Gold Coast · General electrical
General Electrical, Gold Coast
Switchboards, fault finding, repairs, EV chargers, smoke alarms, and the standard trade work that keeps a home running. Same licensed practice that delivers the integration work, with one difference: general electrical jobs are scoped on a site visit, quoted in writing, and done at standard rates. No audit fee, no integration roadmap, no upselling into work you didn't ask for.
Jobs we do every week
Most general electrical calls fall into one of seven categories. If your job sits in any of these, you're on the right page.
Switchboard upgrades and RCD installation
Older Gold Coast homes (anything built before about 2005) usually have a switchboard that pre-dates current safety standards. Ceramic fuses, no RCDs on power circuits, undersized neutrals, single-pole protection where two-pole is now required. Modernisation involves replacing the board with a current AS/NZS 3000 compliant unit, fitting RCBOs (combined RCD and circuit breakers) on every final subcircuit, and labelling everything properly. Form 8 Test Certificate issued on completion. Most jobs run between $1,800 and $4,500 depending on circuit count and access.
Fault finding and repairs
Tripping breakers, intermittent faults, dead points, lights that flicker, fans that hum, ovens that won't stay on. Fault work is methodical isolation: you trace the symptom backwards through the wiring until you find the cause. Specialist hourly rate ($180/hr) applies because diagnostic work needs careful tracing and proper test gear, not guessing. Many faults resolve in under two hours. Some take longer, and we'll tell you straight up if a job is heading that way.
Ceiling fans, power points, light installations
Standard installation work for new fittings, replacements, and additions. Bunnings ceiling fan you bought on the weekend, new pendant for the dining room, extra power points in the home office, replacement downlights when the LEDs start strobing. Fixed quotes after a brief site visit, usually same-week scheduling for Zone 1.
Smoke alarm compliance
Queensland's interconnected photoelectric smoke alarm legislation has been phasing in since 2017 and is fully required for any property change of ownership or significant lease change. Hard-wired, interconnected, photoelectric alarms in every bedroom, every connecting hallway, and every level. We supply, install, certify, and document. Form 8 issued on completion. Useful to do this before listing a property for sale, not during the conveyancing rush.
EV charger installation
Single-phase wall units (typically 7.4kW) and three-phase units (up to 22kW). Load-balanced installation where the existing supply can't handle a full-rate charger without tripping the main. Compliant to AS/NZS 3000 and the current EV-specific clauses. We work with most major brands: Tesla Wall Connector, Wallbox, Schneider EVlink, Ocular, ABB. Site visit confirms supply capacity, mounting location, cable run, and any switchboard upgrade needed first.
Hot water and oven circuits
New circuits for replacement hot water systems, induction cooktop upgrades that need 32A circuits, capacity upgrades when an old electric hot water gets swapped for a heat pump, isolation work when plumbers need to disconnect. Coordinated with your plumber or appliance supplier so the trades line up.
Safety inspections and reports
Pre-purchase electrical inspections, landlord compliance inspections, post-flood or post-fire safety checks, insurance-required inspections. Written report with photos, identified non-compliances, and a quote for any rectification work. Useful when you need a paper trail rather than a verbal "yeah it's fine".
What a site visit actually looks like
General electrical jobs start with a site visit. The $130 service fee covers travel within Zone 1 and the first 30 minutes on site, and is deducted from the final invoice if the work proceeds. Here's what we actually do during that half-hour:
1. Listen to the symptom
Where you saw the problem, when it started, what you've already tried, what's changed in the house recently (renovation, appliance change, storm event, plumber on site last week). Most fault diagnoses start with a clue the homeowner has already noticed.
2. Inspect the switchboard
Open the board, look at the layout, check the labelling, verify what's on each circuit, identify the age and standard of the existing protection. This tells us whether the problem might be at the board or downstream of it, and whether the board itself needs attention regardless of the immediate job.
3. Test the circuit in question
Multimeter at the affected outlet or fitting. Voltage present, voltage correct, polarity correct, earth continuity present. For tripping faults, RCD test on the affected circuit. For lighting issues, voltage drop measurement under load.
4. Check the wider system if needed
If the visit is for fault work, sometimes the problem isn't where you think it is. A power point that's dropping out can be caused by a loose connection three rooms away on the same circuit. We follow the trail.
5. Quote in writing
By the end of the site visit you have either a fixed-price quote for the work, an hourly estimate with a written cap if the job is genuinely unknown-scope, or a clear referral if the job is outside what we do (specialist data cabling, large commercial, anything QBCC-governed). Quote is emailed before we leave the driveway.
6. Schedule or proceed
Small jobs we can sometimes do on the same visit if parts are on the van. Larger jobs get scheduled, usually within the same week for Zone 1, longer for Zone 2 and Zone 3.
No upselling, no "we noticed three other things while we were here." If we see something that needs attention, it's noted in writing and quoted separately so you can decide. Soft observation, not hard sell.
The five most common findings on Gold Coast general electrical jobs
Standard houses across the Gold Coast share certain failure patterns. These five show up over and over.
1. Switchboard not up to current standards
Older boards without RCDs on lighting circuits, single-pole protection where two-pole is required, ceramic fuses on circuits that should have circuit breakers, neutrals shared across circuits in ways that no longer comply. Common on anything built before 2005. Not always urgent, but worth modernising before it becomes urgent. Cost depends on circuit count, typically $1,800 to $4,500 for a residential rebuild.
2. Loose terminations causing intermittent faults
The most common cause of "circuit drops out for no reason." A connection at the back of a power point, in a junction box, or at the switchboard has loosened over years of thermal cycling. Hard to find without methodical testing, fast to fix once located. Usually a one-hour job once identified.
3. Failed RCDs that have never been tested
Many homes have RCDs installed but never tested. The Australian standard recommends pressing the test button quarterly. Most homeowners have never done this, ever. We test as part of any switchboard work and replace anything that fails. RCD replacement is typically $80 to $180 per unit including labour.
4. EV chargers installed without supply capacity check
A 32A wall charger on a single-phase home with a 60A main fuse and an existing electric hot water system. First time you charge the car while running the oven and aircon, the main trips. Common because cheap installations skip the supply capacity assessment. Fix involves either load-balancing the charger, upsizing the main, or scheduling the charger to run off-peak. Site visit identifies which path.
5. Smoke alarms that don't meet current Queensland legislation
9-volt battery alarms, ionisation alarms, alarms that aren't interconnected, alarms missing from required locations (every bedroom, every connecting hallway, every level). Fully compliant retrofits run between $400 and $900 for a typical three-bedroom home. Required at sale, lease change, or significant renovation.
What happens after the site visit
Every site visit ends with a written quote and a clear next step. The next step falls into one of four shapes:
Same-day repair
If the job is small, the parts are on the van, and the time fits, we'll often do it on the visit. Loose terminations, replacement RCDs, swapped power points, basic fittings. You pay for the actual time used at the standard hourly rate, the service fee is deducted from the invoice.
Scheduled return visit
For larger or planned work (switchboard upgrade, EV charger install, multiple new circuits, rewiring sections, smoke alarm retrofit) we schedule the work and supply parts. Most Zone 1 jobs scheduled within one to two weeks. Job is fixed-price unless it's genuinely unknown scope, in which case it's hourly with a written cap.
Quoted only
If the job is significant enough that you want to think about it, get other quotes, or coordinate with another trade, we leave the written quote and walk away. No follow-up pressure. Quote is valid for thirty days. If you want to proceed later, the quote stands.
Referred out
Some jobs aren't ours. Specialist data cabling, large commercial work, anything QBCC-governed (new builds, structural work, major renovations with a head builder). When that's the case we say so on the visit and refer you to a contractor who'll do a better job than we would. The service fee still applies for the visit time, but you walk away with the right next step.
Available pricing
Service fee
$130
Travel within Zone 1 and the first 30 minutes on site. Deducted from the final invoice if work proceeds.
Hourly, standard
$130/hr
General electrical work: installations, repairs, switchboard work, smoke alarm work, EV charger installation, standard fault finding. Billed in 15 minutes increments after the service fee.
Hourly, specialist
$180/hr
DC system fault finding, marine 12V, 24V, and 48V work, integration and programming, complex diagnostic work that needs specialist equipment.
Travel zones
- Zone 1, Coomera to Southport: included with the service fee
- Zone 2, Broadbeach to Burleigh: +$90
- Zone 3, Yatala or Coolangatta: +$150
- Outside Zone 3: quoted per kilometre, $80 minimum
Payment
Hourly work paid on completion. Quoted fixed-price work paid 30% deposit, balance on completion. Standard Australian Consumer Law terms apply.
What every homeowner should understand about their electrical system
Most homeowners never think about their electrical system until something fails. A bit of context helps you make better decisions when something does fail, and tells you when something needs attention before it fails.
Your switchboard is the heart of the system, and most haven't been touched since installation
Every circuit in the house comes back to the board. Every protection device sits there. Every fault, almost always, shows up there first. A switchboard inspection is genuinely worthwhile every five to ten years even if nothing's wrong, because the inspection finds problems before they become incidents. Loose terminations, undersized circuits, missing RCDs, products that have been recalled. Cheap insurance.
RCDs save lives, but only if they work
Residual current devices detect imbalance between active and neutral and trip in milliseconds when current is leaking to earth, typically through a person. They've been mandatory on power circuits in Australia since 1991 and on lighting circuits in new installations since 2007. Most older homes have either no RCDs or RCDs that have never been tested. The standard recommends quarterly testing using the test button. If yours has never been pressed, press it. If it doesn't trip, call us.
Smoke alarms are now legislation, not just safety
Queensland's interconnected photoelectric smoke alarm legislation phases in over a decade. New builds since 2017, sales and lease changes since 2022, all dwellings by 2027. Photoelectric (not ionisation), interconnected (when one alarm goes off, all alarms go off), hard-wired with battery backup, in every bedroom and every connecting hallway and every level. Failure to comply affects insurance claims, sale conveyancing, and lease enforcement.
EV chargers are an electrical job, not an electronics job
Most EV charger faults aren't with the charger itself. They're with the supply. A 7.4kW charger draws 32 amps continuously when active. A 22kW charger draws 32 amps per phase. If your house is on a 60A or 80A main fuse with existing high loads (hot water, oven, aircon), adding a charger without a load assessment is a problem waiting to happen. The site visit confirms supply capacity before we quote the install.
Your insurance might depend on this
Many home and contents insurance policies have clauses about electrical compliance: undeclared modifications, non-compliant work, missing RCDs. After a fire or fault, insurers can and do investigate the electrical system. A switchboard that's been quietly non-compliant for fifteen years can become an insurance argument quickly. Worth knowing where you stand before you need to know.
Frequently asked
Common questions
Book a site visit
Tell us what's not working, what you want installed, or what you want assessed. Most enquiries get a response within four business hours. Bring photos if you have them, especially of the switchboard and the affected fitting. Saves time on the visit.