A ducted heating service in Melbourne costs $180 to $320 for a gas ducted system and $250 to $450 for reverse cycle ducted, per visit, assuming nothing is wrong with it. Those are our own prices, not an industry average. What follows is what the money actually buys, how often you genuinely need it, and the point where we would tell you to stop servicing the thing and replace it.
Gas ducted heating service: $180 to $320. Reverse cycle ducted: $250 to $450. Add a deep clean of the return air and ductwork and those become $280 to $450 and $400 to $650. Energy Safe Victoria advises servicing a gas heater at least once every two years. If a fault turns up, we quote the repair before we touch it.
What a ducted heating service costs in Melbourne
These are per visit, for a service where no fault is found. We have listed split systems alongside so you can see where ducted sits.
| System | Standard service | Plus deep clean | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas ducted heating | $180 to $320 | $280 to $450 | Every 2 years minimum |
| Reverse cycle ducted | $250 to $450 | $400 to $650 | Every year |
| Split system | $150 to $250 | $250 to $400 | Every year |
| Multi head, per extra head | add $80 to $120 | add $120 to $180 | Every year |
You can price your own system on our service cost calculator, which uses the same numbers. A service is not a repair, and the two get confused constantly. If the technician finds something broken, that is quoted separately, and our heating repairs cost guide has those ranges in full.
Why gas ducted and reverse cycle are priced differently
It is not that one is a better system. It is that they need different work.
A gas ducted service is largely a combustion and safety job. There is a burner, an ignition system and a heat exchanger, and the heat exchanger is the part that can kill you if it cracks. That check, plus a carbon monoxide spillage test, is the bulk of what you are paying for.
A reverse cycle ducted service is a refrigeration job. There is no combustion, so there is no carbon monoxide risk, but there is an outdoor unit, a refrigerant circuit to check pressures on, and a coil that collects Melbourne pollen and dust all year. It takes longer, which is why it costs more.
What we actually do in a ducted heating service
Here is the honest ranking, by what we most often find rather than the order it appears in a manual.
The return air filter is first, every time. On a ducted system it is a large grille, usually in a hallway ceiling or wall, and on a good share of the homes we visit it has not been pulled out since the system went in. A choked filter starves the whole system of airflow, which makes the unit run longer for the same warmth and can trip an overheat cut-out that looks exactly like a dead heater.
Then the burner and ignition on gas, or the refrigerant pressures and outdoor coil on reverse cycle. Then the heat exchanger inspection and carbon monoxide spillage test, which is the safety-critical part. Then the electrical connections, the fan and motor, airflow confirmed at each outlet, and finally the whole system run through a full heating cycle from cold, because plenty of faults only show up once the unit is hot.
A clean and a service are not the same thing
This is worth being blunt about, because duct cleaning is heavily advertised in Melbourne every autumn and it is often sold as though it were a service.
A clean deals with the filters and the ductwork. It is worth doing, especially if anyone in the house has asthma or the ducts have never been touched. But a duct clean will not tell you whether your heat exchanger has a crack in it. If you are only going to pay for one thing, pay for the service.
How often ducted heating actually needs servicing
Energy Safe Victoria advises having your gas heater serviced at least once every two years by a qualified gasfitter, and notes that all gas heaters can spill carbon monoxide, which you cannot see or smell.
We would treat two years as the floor, not the target. On a gas ducted unit over ten years old, or in a house that has been renovated or weather-sealed since the heater went in, we service yearly. Sealing up a draughty house is good for your energy bill and it also changes the ventilation an older open-flued heater was relying on.
Reverse cycle ducted gets a yearly service, simply because it works in both seasons and does roughly double the hours.
Do not wait for the service if you smell gas
Turn the system off, open windows and doors, and call a licensed gasfitter. The quieter risk is carbon monoxide: headaches, nausea or dizziness that ease when you leave the house, or people and pets getting sick at the same time, are the signs to act on.
When we tell people not to book a service
Three cases, and we would rather say them here than after you have paid a callout.
If the system is still under manufacturer warranty, call the manufacturer first, not us. If your heater is not working at all rather than working badly, you want a repair diagnosis, not a service, and our guide on a heater blowing cold air covers the two minute checks worth doing before you book anything.
And if the unit is fifteen years or older and the service turns up a cracked heat exchanger or a failed fan motor, stop. On a gas ducted unit that age, a $700 ignition repair or a $900 fan motor is money into something with a short runway. Run the numbers on our repair or replace calculator first, because the Victorian Energy Upgrades incentive can take a meaningful amount off a replacement, and a modern reverse cycle system costs less to run. Our post on upgrading from gas to electric has the actual running cost maths, using the Victorian Default Offer electricity rate of around 30 cents per kWh.
What pushes the price up
Access, mostly. A unit in a tight roof cavity with a low pitch takes longer than one sitting in a garage, and that is the single biggest swing between the bottom and the top of each range. After that: the number of outlets, whether the ductwork gets the deep clean, and how long it has been since the last service. A system that has never been serviced is a different job from one done last year.
Brand matters less than people expect, though controllers vary. Brivis and Braemar units are the most common gas ducted systems we see in Melbourne homes, and both will throw an error code on the controller before they lock out, which is genuinely useful. Note the code down before you call, it shortens the diagnosis.
If you want the full picture on the system itself rather than the service, our gas ducted heating page covers what we install and repair. And the same servicing logic applies on the cooling side, which we set out in how often you should service your air conditioner.
I have been dealing with Akila from Climate control solutions for over 15 years. They have always been reliable and good to deal with. I would highly recommend them.
Jason Lay, Google review, September 2025
Book a ducted heating service
Licensed technicians, a carbon monoxide test on every gas ducted service, and any repair quoted before we start it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a ducted heating service cost in Melbourne?
For a service with no faults found, a gas ducted heating service runs $180 to $320 per visit and a reverse cycle ducted service runs $250 to $450. Adding a deep clean of the return air and ductwork takes those to $280 to $450 and $400 to $650. If the technician finds a fault, the repair is quoted separately before any work starts.
How often should ducted heating be serviced?
Energy Safe Victoria advises having a gas heater serviced at least once every two years by a qualified gasfitter. We treat two years as the floor rather than the target, and on any gas ducted unit over ten years old we would service it yearly. Reverse cycle ducted systems run in both summer and winter, so they earn a yearly service.
What is included in a ducted heating service?
Return air filter clean or replacement, a burner and ignition check, a heat exchanger inspection, a carbon monoxide spillage test on gas units, electrical connection checks, fan and motor inspection, airflow confirmed at the outlets, and a full heating cycle run from cold. On reverse cycle the gas checks are replaced by refrigerant pressure and outdoor coil work.
Is a ducted heater clean the same as a service?
No. A clean is the filters and the ductwork. A service is the clean plus the safety and mechanical checks, including the heat exchanger and carbon monoxide test on gas. A duct clean on its own will not tell you whether your heat exchanger is cracked, which is the check that actually matters.
Do you test for carbon monoxide during a gas ducted service?
Yes, a carbon monoxide spillage test is part of every gas ducted heating service we do. Carbon monoxide cannot be seen or smelled, and Energy Safe Victoria notes that all gas heaters can spill it. That test is the main reason the two year interval is a safety item and not just maintenance.
Is it worth servicing a ducted heater that is 15 years old?
Service it if it is running fine, because the safety checks still matter. But if that service turns up a cracked heat exchanger or a failed fan motor, stop and price a replacement before you spend. On a unit that age we would usually put the repair money toward a new system and the VEU incentive instead.
