What an air conditioning technician is paid in Australia: the legal minimum under the award, the classification ladder either side of it, and what the market actually pays. Every figure sourced and dated.
Award floor
$32.19
The classification we quote is described in the ladder below. Award, Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award, or the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award MA000025. Effective 1 July 2026.
Market band
$95,000 to $105,000
National advertised range, SEEK, refreshed 1 July 2026. Indicative day rate ~$450.
Every rung of the award, not just the one this role usually sits on. The highlighted row is the classification we quote as the floor for air conditioning technician.
| Classification | Hourly minimum | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical worker grade 3, industry and tool allowances | $29.23 | |
| Electrical worker grade 4, industry and tool allowances | $30.11 | |
| Electrical worker grade 5, with licence allowance | $32.19 | |
| Electrical worker grade 6, with licence allowance | $33.11 | |
| Electrical worker grade 7, with licence allowance | $34.87 |
Which award applies is the real question on this role, and it turns on the licence held and the work actually performed rather than on the words in the job title. Where the work sits on the electrical side, the electrical award applies and the ladder above is the relevant one. Where it is refrigeration and mechanical services plumbing, the plumbing award can apply instead.
The floor is the law and the market is what roles actually close at. On this role the distance between them is $31,393 a year at the bottom of the band, which is the number worth knowing before you set an offer. Ordinary hours only: no overtime, no penalty rates, no superannuation.
This is the two licence role, and it is the single most useful thing to understand about hiring it. Refrigerant handling requires an ARCtick licence issued by the Australian Refrigeration Council, and it is a federal scheme, so it does not change when the person crosses a state border. On top of that, most commercial air conditioning work also needs a state electrical licence, because the equipment is wired. A technician holding one licence and not the other can do part of the job and not the rest. A restricted electrical licence covering disconnect and reconnect is a common middle ground and is not the same as a full electrical licence.
The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates 342111 Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic as in shortage nationally and in every state and territory. That list is the official assessment, published by Jobs and Skills Australia, and it is the only shortage figure we will quote. Source, checked 27 July 2026.
The two licence requirement narrows the pool twice over. Every additional authorisation an employer asks for removes people who are otherwise perfectly capable, which is why the specification matters more on this role than on almost any other trade.
Advertising for an HVAC technician without stating whether both the ARCtick and the electrical licence are required. It either halves the number of people who apply or brings in people whose licences do not cover the work, and the employer usually cannot tell which until the interviews. The second is assuming domestic split system experience transfers to commercial chillers, or the reverse. The third is treating ARCtick as optional because the last person never mentioned it.
It depends on the licence held and the work performed. The electrical award applies on the electrical side, and the plumbing award can apply to refrigeration and mechanical services plumbing work. The job title does not decide it.
A refrigerant handling licence issued by the Australian Refrigeration Council. It is required to work with refrigerant gases and it is a national scheme, so it does not change between states.
For most commercial work, yes, or at minimum a restricted electrical licence. That is why this role often needs two separate authorisations.
Award rates are the adult full-time minimum for the classification named, effective the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, from the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guides. Casual loading of 25 per cent sits on top. This award publishes all-purpose rates, so the hourly figures already include the allowances named in the classification and are not directly comparable to awards that publish bare base rates. Market bands are the national advertised ranges published on SEEK salary pages, refreshed 1 July 2026, quoted as published. Annual conversions use 38 ordinary hours a week over 52 weeks and exclude overtime, penalty rates and superannuation. Award minimums are national, so these figures do not vary by state. Checked 27 July 2026. The award that applies to any individual is decided by the work actually performed and by the employer's industry: see our award finder, or ask the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.