Refrigerant Recharge / Recovery Cost — AC, Heat Pump & More (Australia, 2026)
Estimated $300–$3,400 AUD for a refrigerant recharge / recovery in Australia, depending on the HVAC system and the exact fault. Built from 11 sourced repair jobs across 4 HVAC types — each row keeps its own sources. Reviewed July 2026.
What a refrigerant recharge / recovery costs, by HVAC and fault Estimated
Each row is a real sourced repair job whose description matched this part. Parts and total are that job's own national range — follow the problem link to localize it to your area.
| HVAC | Problem | Repair | Parts | Total | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Air Conditioning | Not cooling / blowing warm air | Refrigerant leak located, joint or flare repaired, system evacuated and re-gassed | $150–$500 AUD | $450–$1,600 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Central Air Conditioning | Short cycling (turns on and off) | Low refrigerant charge tripping the low-pressure cut-out: leak located, repaired and system re-gassed | $150–$500 AUD | $450–$1,300 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Heat Pump | Not cooling | Locate and repair a refrigerant leak, then recharge with R32/R410A | $90–$420 AUD | $450–$1,400 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Heat Pump | Reversing valve replacement | Complete four-way valve body changeout with recovery, brazing, evacuation and recharge | $130–$460 AUD | $620–$1,750 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Heat Pump | Refrigerant leak repair / recharge | Leak detection plus repair of the leaking joint, then full weighed recharge | $90–$420 AUD | $450–$1,400 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Heat Pump | Short cycling (turns on and off) | Refrigerant leak find and repair plus weighed-in regas where low charge is tripping the pressure switch | $80–$320 AUD | $300–$900 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Ductless Mini-Split | Not cooling | Refrigerant leak repair and R32 recharge on a wall-mounted split | $80–$320 AUD | $400–$1,100 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Ductless Mini-Split | Not heating | Leak repair and recharge where low refrigerant is killing heating capacity | $80–$320 AUD | $400–$1,100 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Air Handler | Leaking water (drain pan / coil) | Iced coil thawing and overflowing the pan: refrigerant leak located, repaired and system re-gassed | $150–$500 AUD | $450–$1,300 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Air Handler | Evaporator coil replacement | Indoor (evaporator) coil replacement with recovery, braze-in and weighed-in recharge | $700–$2,000 AUD | $1,400–$3,400 AUD | Pro recommended |
| Air Handler | Evaporator coil replacement | Warranty coil replacement — part supplied under warranty, labour, recovery and refrigerant billed | $100–$500 AUD | $700–$1,800 AUD | Pro recommended |
Base: 2 published national repair-cost guides (full source registry on the methodology page), published rates from 58 Australian repair companies · National base ranges — localize any figure on its linked problem page · Reviewed July 2026 · Estimated
Related HVAC cost guides
The full cost guide for each HVAC system a refrigerant recharge / recovery shows up in:
Estimated national ranges aggregated from the linked problem pages — no per-page localization is applied here. See the methodology for the localization method and named sources.
Reviewed by a Red Seal–certified appliance technician who also holds a Technical Safety BC gas ticket (Gas-C) and an ODS/halocarbon refrigerant ticket (CFC/HCFC/HFC).