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Licences and rules

Heating and cooling in New South WalesA licence for the work, and for the ad.

In NSW, nobody can do air conditioning and refrigeration work without a licence or certificate, and that includes the wiring to disconnect and reconnect a unit. Nobody can advertise that work without a current contractor licence either, whatever the job's worth. Service NSW's licence check lets you confirm both before anyone visits.

Which NSW licence covers what?

NSW issues four kinds of authority for this work: an individual contractor licence, a company or partnership contractor licence, a qualified supervisor certificate, and a provisional tradesperson certificate. Ask which one the business holds, and which the person at your home holds.

Read the conditions, too. Some air conditioning licences carry a condition that excludes the associated electrical work, which the holder can have removed once they've completed the mandatory electrical modules. If that condition is still on the licence, someone else needs to do the wiring.

Two things sit outside the rule: duct work outside a dwelling, and self-contained plug-in units such as portables.

How to check a NSW installer

  1. Look at the ad

    NSW building trade ads must show the licensee's name or registered business name, the licence number with the correct category of work, and a business phone number.

  2. Search Service NSW

    The licence check searches by licensee name, licence number, licence type, ABN, ACN, or by suburb, postcode or council area.

  3. Match the category to your job

    You want air conditioning and refrigeration work on the licence, without the condition that rules out electrical work if they're doing the wiring. The national ARC refrigerant licence is a separate check, covered in our licence guide.

Units and strata: get the vote first

In a NSW strata scheme, installing a reverse cycle air conditioner or a heat pump is listed as a minor renovation. You ask the owners corporation, and you need more than 50% of the votes cast at a strata meeting, unless a by-law lets the strata committee decide. Our apartments and strata page covers the practical side.

The Energy Savings Scheme discount

The ESS discount comes off the installer's quote, through an Accredited Certificate Provider that works independently of the NSW Government. The nomination form has to be signed and returned before installation begins, and work that's already done won't be reimbursed.

Gas space heaters installed from 1 July 2026 don't qualify, and neither does anything connected with unsolicited doorknocking. IPART accredits the providers and takes concerns about them. Our ESS guide has the detail.

Asked for a quote, then signed on the spot?

NSW Government guidance says that if you ask for a quote and the supplier tries to negotiate a deal on that visit, or contacts you later to negotiate one, the agreement can be unsolicited, with a 10 business day cooling-off. If they leave a quote with you and you approach them to accept it, it isn't.

Door-knocking salespeople can only call from 9am to 6pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, and never on Sundays or public holidays. Our cooling-off guide has the rest.

What we'd do

Our take

We'd look up the contractor licence on Service NSW before the visit and make sure its conditions cover the wiring. If an ESS discount is part of it, we'd want the nomination form and the provider's name on paper before anyone drills a hole. Then we'd take the quote away, read it properly, and accept it in our own time.

What this work looks like

Photos from real jobs in Melbourne, to show what the work looks like. They aren't from an installer near you.

Two ducted outdoor units on a retaining wall
Two ducted outdoor units on a retaining wall. Oct 2023. A job in Melbourne.
Two commercial condensing units on a rooftop platform
Two commercial condensing units on a rooftop platform. Jun 2023. A job in Melbourne.
A split system outdoor unit on a timber deck
A split system outdoor unit on a timber deck. Jul 2023. A job in Melbourne.

More job photos

Cities in New South Wales

Questions people ask

Does a handyman need a licence to fit a split system in NSW?
Yes. Air conditioning and refrigeration work needs a licence or certificate in NSW, including disconnecting and reconnecting the electrical side. Portable plug-in units are excluded.
Does the ESS discount come from the NSW Government?
No. It's a discount on the installer's quote, delivered through Accredited Certificate Providers that work independently from the NSW Government.
What are the NSW noise rules for air conditioners?
The Noise Control Regulation 2026 restricts hours when a unit can be heard in a room of another home, and the EPA says it extends the permitted hours and exempts air conditioners in severe or extreme heatwaves. We couldn't read the exact hours at the source, so check with the EPA.

Ready for the right installer to take a look?

Your postcode and three quick questions. Licence-checked local installers who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it gets in touch to quote.

Free for you. Installers pay us for each job we pass on.

Read next

  1. 01How to check an installer's licenceRun the ARCtick check, read RAC01 and RSS03, and check the state licence too.
  2. 02NSW Energy Savings SchemeHow the ESS discount works on a new or replacement air conditioner, and what's left out.
  3. 03Apartments, units and strata approvalBody corporate approval, outdoor unit spots, pipe routes and noise rules for apartments.
  4. 04Signed at home? Your cooling-off rightsWhen a heating or cooling deal signed at home can be cancelled, and how to do it.
  5. 05Aircon noise rules and neighboursQuiet hours, decibel limits by state, and how to place an outdoor unit so the neighbours don't notice.
  6. 06How we check installersThe licence, insurance, ABN and review checks, and how to repeat most of them yourself.

Where this information comes from

We don't publish prices. Every home is different, so an installer's written quote is the only real number. How we write and check these pages.

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