Iron and Air Systems

Audit

Book a System Audit

Every Iron and Air engagement starts with a measurement, not a quote. The audit is two to three hours on site, a written PDF report within five business days, and a fixed-price proposal for any recommended work. The fee is the deliverable. You keep the report whether you proceed with us or not. Most clients book the audit, get the report, and use it to make a decision they can defend. Some go ahead with us, some don't. Both outcomes are fine.

Pick the right audit for your situation

Iron and Air offers four audit types, each with a specific scope and a specific price. The audit you book is the one that matches what you're actually trying to assess. If you're not sure which one fits, the form at the bottom asks for context and we'll confirm the right path before charging.

Audit Fee On site Best for
Solar Health Check $250 1 to 2 hours Existing solar that's underperforming, throwing fault codes, or off entirely. Fault diagnosis with written report.
System Handover Audit $350 2 hours Inherited systems on a property you've bought or are buying. Documentation, ownership transfer, and condition assessment.
Home System Audit $450 2 to 3 hours New integration projects, smart home, network failover, monitoring, electrical modernisation. The default starting point for most integration work.
Combined Estate Audit $900 4 to 6 hours Owners with both a home and a vessel running Victron. Single combined report covering both sites with integration roadmap.

All four audits credit 50 percent of the fee against installation work when you proceed within 90 days. The credit applies the same way regardless of which audit you book.

What's in the report

The audit fee buys a written report, not a sales visit. Reports run between 8 and 25 pages depending on audit type and findings. Every report includes:

Inventory
Make, model, serial number, age, and current state of every relevant component on the property.
Photographs
Timestamped images of every nameplate, every switchboard, every isolator, every existing installation detail that matters.
Measurements
Voltage readings, current measurements, insulation resistance, signal strength, fault codes pulled from inverters and BMS where applicable.
Configuration documentation
Charge profiles, alarm thresholds, network configuration, integration state of every component currently installed.
Identified issues
A ranked list of findings, severity, and recommended action for each.
Recommendations
What we'd do, in what order, and what each piece would cost. Fixed-price quotes for scoped work, indicative ranges for variable scope.
References to standards
Specific clauses of AS/NZS 3000, AS/NZS 4777, AS/NZS 5139, and AS/NZS 3004.2 where the findings reference them, so any other contractor or inspector can verify our assessment.

The report is yours. Take it to a different installer if you want a second opinion. Use it for warranty claims with the original manufacturer. Reference it during property settlement negotiations. The report has its own value regardless of whether you continue with Iron and Air for any follow-on work.

From form to delivered report

Most audits run on the same timeline. Here's what to expect from the moment you submit the form below.

1. Confirmation within four business hours

Once the form is in, you'll get an email confirming the audit type, the fee, the proposed visit window, and any prep questions. If the form context suggests a different audit type would suit better, we'll suggest that before booking.

2. Booking confirmation and payment

Once the audit type and visit time are agreed, the fee is paid in advance via bank transfer or card. Booking is confirmed once payment clears. Pre-payment is standard for audits because the audit itself is the deliverable, not a deposit on a larger job.

3. Pre-audit prep brief

A short email goes out 24 to 48 hours before the visit listing what to have ready: access to the switchboard, the inverter, the battery cabinet, any monitoring portals you can log into, photos of nameplates if you have them. Most prep is optional but accelerates the visit if available.

4. Site visit

Two to three hours on site for residential audits, longer for combined estate audits or larger sites. We work to a written checklist so nothing gets missed. Most of the visit is measurement and documentation, with a 20 to 30 minute conversation about your priorities and the patterns we're seeing on the day.

5. Report delivery within five business days

Written PDF report emailed to the address on the booking form. Most reports land within three to four business days. Five business days is the worst-case commitment. If findings need additional research or specialist input, we'll tell you on the day rather than letting the report timeline drift silently.

6. Optional follow-up call

Most clients want a 15 to 30 minute phone or video call to walk through the report after they've read it. The follow-up is included, no extra fee. Useful for asking questions, prioritising recommendations, or scoping the next step.

When you don't need an audit

Not every situation needs an audit. We'd rather tell you that upfront than charge for something you don't need. Three scenarios where the audit isn't the right next step:

Single-issue fault repair

If your problem is "my power point isn't working" or "this circuit keeps tripping," that's a general electrical site visit, not an audit. The site visit is $130 and covers diagnosis and quote in one go. Booking an audit for a single fault is overkill and costs more than it should.

You already know exactly what you want installed

If you've already specified the equipment, the install scope, and the timeline, and you just want a fixed quote, that's a quote request, not an audit. Send the spec to the contact form below and we'll respond with either a fixed-price quote or a recommendation that an audit is genuinely needed first.

The work is genuinely outside our scope

Commercial electrical, large-format multi-residential, or anything QBCC-governed (new builds with a head builder, major renovations) isn't our scope. We'll say so on the form response and refer to a contractor better suited to the work. No audit fee charged for situations we shouldn't be doing in the first place.

For general electrical work, see /electrical/. For full pricing, see /pricing/.

Common questions before booking

The questions most people ask before submitting the form below.

Why charge for the audit when other electricians quote for free?
Free quotes are how the trade earned its bad reputation. Twenty-minute walkthroughs, vague guesses about scope, surprise extras during the install. A paid audit funds proper diagnostic work: the time on site, the measurements, the off-site documentation, and the written report you keep regardless. The same logic applies to any specialist consultation. A structural engineer doesn't quote for free, a building inspector doesn't quote for free, and an electrical engineering audit shouldn't either.
What if I just want a rough indication of cost?
The pricing page covers indicative ranges for the major project types: Home Assistant integration, network failover, off-grid systems, marine work. If your situation fits one of those ranges and you only want to know whether you're in the ballpark, that's enough information to decide. If you want a defensible number specific to your property, that's what the audit produces.
How firm is the install quote that comes with the report?
Fixed price for scoped work. Variable for genuinely unknown scope (mostly fault diagnosis and complex retrofits, where we quote hourly with a written cap). The report itself flags which categories each recommendation falls into. Fixed-price quotes are valid for thirty days and don't change unless you change the scope.
Can I book an audit for a property I don't yet own?
Yes, with the seller's permission and contactable access. Pre-purchase audits are usually the System Handover Audit at $350 specifically. The report is written to support pre-settlement negotiation if needed.
What if I book the wrong audit type?
We'll catch it on the form response and suggest the right one before charging. If you've already paid for a higher-tier audit and the right tier was cheaper, we credit the difference to your account or refund it. We don't keep money for audits we shouldn't have charged for.
Will the audit work for an investment property or rental?
Yes. The on-site portion needs access, either through you, a property manager, or the tenant. Pre-audit coordination is part of the booking process. Investment property audits often pair well with the System Handover Audit framing if there's existing gear and incomplete documentation.
How do I prepare for the audit?
If you have time: gather any existing manuals, original installation paperwork, monitoring portal logins, recent power bills, and photos of the switchboard and inverter. None of it is required, we work without it on most audits, but it accelerates the work where available.
What if I want to think about it before booking?
Read the relevant service page in detail. Read the pricing page. Think about which audit fits your situation. The form below stays where it is. Booking when you're ready is fine.

Where we audit

Audit pricing is set per zone. Zone 1 is the standard rate. Zone 2 and Zone 3 carry a small uplift to cover the additional travel. Full per-zone pricing is on the pricing page.

Zone 1

Coomera to Southport

Coomera, Pimpama, Oxenford, Helensvale, Hope Island, Paradise Point, Sanctuary Cove, Sovereign Islands, Runaway Bay, Biggera Waters, Labrador, Main Beach, Southport.

Zone 2

Broadbeach to Burleigh

Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Mermaid Beach, Mermaid Waters, Mudgeeraba, Robina, Reedy Creek, Burleigh Heads, Burleigh Waters, Miami.

Zone 3

Yatala or Coolangatta

Yatala, Ormeau, Pacific Pines, Upper Coomera, Beenleigh, Logan, Springwood, Tugun, Currumbin, Coolangatta, Tweed Heads.

Outside Zone 3: Quoted per kilometre return from Hope Island base. Minimum charge $80.

Request an audit

Submit the form and we'll respond within four business hours to confirm the audit type, the fee, and the visit window. We're currently scheduling two integration projects per month. Audits booked first-come.

If the form is the wrong format for what you need to ask, call +61 412 371 110 instead. Phone is faster than email for anything with a settlement deadline or genuine urgency.