What electricians actually charge in Australia in 2026
How much does an electrician cost in Australia?
Most Australian electricians charge a call-out fee of roughly $80 to $150 which usually covers the first half hour, then $90 to $130 an hour after that. Small jobs like replacing a power point typically land between $150 and $250 all in, while a switchboard upgrade generally runs from $1,200 to $3,000 depending on the board and the access.
Electrical pricing is unusually opaque, because almost every job is quoted rather than listed and the honest answer to most questions is "it depends what's behind the wall". That is true, and it is also not much help when you are trying to work out whether a number you have been given is reasonable.
So here are the ranges these jobs generally fall into around the country, and more usefully, the things that actually move a quote.
The structure of the bill
Nearly all residential electrical work is priced the same way: a call-out fee that covers turning up and usually the first half hour, then an hourly rate, then materials.
Call-out fees generally sit between $80 and $150. Hourly rates after that run about $90 to $130 in the capital cities, less in regional areas, and substantially more after hours -- emergency and weekend rates are commonly one and a half to two times the standard rate, and that is a legitimate charge rather than opportunism.
Rough ranges for common jobs
All-in prices for straightforward residential work, assuming reasonable access and nothing unpleasant discovered along the way.
- Replace a power point or light switch: $150 to $250.
- Install a new power point on an existing circuit: $200 to $350.
- Replace a ceiling fan: $250 to $450.
- Install downlights: $80 to $150 each, cheaper per unit as the number rises.
- Switchboard upgrade with safety switches: $1,200 to $3,000.
- Full rewire of a three-bedroom house: $8,000 to $15,000.
- EV charger installation: $1,000 to $2,500 depending on the run from the board.
The three things that move the number most
- Access. A single-storey house with a crawlable roof space and a double-brick two-storey with no access are different jobs with the same description. This is the single biggest driver of variation between quotes for identical work.
- The age of the wiring. Once someone opens up a house built before about 1970 there is a real chance of finding rubber-insulated cable or no earth, and that changes the scope. A good electrician will tell you this is possible before starting rather than after.
- Whether the switchboard can take it. Adding circuits to a full board means upgrading the board, and that is frequently the difference between a $400 quote and a $2,400 one.
Comparing quotes properly
The cheapest quote is often the one that has assumed the most. When one number comes in well under the others, the useful question is not "why are you cheaper" but "what have you assumed about the switchboard and the access" -- which usually explains the gap immediately, and sometimes reveals that the cheap quote is the accurate one.
Get three, in writing, and make sure all three are quoting the same scope. Two quotes for different work are not comparable no matter how carefully you read them.