House rewiring cost in Melbourne
Rewiring in Melbourne runs $1,050 to $3,150 per room, or $8,400 to $21,000 for a full three-bedroom home. The spread is wider than almost any other electrical job because it is driven by two things a price guide cannot see from outside: what the existing cable is made of, and whether your walls will let a cable through at all.
Quick answer — house rewiring cost in Melbourne
| Scope | Typical Melbourne range (2026) |
|---|---|
| Rewiring, per room | $1,050 – $3,150 |
| Typical per room | around $1,900 |
| Full house rewire, 3-bedroom | $8,400 – $21,000 |
| Typical full 3-bedroom rewire | around $12,600 |
The Melbourne problem: VIR and early rubber cabling
Housing across Melbourne's inner north — Fitzroy, Carlton, Brunswick and the surrounding terrace belt — is old enough that a meaningful share of it still has vulcanised india rubber (VIR) or early rubber-and-cotton insulated cable somewhere in the fabric. Rubber insulation does not last. It goes hard, then brittle, then it crumbles off the conductor entirely, and it does this fastest where it runs warm: inside ceiling spaces above light fittings, and at connection points inside the board.
This matters for cost in a specific way. Once an electrician finds perished rubber on one circuit, partial rewiring stops being sensible — the rest of the cable is the same age and the same material. That is the point at which a $1,900 room becomes a $12,600 house. If your home is pre-war and has never been rewired, budget on the assumption that it is a whole-house job, not a room.
How to tell what you have
You do not need to open anything. Look at the light switches and power points: original round-pin outlets, brown bakelite fittings, or a fuse board with rewireable ceramic fuses all point to original-era wiring. A cable visible in the subfloor or roof space with black or grey rubbery sheathing rather than modern PVC is the clearest sign. Any electrician will confirm it in a few minutes during a fault-finding visit at $160 to $420.
Why Melbourne construction adds cost
Solid brick with no cavity
The single-fronted and double-fronted terraces of the inner north are typically solid brick. There is no wall cavity to drop a cable down. New circuits either get chased into the brick and made good afterwards, or run in the subfloor and up through the floor, or surface-mounted in conduit. Chasing and patching is slow and it brings a plasterer into the job. A post-war brick-veneer home in the middle suburbs has a stud cavity behind the internal lining and is materially cheaper to rewire for exactly this reason.
Lath-and-plaster ceilings
Older Melbourne ceilings are often lath and plaster rather than plasterboard, and they are fragile. Working above them, or cutting into them for new light points, produces more making-good than a modern ceiling would. Where a rewire includes replacing light points, this is usually the difference between the middle and the top of the per-room range.
Occupied versus vacant
A rewire in an empty house is faster and cheaper than one worked around a family, furniture and floor coverings. Where the property is empty between tenancies or before a move-in, say so when you request quotes — it genuinely moves the number.
Certificate of Electrical Safety and inspection
Rewiring is prescribed electrical work in Victoria. Your licensed electrician must issue a Certificate of Electrical Safety, and prescribed work requires independent inspection before the installation is signed off. On a full-house rewire this is a normal and expected part of the cost, not an add-on. Keep the certificate: it is what you hand a buyer, an insurer or an incoming tenant.
Worked example — three-bedroom weatherboard, Brunswick West
An illustrative build-up using the Melbourne rates above, for a pre-war three-bedroom home with original rubber-insulated cabling and a ceramic fuse board.
| Line item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Rewire — 3 bedrooms at typical per-room rate | $5,700 |
| Rewire — lounge, kitchen, bathroom, hall | $4,800 |
| New switchboard with RCD protection | $1,475 |
| Hard-wired smoke alarms, 3 units | $405 |
| Making good to lath-and-plaster and painting | $680 |
| Certificate of Electrical Safety and inspection | $180 |
| Total | $13,240 |
That sits just above the typical full-house figure, which is what an occupied pre-war home with original cabling and plaster ceilings tends to look like. A 1990s brick-veneer home needing circuits brought up to date rather than fully replaced would sit near the bottom of the range.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to rewire a house in Melbourne?
Between $8,400 and $21,000 for a three-bedroom home, with a typical rewire around $12,600. Room by room it runs $1,050 to $3,150, typically about $1,900. Pre-war homes with original rubber-insulated cabling sit toward the upper end.
What is VIR cabling and why does it matter?
Vulcanised india rubber, the insulation used before PVC. It hardens and crumbles with age, fastest in warm ceiling spaces and at connections. It is common in Melbourne pre-war housing, and once it is found on one circuit the rest of the house is usually the same age and material, which turns a room-sized job into a whole-house one.
Can I rewire one room at a time?
Yes, and it is reasonable if the rest of the wiring is sound modern PVC. It is a false economy where the existing cable is perished rubber, because you will be back for the remaining circuits and paying the call-out and making-good twice.
Why is rewiring a terrace more expensive than a brick-veneer home?
Solid brick has no wall cavity, so cables must be chased into masonry and made good, run through the subfloor, or surface-mounted in conduit. Lath-and-plaster ceilings add more making-good again. A brick-veneer home has a stud cavity and is quicker to work in.
Do I need a Certificate of Electrical Safety for a rewire?
Yes. Rewiring is prescribed electrical work in Victoria, so a Certificate of Electrical Safety must be issued and the work independently inspected. Keep it — you will need it for insurance, a sale, or a new tenancy.
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