HVAC & Refrigeration Hourly Rate Calculator

The Australian Fridgie Guide to Charge-Out Rates & Business Pricing

A familiar story plays out across Australian workshops every year: an experienced fridgie earning $45 an hour on wages decides to start their own business. They buy a second-hand HiAce van, pick up some business cards, and figure that charging $85 an hour will make them rich.

Twelve months later, after paying for commercial vehicle insurance, diesel, $20M public liability, ARC licensing, digital manifold recalibration, and quarterly BAS payments, they check their bank account and realise they worked 55 hours a week to earn less than a third-year apprentice.

Refrigeration and air conditioning is one of the most equipment-intensive, highly regulated licensed trades in Australia. If you price your hourly charge-out rate like a painter or a handyman who only carries rollers and brushes, your business will bleed cash.

The Sole-Trader Fridgie Rate Trap

The biggest mistake tradespeople make is confusing an employee wage with an hourly charge-out rate. When you are on wages, your boss pays your superannuation, four weeks of annual leave, public holidays, sickies, worker's compensation, and vehicle running costs.

When you run your own van, you are the technician, the estimator, the driver, the debt collector, and the cleaner. Every hour spent stuck on the Monash Freeway in Melbourne, the M4 in Sydney, or the Bruce Highway in Brisbane is an hour you cannot bill to a client.

The Billable Hours Reality Check

A standard full-time work week in Australia is 38 to 40 hours. But if you are on the tools as a sole trader or run a small two-van operation, you cannot bill 40 hours a week.

In residential and commercial service, unbillable time eats away half your working day:

• Travel & Traffic (8 – 12 hrs/week): Driving between sites, finding parking in tight inner-city streets, and carting heavy gas bottles and vacuum pumps up apartment service lifts.
• Wholesale Counter Runs (3 – 5 hrs/week): Picking up specialty flare fittings, copper paircoil, R32 cylinders, or replacement fan motors at Actrol, Reece HVAC, or Kirby.
• Quoting & Site Surveys (4 – 6 hrs/week): Measuring living rooms, checking electrical switchboards, and sending quotes where only 40% to 60% convert to paid jobs.
• Invoicing & Administration (2 – 4 hrs/week): Entering supplier receipts into Xero, chasing 30-day commercial accounts, and lodging quarterly BAS statements.

In reality, an active refrigeration mechanic averages 24 to 28 billable hours per week. A dedicated subcontractor (subbie) doing full-day installs on construction sites can achieve 32 to 36 billable hours, but their hourly rate must reflect that they carry their own insurance and tooling.

The True Cost of Running an HVAC Van

Refrigeration mechanics carry thousands of dollars in sensitive diagnostic gear that requires regular testing and replacement. Here is what keeping one commercial van on the road realistically costs in Australia:

2026 HVAC Charge-Out Benchmarks

To remain profitable and competitive in the Australian market, your charge-out rates should align with your specific trade sector:

Domestic Split System Installation & Service

Residential high-wall split system work typically bills between $105 and $130 per hour ex GST ($115 – $143 inc GST). Most installers bundle this into fixed-price packages (such as $750 to $950 for standard back-to-back installs), but when quoting complex jobs or charging for fault diagnosis, your time should never drop below this floor.

Commercial Ducted & VRF Multi-Split Systems

Working on multi-storey office buildings, VRV/VRF commercial variable refrigerant systems, and ducted packages requires elevated technical skill and site safety compliance. Market charge-out rates sit between $125 and $155 per hour ex GST ($138 – $170 inc GST).

Commercial Refrigeration & Supermarket Racks

Butcher shops, cafes, supermarkets, and walk-in coolrooms/freezers operate 24/7 with zero tolerance for spoiled stock. Emergency call-outs, electronic expansion valve (EEV) diagnostics, and compressor changeovers command premium rates of $140 to $185 per hour ex GST ($154 – $203 inc GST), with after-hours call-outs scaling to double time.

Industrial Chillers & Ammonia Plants

Heavy commercial centrifugal chillers, industrial processing, and ammonia refrigeration are the pinnacle of the trade. Specialist technicians in this space bill between $170 and $240+ per hour ex GST, reflecting the severe licensing requirements and high-consequence plant environments.

Hourly vs Day Rates vs Call-Out Fees

Relying entirely on a single flat hourly rate will cost you money on small jobs while pricing you out of larger multi-day contracts. Structure your pricing with three tiers:

• Standard Hourly Rate: Used for on-site diagnostics, repairs, and preventative maintenance where the full scope of work is unknown until equipment panels are removed.
• Day Rate (8 Hours): Offer a discounted day rate (roughly 7.2 to 7.5 times your hourly rate) for builders or commercial clients booking you for full, uninterrupted days on site. This guarantees revenue without travel loss.
• Minimum Call-Out / First-Hour Fee: Never dispatch your van for a 15-minute job at a 15-minute pro-rata rate. Charge a mandatory minimum fee covering travel plus the first 30 to 60 minutes on site (typically $160 to $220 plus GST). If the fault is simply a blown fuse or tripped isolator, your travel and dispatch costs remain fully covered.

The Charge-Out Calculation Formula

Our calculator uses the fundamental cost-of-doing-business accounting formula used by commercial trade auditors:

Notice that in this example, charging even $120 an hour leaves the technician in the red, eating into their own superannuation. Using the calculator above allows you to dial in your exact vehicle costs, tool budget, and billable schedule to lock in healthy profits.