Gas heating & hot water Melbourne, repair, replace, or switch?

The Victorian government wants gas out of homes by 2035. That's the direction of travel. But the reality for a Melbourne homeowner in 2026 is more nuanced, some gas appliances still make sense to repair or replace like-for-like, others don't. This guide walks through when each choice is right.

The three gas appliances in a typical Melbourne home

Most Melbourne family homes still have three gas appliances:

• Ducted gas heater (Brivis, Braemar, Bonaire), 10-20 years old, sitting in the roof or under the house
• Gas hot water (Rinnai continuous flow or a gas storage tank), 8-15 years old, mounted outside
• Gas cooktop, usually indefinite lifespan, low running cost

The first two are the ones that trigger the repair-vs-replace-vs-switch decision every few years. We'll take them in turn.

Ducted gas heater, repair, replace, or switch to reverse cycle?

If your ducted gas heater is under 10 years old and just needs a service or a burner replacement, repair it. Straightforward, and done in a morning. Typical service $220, ignition unit swap ~$580.

If it's 10-15 years old and the heat exchanger has cracked (we test for this, carbon monoxide leaks kill people every winter), that's a like-for-like replacement or a switch to reverse-cycle. Like-for-like Brivis-to-Brivis replacement runs $4,500-$6,500 depending on system size. Switching to reverse-cycle ducted uses your existing ducts if they're sound, $9,000-$12,000 but the running cost is roughly 60% lower and you get cooling in summer as a bonus.

If it's 15+ years old, even if it's still running, the payback on switching to reverse-cycle is usually 6-8 years even without a rebate. If you're planning to stay in the house that long, switch.

Gas hot water, the fastest-changing decision

This is the one that's shifted hardest in the last two years. In 2023 a like-for-like gas continuous flow swap was the obvious call. In 2026, with the VEU rebate + Solar Homes bonus, a heat pump often ends up cheaper installed AND cheaper to run.

Real numbers for a Cranbourne family we quoted last month:

• Rinnai continuous flow like-for-like replacement: $1,890 installed
• iStore 270 L heat pump after VEU + Solar Homes: the rebate covers most of it, and the balance is on the quote
• Reclaim 315L stainless heat pump after VEU rebate: $3,190 installed

Once the rebates were applied the iStore landed under the like-for-like Rinnai on the day, and it saves them about $400 a year to run on top of that. Rebate values move with VEEC prices and eligibility, so the number that matters is the one on your own quote, not this one.

The one exception: if your existing gas line, meter and location can accommodate continuous flow and there's no outdoor space for a heat pump condenser, gas continuous flow is still the pragmatic choice.

Emergency gas repairs, when to call today

Ring us on the main number any time of day or night for:

• Smell of gas anywhere in or around the house
• Pilot light won't stay lit
• Continuous flow throws error codes and shuts down
• Yellow flame in a burner (should be blue, yellow means incomplete combustion, CO risk)
• Carbon monoxide detector alarm

After-hours calls go to a real on-call tradie, not an overseas call centre. Response inside 90 minutes in the Pakenham-Cranbourne-Berwick belt, longer for the outer postcodes.

Carbon monoxide testing, the every-two-years rule

Any gas appliance older than 8 years should have a CO test every two years. Cracked heat exchangers in Brivis and Braemar ducted heaters are a known killer, five deaths a year in Australia from cracked units. We do the test as part of every gas heater service. $220 including the CO reading, tuning, filter clean, gas pressure check.