Key Takeaways
- The published Sydney benchmark for a full rewire of a 3-bedroom home is $9,200–$23,000, with $13,800 as the typical figure, according to whatsthedamage.com.au’s Sydney rewiring guide (verified October 2026).
- Your home type decides where you land in that range. A timber-framed fibro or brick-veneer house with good roof and subfloor access usually sits towards the lower end. A double-brick or Federation terrace usually sits towards the top or above it.
- A rewire quote has five main parts: labour days, cable and fittings, the switchboard, testing and certification, and exclusions. Comparing those parts tells you far more than comparing the totals.
- Labour days are the biggest variable. The same guide puts a Sydney electrician’s day rate at $805–$1,200 (typical $975), so every extra person-day the job needs shows up directly in the price.
- Making good is the cost owners most often forget. Plastering, rendering, painting and any asbestos handling are frequently excluded from the electrical quote and need their own budget line.
Want this done for you? Book a free strategy call.
Ask three Sydney electricians what a full house rewire costs and you may get three answers several thousand dollars apart, even for the same address. That isn’t usually price gouging. Each one has looked at the same house and made different assumptions about how hard it will be to get new cable through the walls, what the switchboard needs, and who is responsible for the holes left behind.
Most cost guides give you one city-wide range and stop there. That’s a useful starting point, but it doesn’t tell you whether your 1960s fibro house in Penrith or your double-brick semi in Marrickville belongs at the bottom of the range or the top. This guide takes the published Sydney benchmark and works through it by home type. Then it breaks a typical rewire quote into its parts so you can see where the money actually goes.
Every dollar figure here comes from a named public source. Where no reliable published figure exists, such as a precise price for each home type, the guide explains which way each factor pushes the cost rather than inventing a number. For a wider look at hidden extras and full vs partial rewiring, see our guide to full home electrical rewiring costs in Sydney.
The Sydney Benchmark: Published 2026 Figures
The most detailed current Sydney-specific figures come from whatsthedamage.com.au, an independent Australian cost guide whose Sydney rewiring page was last verified in October 2026. The table below collects the figures that feed into a full rewire quote.
| Cost item | Published Sydney range | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| Full rewire, 3-bedroom home | $9,200 – $23,000 | $13,800 |
| Partial rewire, per room | $1,150 – $3,450 | $2,075 |
| Switchboard upgrade | $1,025 – $3,225 | $2,075 |
| New power point, per point | $170 – $345 | $230 |
| Electrician day rate | $805 – $1,200 | $975 |
Source: whatsthedamage.com.au Sydney rewiring guide, verified October 2026. Figures exclude plaster patching and making good.
The same guide estimates 5–8 working days for a full rewire of an average Sydney home. Most of the gap between the bottom and top of the range comes from how many of those days a particular house needs, and whether one electrician or a crew does the work.
Full House Rewire Cost by Sydney Home Type
Sydney’s housing stock was built in waves, and each wave left behind a different kind of wiring job. No public source publishes reliable separate prices for each home type, so the table below shows where each type tends to fall within the published range and why. Use it to set expectations before your quotes arrive. It doesn’t replace them.
| Home type | Common in | Typical wall construction | Where it tends to land | Main cost driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post-war fibro or weatherboard | Western and south-western suburbs, Sutherland Shire, Central Coast fringe | Timber frame, fibro or board lining | Lower end of the range | Possible asbestos in fibro linings and the switchboard backing |
| Brick-veneer house (1960s–1990s) | Hills District, Northern Beaches, outer suburbs | Timber frame inside a brick skin | Lower to middle | Roof space height and whether there’s a subfloor |
| Double-brick house or semi | Inner West, St George, Canterbury-Bankstown | Solid masonry, no cavity | Middle to upper | Chasing brick or running surface conduit, then rendering |
| Federation or Victorian terrace | Paddington, Surry Hills, Glebe, Balmain, Newtown | Solid masonry, ornate plaster | Upper end or above | Heritage detailing, narrow access, often two or three storeys |
| Strata apartment | CBD fringe, Eastern Suburbs, unit blocks city-wide | Concrete slab and walls, or brick | Varies widely, often below a house in total but high per square metre | No roof space, strata approvals, limited working hours |
| Two-storey house | Across Sydney | Any of the above | Above a single-storey home of the same type | Getting cable between floors without opening the ceiling below |
Fibro and weatherboard homes
Timber-framed homes are the easiest to rewire, because an electrician can usually drop new cable down the wall cavity from the roof space and patch small holes. The catch is the lining. The NSW Government’s asbestos guidance warns that homes built or renovated before 1990 are likely to contain asbestos, and older fibro sheeting and switchboard backing panels are typical examples. The electrical work itself may be quick. Drilling or cutting asbestos-containing material safely is a separate issue, and it can add a licensed removalist to the job.
Brick-veneer homes
Despite the brick outside, a brick-veneer house is a timber-framed house from the inside. Cable runs much as it would in a fibro home. The cost question is access. A generous, walkable roof space and an open subfloor keep labour days down. A low-pitched roof packed with insulation and ducting, or a slab with no subfloor, pushes them up.
Double-brick homes
Solid masonry has no cavity to run cable through. Electricians either cut channels (chases) into the brick and plaster over them, or run cable in surface-mounted conduit. Chasing gives a cleaner finish but adds labour and leaves rendering and painting behind. Conduit is faster but visible. Ask each electrician which method they’ve priced, because two quotes using different methods aren’t comparable.
Terraces and heritage homes
Terraces combine the hardest parts of every other type: masonry walls, multiple storeys, tight roof spaces, decorative ceilings that can’t simply be cut, and often no side access or parking for the van. Homes in a heritage conservation area may also have limits on external cabling or where a new switchboard can go. Confirm these with council before work starts.
Apartments
A unit has fewer points than a house, but no roof space and concrete walls mean cable often has to be surface-mounted or run through existing conduits. Strata by-laws can restrict noise, working hours and access to common property, and work affecting the building’s main supply needs the owners corporation involved. Budget extra time for approvals.
Anatomy of a Rewire Quote: Where the Money Goes
A well-written rewire quote can be read in five parts. If a quote you receive won’t break down this way, ask the electrician to itemise it.
| Quote line | What it covers | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Labour | Person-days to remove old cable, run new circuits, fit off and test | How many days, how many workers, and what assumptions about access |
| 2. Materials | Cable, switches, power points, light fittings, conduit, junction boxes | Brand and range of fittings, and whether like-for-like or upgraded |
| 3. Switchboard | New board, circuit breakers and RCD (safety switch) protection | Included or separate, and room for future circuits |
| 4. Testing and certification | Safety testing and the NSW Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) | Explicitly listed as included |
| 5. Exclusions | Everything the electrician will not do | Plastering, painting, asbestos, network or meter work, rubbish removal |
Line 1: labour is where quotes diverge
Labour is usually the largest line, and the published day rate shows why. As a worked example using the Sydney guide’s own figures, one electrician at the typical $975 day rate for its estimated 5–8 days comes to $4,875–$7,800 in labour alone. A crew of two shortens the time without the house but roughly doubles the daily labour cost. When two quotes differ by thousands, compare the person-days each one has allowed. That usually explains the gap.
Line 2: materials are more predictable
Cable and standard fittings are a smaller and more predictable share of the job. The main variable is your choice of fittings. Designer switch ranges, USB outlets and smart switches all add to this line. Decide on them before quoting so every electrician prices the same thing.
Line 3: the switchboard
An old board with ceramic fuses, or one without space for RCD-protected circuits, will normally be replaced during a full rewire. The published Sydney switchboard upgrade range is $1,025–$3,225, typical $2,075. Some electricians include it in the rewire price and others list it separately, which can make one quote look cheaper when it isn’t. If solar, a battery or an EV charger is on your list, size the board for them now. Our Sydney solar vs traditional electricity cost breakdown covers why switchboard capacity often comes up in solar planning too.
Line 4: testing and the CCEW
In NSW, electrical installation work must be done by a licensed electrician, who must issue a CCEW. NSW Government guidance says the certificate must be submitted within seven days of completing safety and compliance testing, and the customer always receives a copy. A quote that doesn’t mention testing or the CCEW isn’t a cheaper version of the same job. It’s missing a legal requirement.
Curious what this could do for your own growth? Get your free growth report.
Line 5: exclusions decide your real total
The published Sydney ranges exclude plaster patching and making good, and many electrician quotes do the same. In a timber-framed home that might mean a handful of small patches. In a double-brick home with chased walls it can mean rendering and repainting most rooms. Get a plasterer’s or painter’s quote at the same time as the electrical quotes so your budget covers the whole job.
Building Your Own Rewire Budget
You can turn the benchmark into a working budget before any electrician visits. Use the table below as a checklist and fill in the right-hand column from your quotes.
| Budget line | Starting reference | Your figure |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical rewire (labour and materials) | $9,200–$23,000 for a 3-bed home, adjusted for your home type above | From quotes |
| Switchboard (if quoted separately) | $1,025–$3,225 | From quotes |
| Extra points and circuits | $170–$345 per extra power point | Count your additions |
| Plastering, rendering and painting | No reliable published benchmark. Get a separate trade quote | From trade quote |
| Asbestos assessment or removal (pre-1990 homes) | Depends on what’s found. Get a licensed assessor’s quote if needed | From assessor |
| Contingency | An allowance for hidden problems once walls are opened | Your choice |
If the rewire is part of a larger renovation, time it so walls are opened once and a single round of finishing covers everything. Our small bathroom remodel cost guide for Sydney covers how trade sequencing affects the total on wet-area jobs, and the same logic applies to rewiring.
Which Rewire Scope Is Right for Your Home?
Work through these questions before you request quotes. They’ll tell you what scope to ask for, so the quotes come back comparable.
- What are your walls made of? Knock on them and look in the roof space. Timber frame and solid masonry are different jobs, and you’ll read quotes better once you know which one you have.
- Was the house built or renovated before 1990? If so, ask for an asbestos check of the switchboard and any linings to be disturbed before work starts.
- Do you want chasing or surface conduit in masonry walls? Decide on finish against cost before quoting, not halfway through the job.
- What will you add while the walls are open? Extra power points, data, outdoor power and dedicated circuits for induction cooking, ducted air or an EV charger are cheapest now.
- Is a full rewire actually needed? If the wiring is mostly modern PVC cable with one problem area, a partial rewire may be enough. If original rubber or cloth cable is found anywhere, assume it runs throughout.
- Are you in strata or a heritage area? Get approvals and rules in writing before booking the electrician.
How to Get Started
1. Book an on-site inspection
A full rewire can’t be priced accurately over the phone. The electrician needs to see the roof space, subfloor, wall construction and switchboard. On older homes, a paid inspection with a written report is often worth it, because every later quote can be built on the same findings.
2. Write one scope and send it to every electrician
List the number of points per room, new circuits, switchboard requirements, the wiring method for masonry walls, and the requirement for RCD protection, testing and a CCEW. Ask for at least three written, itemised quotes against that same scope.
3. Compare the five quote lines, not the totals
Line up labour days, materials, switchboard, certification and exclusions side by side. Check each contractor’s licence on the NSW Government licence register.
4. Book the finishing trades
Confirm who makes good each hole or chase, and line up plastering and painting to follow the electrician straight away.
5. Hold the final payment until you have the paperwork
Before paying the last invoice, make sure you have the CCEW, test results and a clearly labelled switchboard. File them with your house records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a full house rewire cost in Sydney in 2026?
The most current Sydney-specific published figure is $9,200–$23,000 for a 3-bedroom home, with $13,800 as typical, from whatsthedamage.com.au’s Sydney rewiring guide (verified October 2026). Plaster patching and making good are excluded from those figures.
Is it cheaper to rewire a fibro house or a brick house?
Timber-framed homes, including fibro, weatherboard and brick-veneer, are usually quicker to rewire because cable can run through the wall cavity. Double-brick homes need chasing or surface conduit, which adds labour and finishing. Fibro homes built before 1990 may need an asbestos assessment, though, and that can add a separate cost.
Why do rewire quotes for the same house vary so much?
Mostly because of labour assumptions. Electricians allow different numbers of person-days depending on how they expect access to go, and some include the switchboard or making good while others exclude them. Comparing the five quote lines side by side usually explains the difference.
Does rewiring an apartment cost less than a house?
Often less in total, because there are fewer points, but not always less per square metre. Concrete construction, no roof space and strata rules on access and working hours can slow the job down.
What paperwork should I get after a rewire in NSW?
Your licensed electrician must give you a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW). NSW Government guidance says it must be submitted within seven days of completing safety and compliance testing. You should also receive test results and a labelled switchboard.
The Bottom Line on Full House Rewire Costs in Sydney
The published Sydney benchmark gives you the range. Your home type tells you where in that range to expect your quote. A timber-framed house with good access starts in a very different place from a double-brick terrace, even with the same number of rooms.
The quotes themselves only become comparable once you break them into labour, materials, switchboard, certification and exclusions. The exclusions line, especially making good and asbestos, is usually what separates the price you were quoted from the price you end up paying.
See how your business shows up in ChatGPT and Google AI right now — free check.
Start with an inspection and send every electrician the same written scope. Budget separately for finishing trades, and don’t make the final payment until the CCEW is in your hands.
Know your walls, write down your scope and read every quote line by line. That way the full cost is clear before any wall is opened, and the job ends with a safer house and a final bill that matches the budget you planned.
About RankBurn: RankBurn publishes cost and comparison guides for Australian homeowners and business owners. Prices in this article come from the public sources named in the text, current at the time of writing. Treat them as a budgeting guide and confirm them with written quotes from licensed electricians.