Required: ARCtick refrigeration licence
Every Australian air conditioning installer who handles refrigerant must hold an ARCtick (Australian Refrigeration Council) licence. This is non-negotiable — installing without one is illegal and voids your warranty. On FixerCo, every installer's ARCtick number is verified before they can quote.
Required: electrical licence (or partnered electrician)
Aircon installs need a licensed electrician for any new circuit, isolator or hard-wired install. Most quality installers either have an electrical licence themselves or work with a partnered sparkie included in the quote. Don't accept a quote that says 'electrical work by others' — you'll get a second tradie's bill on top.
Required: insurance
At minimum, $5 million public liability insurance and workers compensation. Reputable installers carry $10–$20M PL. If an installer can't show a current Certificate of Currency, walk away. FixerCo verifies insurance currency at sign-up and re-checks annually.
Look for: 3+ years trading
Newer businesses can do great work, but for warranty purposes you want an installer who'll still be around in 5 years to honour their workmanship warranty. Check ABN start date — anything under 2 years deserves extra scrutiny on reviews.
Look for: verified customer reviews
Real reviews on Google, Product Review, and FixerCo. Watch for: bursts of 5-star reviews in a short period (likely fake), all 5-star with no detail (suspicious), or zero negative reviews ever (unrealistic). A great installer has mostly 5-star with a handful of 3-4 star reviews showing how they handled minor issues.
Quote red flags
Quote doesn't specify brand AND model AND kW. Quote is missing warranty length. Quote says 'standard install' without defining what's standard (and what triggers extras). Quote is dramatically cheaper than competitors (15%+ below the average — usually means missing brackets, isolator, or shortcuts on copper/vacuum). Quote is dramatically more expensive (without a clear reason). High-pressure tactics ('book today and save $500').
Questions to ask before accepting
1) Is the unit brand-new in original packaging (not refurbished)? 2) What's included — brackets, isolator, decorative cover, disposal? 3) How long is your workmanship warranty (separate from the manufacturer's)? 4) What's the lead time? 5) Do you handle warranty claims for the manufacturer, or do I deal with them directly? 6) Are STCs and state rebates included in this price?
Why FixerCo makes this easy
On FixerCo, every installer is pre-verified for licence, insurance and ABN before they can quote. Their profile shows verified credentials, customer rating, completed-job count, and average response time. You see all this side-by-side when comparing quotes — no chasing certificates of currency yourself.