Best Electricians in Melbourne

How we ranked Melbourne's electricians

We began with 113 electrical businesses that surface when Melburnians search for an electrician, an emergency callout or an electrical contractor. Staying in required at least 50 Google reviews and the business's own working website, and 64 cleared both hurdles. The review bar is deliberately high for this trade: busy sparkies collect feedback quickly, and a perfect rating from a dozen customers proves very little. Franchise networks are counted once, through whichever Melbourne branch has the strongest reviews.

Those 64 electricians average 4.94 stars, so star figures alone hardly separate them. Our score mixes each rating with a fixed 4.5 baseline, and the baseline's share shrinks as reviews pile up. A long, steady record outranks a short flawless one. The 10 on this page run from 4.89 down to 4.79. Compare quotes, availability and licence details as well. Payment never changes the order.

How the score works →

How much does an electrician cost in Melbourne?

Melbourne electricians price work one of two ways: an hourly rate plus a callout or service fee, or a fixed price for a defined job. Published 2026 price guides put standard weekday rates between $85 and $160 an hour including GST, with callout fees of $50 to $160. Before you book, ask whether that fee includes any labour or only gets the van to your door.

Common jobs are normally quoted per item. As a guide, a new power point runs $160 to $315, an added safety switch $160 to $370, a single phase switchboard upgrade $950 to $3,700 and a home EV charger $1,050 to $3,150 installed. Older houses push prices up, because an outdated or already full switchboard can add work before the electrician reaches the job you called about.

Work outside business hours costs noticeably more. The same guides show evening, weekend and emergency labour at $135 to $295 an hour, with an emergency callout fee of $160 or more added. If the power is off but nobody is in danger, waiting until morning saves real money. For anything larger than a quick repair, get the price in writing with parts, labour, GST and the safety certificate listed.

How to check an electrician's licence in Victoria

Energy Safe Victoria licenses electricians and registers electrical contractors. Any business that contracts to do electrical installation work for you must be a Registered Electrical Contractor, shortened to REC, and the person on the tools must hold an electrician's licence, usually A Grade. Doing your own wiring is illegal in Victoria, and the same applies to a handyman or a relative who does not hold a licence.

Checking takes two minutes. Energy Safe's website has a public Registered Electrical Contractor Register and a Licensed Electrical Worker Search, and licensed workers carry an identification card you can ask to see at the door. Registration also tells you something about cover, because an REC has to hold public liability insurance of at least $5 million in the name of the registered business.

• What is your REC number, and does the electrician who will attend hold an A Grade licence?
• Is this a fixed price or an hourly estimate, and does it include GST and parts?
• Will the job need a licensed electrical inspector to sign it off before it is switched on?
• When will I receive my copy of the Certificate of Electrical Safety?
• What do you charge for callouts in the evening and on weekends?

What is a Certificate of Electrical Safety and when should you get one?

A Certificate of Electrical Safety, or COES, is the legal document an REC or licensed electrician issues to record the work they did. You are owed one for electrical installation work of any size, from a single new power point to a full rewire. Check it when it arrives: the electrician's name and licence number should match the person who came, alongside your address and the work done.

There are two kinds. Work that is not prescribed covers everyday jobs such as lights, power points and a hot water service, and your copy is due within 30 days. Prescribed work carries the higher risk: main switchboards, meter boxes, main earthing, consumer mains, solar and batteries. That work has to be examined by a separate licensed electrical inspector and cannot be left switched on until it has passed.

When no certificate turns up, ask the electrician first. If that fails, you can lodge a complaint with Energy Safe Victoria for work completed within the past three years, or apply for a free certificate search to see whether one was ever lodged. A tradie who suggests skipping the paperwork to shave the price is telling you something about how the hidden parts of the job were done.

Safety switches, old wiring and electrical checks in rentals

Your safety switch monitors the current in a circuit and cuts the power within 0.03 of a second when it detects a risk to a person, which is what stands between you and a serious shock. You can recognise one by its test button and 30mA marking. Fuses and circuit breakers do a different job, guarding against overloads and short circuits, and offer no personal shock protection.

Press the test button on each safety switch once a year, as Energy Safe Victoria advises. Power to that circuit should drop out straight away, and if the lights stay on you need an electrician promptly. The regulator also says wiring should be checked in any house built more than 30 years ago, so if you are buying a period home in Melbourne, budget for that before moving in.

Rental providers carry firmer duties. Every two years a licensed or registered electrician must check all electrical installations, fixtures and fittings, and a renter who asks in writing must be given the latest report within seven days. Since 29 March 2023 the rental minimum standards have also required power outlets and lighting circuits to be connected to a circuit breaker and a safety switch at the switchboard.

What to do if an electrician's work is faulty

Paid electrical work carries automatic guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law: it must be done with an acceptable level of care and skill, be fit for the purpose you described and be finished within a reasonable time. Those rights sit on top of any workmanship warranty the business offers and cannot be taken away. If something trips, buzzes or runs hot after the job, stop using it and call the electrician back.

Put the problem in writing if a phone call does not fix it, and keep the invoice, the certificate and photos. Consumer Affairs Victoria can contact the business and help the two sides reach agreement, though it cannot enforce an outcome; only a court or tribunal such as VCAT can do that. Safety worries and missing certificates are a separate matter and go to Energy Safe Victoria.