What a split system costs, room by room

How much does the unit cost on its own?

The spread is wide because the price bundles several decisions: capacity, brand, and extras such as Wi-Fi control or motion sensors. CHOICE's range of $600 to $5,500^src runs from a small bedroom unit to a large inverter model for an open-plan room.

Capacity is the one that matters most, and it is the one you can work out before anyone visits. More on that below.

What are people paying in 2026?

ServiceSeeking publishes averages from the quotes tradespeople send on its platform. For split system installation in 2026, the average came to about $1,712 a job^src, and hourly labour averaged about $110 an hour^src.

Two cautions. The guide does not say how big those jobs were, or whether the unit itself was included, so it cannot replace the unit-plus-installation breakdown above. And it is an average: a back-to-back bedroom unit and a long pipe run to a living room both feed into it. Use it to check that a quote is in the right territory, then compare quotes for the same capacity line by line.

What does the installer charge for?

A standard installation runs $600 to $800 or more^src, according to CHOICE. Read the words "or more" carefully. They are where a quote grows.

ServiceSeeking's 2026 guide names the usual culprits: longer pipe runs, electrical upgrades and removing the old unit^src. Ask each installer to list anything like that as its own line, along with working at height or an outdoor unit that has to sit somewhere awkward. Then you are comparing the same job, not three different guesses about it.

What size unit does your room need?

Canstar Blue's rule of thumb is 0.12 to 0.15 kW per m²^src of floor area. Multiply the length of the room by its width and you have a starting band. Here is how it works out for some ordinary rooms:

The rule knows nothing about ceiling height, orientation and glazing^src. A living room with a wall of west-facing glass is a different job from a shaded bedroom of the same size, and a good installer asks about both before quoting. The calculator does the multiplication for any room.

Is replacing an old split cheaper than a first install?

Often. CHOICE says a replacement is usually cheaper in the same positions^src. If the new unit goes exactly where the old one was, the wall is already drilled and the pipe route already exists. Move it, even along the same wall, and you are paying for a new installation again.

In New South Wales, swapping an old air conditioner for a 6 kW split system can also bring up to $560^src off the quote through the state's upgrade incentive.

Can a state discount bring the price down?

• Victoria: up to $1,610^src when efficient reverse cycle replaces a gas room heater. How it works.
• New South Wales: up to $550^src off a new 6 kW system.
• Queensland: the state appliance rebate is closed^src. What that means for Queensland prices.

Who is allowed to install it?

Anyone who installs, services or repairs an air conditioner needs a Refrigerant Handling Licence^src from the Australian Refrigeration Council. That rules out a handyman fitting a boxed unit, however neat the result looks. The ARCtick licence guide covers what to ask for.

The unit and installation ranges come from CHOICE's guide, last updated in April 2023 and still the most detailed breakdown we could verify. The 2026 averages come from ServiceSeeking job data. Use both to sense-check a quote, not to set a budget to the dollar. We have not found a sourced price for each kW size; when we do, it goes here.