Heating in Brisbane: gas licences, heat pumps and installers

A straight answer first: boilers are a niche way to heat a home in Australia. Most homes that have whole-house heating use reverse-cycle air conditioning or ducted gas heating, and many rely on split systems or space heaters. Water-based (hydronic) heating, where a gas boiler or heat pump warms water that runs through radiators or underfloor pipes, is a specialist product; in the public business listings we checked, hydronic specialists cluster in Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart. So this page covers all three: hydronic systems, ducted gas and heat pumps.

With mild winters, Brisbane has little demand for whole-house heating. Most homes rely on reverse-cycle split or ducted air conditioning for the few cold weeks, and gasfitters here spend more time on hot water systems, cooktops and barbecue connections than on space heating. We have kept this page honest about that: it explains who may do gas work in Queensland, what rebates are and are not available, and lists local gasfitters and the few firms offering boiler or hydronic services.

Who may do gas work in Queensland

Queensland splits gas licensing between two bodies. The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) says that if you are supervising or performing gasfitting work you must also hold a gasfitting occupational licence issued by the Chief Gas Examiner and Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ). QBCC’s gasfitting licence class covers installing, commissioning, maintaining, testing, altering, repairing and servicing a gas system in any building, so a contractor doing gas work needs the QBCC contractor licence and the individual doing the work needs the RSHQ licence.

Ask your gasfitter for both licence numbers and check them before work starts. When the job is done, ask what compliance certificate will be issued for the gas work.

Rebates in Queensland

Queensland’s Climate Smart Energy Savers rebate, which paid cash back on efficient appliances including heat pump hot water systems and air conditioners, has closed. We found no open Queensland Government rebate for heating or hot water in September 2026. The federal scheme still applies:

Nationally, heat pump and solar hot water systems can earn small-scale technology certificates (STCs) under the federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme; the installer normally passes their value on as an upfront discount.

For most Brisbane households, the heating decision is really an air conditioning decision. A ducted reverse-cycle system heats and cools; Canstar Blue’s figures, from a Perth installer, put it at about $9,000–$20,000 installed. A hydronic system is rarely worth its cost in Brisbane’s climate unless you want underfloor heating in a particular room; see underfloor heating, flow temperatures and manifolds.

Typical prices

We have not found a price survey for this city alone, so these are national figures checked in September 2026. Tempco Energy’s 2026 guides put a complete hydronic system at $12,000–$40,000, a gas boiler for a hydronic system at $3,000–$7,000 supplied and installed, and a ducted gas heating system at $3,000–$10,000. Canstar Blue, citing a Perth installer, puts ducted reverse-cycle air conditioning at roughly $9,000–$20,000 installed, and Tempco puts a heat pump hot water system at $2,500–$4,500 before rebates. See our Australia heating costs guide for the full table.

How to choose an installer

• Check the licence. Ask for the RSHQ gas work licence number and the QBCC contractor licence number, and check both.
• Get the paperwork. Ask what compliance certificate or notice the gasfitter will give you or lodge when the job is done.
• Hydronic or ducted? Ask how many systems of your type the firm has installed, and whether it will size the boiler or heat pump from a heat-loss calculation rather than the old unit’s rating.
• Rebates: most discounts are applied only by accredited or participating installers, so confirm eligibility before you sign.
• Hot water first: if your gas hot water system is due for replacement, compare a heat pump with STCs before replacing like for like.

Our guide to comparing installation quotes like for like has a fuller checklist, and water-based and warm-air heating explains how the two main system types differ.

Gasfitters and boiler services in Brisbane

These businesses appear in public business listings for Brisbane and nearby suburbs, and each has its own website describing gas, boiler or hot water work. Genuine domestic boiler specialists are rare in Brisbane, so most listed here are plumbing and gas firms. We have not checked their work, prices, registrations or insurance, and they have not paid to appear.

You can also compare heating options or request a quote. If you smell gas, turn off the gas at the meter if it is safe to do so, open doors and windows, avoid naked flames and switches, and call your gas distributor’s faults line (it is on your gas bill) or 000 in an emergency. See also carbon monoxide and boiler safety.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Gasfitting licence (qbcc.qld.gov.au)
• Gas work licences and authorisations (business.qld.gov.au)
• Climate Smart Energy Savers rebate (qld.gov.au)
• Hot water rebate: Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (energy.gov.au)
• How much does ducted air conditioning cost? (canstarblue.com.au)
• Hydronic Heating Cost in Australia: 2026 Price Guide (tempcoenergy.com.au)
• Hot Water System Installation Cost Australia (2026 Guide) (tempcoenergy.com.au)

Last checked: September 2026. Grants, rules and prices change, so confirm the current position with RSHQ, the QBCC or the installer before you commit.

Best Boiler Deals is a comparison and referral service, not a heating installer. We do not install, service or repair boilers, heat pumps or heating systems, and a listing here is not a recommendation.