and Plumbing Commission registers installers for split systems. The power is electrical work for a licensed electrician, who must give you a Certificate of Electrical Safety within 30 days; a new circuit is non-prescribed work with no separate inspection. Some installers hold both; others bring in an electrician. Ask which, and check both registers: see checking a tradie’s licence.

A split system doesn’t usually need a building permit. In a heritage overlay the outdoor unit can need a planning permit, and councils differ on where it can go; in an apartment the owners corporation decides. Check before the bracket goes up.

What the quote should list

• Brand, model, capacity and cooling and heating star ratings
• Standard installation, and what costs extra: pipe beyond 3 m, brackets, a second storey
• Electrical work, any new circuit, and the Certificate of Electrical Safety
• The discount applied and the accredited provider applying it
• Removing and disposing of an old unit, and capping a gas heater if that’s what it replaces
• Warranty on the unit and on the installation

Example brief

“Supply and install a 5 kW reverse-cycle split system in a north-facing living room of about 25 m² in a single-storey brick house in Dandenong, back-to-back on an outside wall. It replaces a 12-year-old gas wall heater. Please quote the unit, a new dedicated circuit, the Victorian Energy Upgrades discount and the accredited provider, disconnecting the gas heater, and the Certificate of Electrical Safety.”

Before you ask for quotes

• Measure the room and note which way it faces before asking for sizing
• Decide where the indoor and outdoor units go, and how far apart
• Look at the switchboard: a spare way, safety switches, or neither
• Ask what the quote replaces, because that sets the discount
• Compare quotes on the same unit size, pipe run and circuit work

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 air conditioning 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.