Old ceramic fuses or nuisance tripping? We upgrade switchboards to current Australian standards, safety switches, surge protection, and a certificate of compliance on completion.

Is your fuse box the original from 1975?

Ceramic fuse boards were standard when your home was built. They were fine then. The problem is they were never designed for the load a modern household puts through them, reverse-cycle aircon, EV charger, induction cooktop, a dozen devices charging overnight.

Worse, a ceramic fuse gives you almost no protection from a fault. You replace the wire, reset the fuse, and the problem that caused it is still there.

Safety switches (RCDs) are different. They detect a fault current, the kind that travels through a person, and cut the power in milliseconds. Queensland has required them on new builds since the 1990s, but hundreds of thousands of older Brisbane and Logan homes still don’t have them on every circuit.

That’s the gap a switchboard upgrade closes.

Signs your switchboard needs attention

Ceramic fuses or older rewireable fuses instead of circuit breakers
No safety switches: or only one covering a couple of circuits
Nuisance tripping that the electrician before us couldn’t explain
Lights flickering or a burning smell near the meter box
You’re adding circuits: aircon, EV charger, solar, and the existing board is full
You’ve bought an older property and you’re not sure what’s inside the box

If any of these sound familiar, give us a call on 07 3186 2450 and we’ll talk you through it before booking anything.

What a switchboard upgrade involves

Every job starts with an assessment of your existing board, the wiring feeding it, and your overall load. We’ll tell you what we find and what we recommend, before you agree to anything.

A typical upgrade includes:

Removal of the old ceramic fuse board and any obsolete wiring feeding it
Installation of a modern, clearly-labelled switchboard with individual circuit breakers
Safety switches (RCDs) across all circuits, meeting AS/NZS 3000 and Queensland requirements
Surge protection device (SPD) to guard appliances against voltage spikes from storms (Brisbane gets a fair few)
Certificate of electrical safety issued at completion, required by law and important for insurance

We do the work, we clean up, and we hand you the paperwork. That’s it.

Honest cost factors

Switchboard upgrades in Brisbane and Logan typically run somewhere between $1,200 and $3,500. That range is wide because the job genuinely varies.

Things that push the cost up:

Older homes with wiring that needs remediation before the board can be fitted
Additional circuits being added at the same time (aircon, EV charger)
The number of circuits in the existing board
Whether your Energex connection is single-phase or three-phase

We give you a fixed quote before we start: no surprises when the invoice arrives. No call-out fee to come and assess the job.

Why PQ Electrical

We’re a licensed residential electrical and air conditioning team operating across Brisbane and Logan. A few specifics:

Licensed & insured: Queensland electrical contractor licence, full public liability
5-year workmanship guarantee in writing on every job
Fixed quote, approved before work starts: you know the number before we touch anything
Certificate of compliance on completion: because you need it, and because it’s the law
Tidy, police-checked technicians: we respect that it’s your home

We also install safety switches and surge protection as standalone jobs if a full upgrade isn’t what you need right now. And if you’re thinking about adding EV charging or air conditioning while the board is open, we can quote that at the same time.

Frequently asked questions

Do I legally need safety switches in Queensland?

Yes, for any new electrical work or when an existing circuit is modified. If your home was built before the mid-1990s and has never had the board touched since, there’s a good chance you don’t have them on all circuits. Queensland regulations now require RCDs on all final subcircuits in domestic premises. An upgrade brings you into compliance.

How long does a switchboard upgrade take?

Most residential upgrades take half a day to a full day. The power will be off for most of that time. We’ll agree a start time with you, call before we’re on the way, and do our best to have it done in one visit.

Can I stay home while you do the work?

Yes. The power will be off to the house during the installation, so worth planning for that, charge your devices beforehand and have a plan for the fridge if it’s a hot day. We’ll let you know the likely timeframe when we book in.

Book a switchboard assessment

No call-out fee. Fixed quote before work starts.

Request a quote online or call 07 3186 2450: we cover Brisbane, Logan, and the surrounding suburbs.

Switchboard Upgrades & Safety in Brisbane & Logan