What a switchboard upgrade costs in Melbourne

What drives the price

Scope. Replacing ceramic fuses with circuit breakers and safety switches on an existing board is the smallest job, at about $600 to $1,500 in Victorian guides. A new single-phase switchboard with safety switches on every circuit runs about $945 to $3,675 in Melbourne, with most jobs near the middle, and a three-phase upgrade $2,625 to $5,800. The number of circuits, the state of the wiring behind the board and whether the meter box has to be rebuilt move you within those bands.

New dedicated circuits for an induction cooktop, oven, air conditioner, heat pump or EV charger are priced each, including the cable to the appliance. A bigger supply from the street is a different thing again: your electricity distributor charges its own fee to alter the service, roughly $785 to $1,135 in business hours for CitiPower, Powercor or United Energy, and the electrician’s consumer-mains work is on top. The Victorian Government notes most homes don’t need three-phase; ask for a load assessment before you pay for it.

• Fuses to breakers, a new board, or three-phase
• New dedicated circuits, and how far the cable has to run
• A bigger service fuse or three-phase supply, with the distributor’s fee
• Relocating the board or meter box
• Faults, old wiring or an asbestos backing board found on the way

Inspected before it’s switched on

Work on the main switchboard, the meter box, the consumer mains or the main earthing is prescribed electrical work. A licensed electrical inspector, independent of the electrician, must inspect it before it can be switched on; the contractor arranges the inspection, and you must receive the Certificate of Electrical Safety within four days. When a board is replaced the wiring rules require safety switches on every circuit it feeds, and in a rental any switchboard change must bring safety switches to all power and lighting circuits. The switchboard guide covers the warning signs and testing your safety switches.

There’s no building permit for a switchboard: it’s regulated by Energy Safe Victoria through licensing and certificates. In a home built before 1990 the backing board can contain asbestos, which a licensed removalist handles and which is quoted separately.

What the quote should list

• The new board, breakers and safety switches, and how many circuits they cover
• Each new dedicated circuit, with the cable run to the appliance
• The distributor application and fee, if the supply is being upgraded, and who lodges it
• The inspection, and who books it
• How long the power will be off
• Old board removal, including asbestos handling if it applies
• The Certificate of Electrical Safety

Example brief

“1970s house in Springvale with the original switchboard and ceramic fuses, no safety switches. We’re adding an induction cooktop and a 7 kW split system. Please quote a new switchboard with safety switches on every circuit, two new dedicated circuits, the inspection and certificate, how long the power will be off, and whether the old board needs asbestos handling.”

Before you ask for quotes

• Photograph the switchboard and the meter box, with the door open
• List the appliances you’re adding, so circuits and load are quoted up front
• Ask whether the service from the street is big enough before assuming three-phase
• Check the electrician and contractor on Energy Safe Victoria’s registers
• Compare quotes on circuits covered, inspection and certificate, not just the board

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 switchboard 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.