Air conditioning installation cost in 2026

How much does it cost to install air conditioning in 2026?

The table above is the whole market on one screen. Each system type has its own guide with the price broken down by size, what a standard install includes, and what pushes the number up.

What moves the cost of installing air conditioning?

Two houses buying the same unit can get quotes thousands apart. Almost all of that is the house, not the installer's mood.

• Size. A bigger unit costs more to buy and install. Get it right with the size calculator before anyone quotes.
• Position. Back to back on a ground-floor wall is the cheapest install there is. Pipe beyond the standard run is about $45 to $155 a metre, a second storey adds about $275 to $800, and every internal wall adds labour.
• Walls and roof. Double brick needs core drilling. A low or crowded roof makes ducted slower.
• Electrical. A dedicated circuit is about $300 to $900. A switchboard upgrade is $1,000 to $3,500, and up to about $4,500 when there is asbestos in the old board.
• The old system. Removal, refrigerant recovery and making good the wall are often separate lines. Taking out an old split is usually about $95 to $150.
• Brand. Real, but usually a smaller gap than the gap between two installers quoting the same job.

Supply and install vs retailer installation packages

Retailers advertise installation from a few hundred dollars. Those prices are real and they are for installation only, back to back, with about three metres of pipe. The Good Guys lists back-to-back installation for units under 4 kW from $599 to $939 depending on the state, and Bunnings lists single storey installation from $865 for units 4 kW and under, as of September 2026. Across retailers and independent installers, installation only for a standard job runs about $600 to $1,300. The unit is on top, and so is anything beyond the standard inclusions.

A supply-and-install quote from an independent installer puts the unit, the extras and the warranty on one page. Compare the two on the same scope, not on the headline. The split system cost guide lists what each retailer package includes, and up to three local installers will quote your whole job to compare against it.

How to compare two air conditioning quotes

• Same size, same model class, same rooms. Otherwise you're comparing two different jobs.
• Model numbers for every indoor and outdoor unit, and the kW rating.
• Metres of pipe included, and the rate for extra metres.
• Electrical scope: circuit, isolator, any switchboard work.
• Who removes the old unit, and whether that's priced.
• Warranty on the unit and on the workmanship, and who you call.
• Any rebate shown as a line on the quote, not promised later.

If the quotes are still far apart once they match, ask the dearer one what they saw that the cheaper one missed. Sometimes it's a real problem. What a decent quote includes is the full checklist.

Air conditioning rebates by state

Victoria is the state where a rebate can change the decision. Victorian Energy Upgrades lists discounts of up to $1,610 for replacing a room gas heater with efficient reverse cycle, and up to $5,530 for replacing a ducted gas heater with a large ducted reverse cycle system. New South Wales runs the smaller Energy Savings Scheme. Other states don't currently have a comparable household air conditioning rebate.

Start with your state: Victoria, New South Wales, or the rebates overview. Or put your postcode into the price checker and see the installed price and the rebate together.