ARC Licensing: How to Verify Your Aircon Installer

Every aircon installer who handles refrigerant in Australia needs an Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) licence. Without one, the work is illegal under the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989. The fines — up to $27,500 for an individual and $137,500 for a corporation — are some of the steepest in the trade. More immediately for a homeowner: an unlicensed install voids the manufacturer’s warranty, voids most home insurance claims arising from the unit, and leaves no recourse if the refrigerant leaks in the wall cavity six months later.

This guide walks through the 30-second ARC verification check, the difference between RAC and RTA licences, and the five red flags that mean your shortlisted aircon installer is not who they say they are.

What ARC actually is — Australian Refrigeration Council in 60 seconds

The ARC is the federal industry body delegated by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to administer Australia’s refrigerant handling licence scheme. It is not a trade association — it is a regulator. Anyone who buys, handles, recovers, decants, charges or disposes of fluorocarbon refrigerant in Australia must hold a current ARC licence. That includes residential aircon installers, mobile fridge mechanics, supermarket refrigeration techs, automotive air conditioning specialists, and HVAC commissioning engineers.

The licence is administered through the ARC website, which also runs a free public lookup tool. Anyone can verify a tradesperson’s licence number in under 60 seconds.

Why the ARC ticket exists (Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989)

The legislative basis is two pieces of federal law:

• The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989, which controls the import, export, manufacture and end-use of ozone-depleting and synthetic greenhouse gas refrigerants.
• The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Regulations 1995, which set the licensing classes, training requirements and offences.

Australia ratified the Montreal Protocol in 1987 and the Kigali Amendment in 2017. The ARC scheme is how the country meets its obligations under both. Refrigerants are potent greenhouse gases (R410A has a Global Warming Potential of 2,088; R32 is 675; R22 was 1,810). Releasing them to atmosphere — through a sloppy install, a cowboy regas, or a recovery skipped to save 20 minutes — has real climate impact. Hence the licensing teeth.

The 30-second installer-verification check on the ARC website

The verification flow:

1. Get the installer’s full name and ARC licence number from the quote, the invoice, or the company website.
2. Go to arctick.org and click Find a Technician.
3. Enter the licence number (or the technician’s surname).
4. The result shows the technician’s name, the licence class, the issuing date, and the expiry date.

If the licence number returns no result, returns a different name, or is expired, the install is not legal. End of conversation. Most legitimate Adelaide installers — including those quoted through the licensed Adelaide aircon installers panel — display their ARC number on the quote, the invoice, the company van, and the embroidered work shirt. Hiding it is a red flag.

RAC (Refrigerant Handling) vs RTA (Trading) — which licence does an installer need?

There are two licence types. Most homeowners get them confused.

• RAC — Refrigerant Handling Licence. Held by individuals. Authorises the holder to install, service, decommission, recover, decant and charge refrigerant in equipment. There are class subdivisions (Full, Domestic, Restricted, Trainee, Heat Pump etc.). The standard Australian residential aircon installer holds a Full RAC.
• RTA — Refrigerant Trading Authorisation. Held by businesses. Authorises the company to acquire, store and dispose of refrigerant. A sole-trader installer with a single-person business needs both — the RAC for himself, the RTA for the business entity. A larger HVAC firm holds a single RTA covering all the company’s refrigerant transactions, plus an RAC for each technician on the roster.

When you verify, you are checking the RAC of the person who will actually do your install — not the company name on the website. Ask for the technician who will be on site, and check his RAC, not the office manager’s.

Five red flags that mean the installer isn’t ARC-licensed (or is using someone else’s number)

In rough frequency order:

1. No ARC number on the quote, invoice or website. A legitimate installer does not hide it. If you have to ask twice, walk away.
2. The ARC number returns a different name on the lookup tool. This is licence-borrowing — a sole-trader handyman quoting work using a mate’s licence number. Illegal under the Ozone Act.
3. An expired licence. RAC licences run for 1, 2 or 3 years and need renewal. An expired licence is the same as no licence.
4. The installer says “we don’t actually need ARC for splits, only ducted”. False. Any work involving refrigerant — including the line-set flare connections on a single-head split — requires a current RAC.
5. The installer says “my apprentice will do the install, I’ll just sign off”. A trainee RAC is allowed to handle refrigerant only under direct supervision of a Full RAC holder. Direct supervision means same site, same job. A signed-off paper trail does not substitute.

Cross-checking goes further than the ARC lookup. A legitimate Adelaide installer will also hold a current South Australian electrical worker’s licence (CBS South Australia), a public liability insurance certificate (typically $20m), and an Australian Business Number visible on the quote.

What an unlicensed install actually costs you (warranty void + insurance void + $27,500 fines)

Three layers of exposure for a homeowner:

• Manufacturer warranty void. Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Fujitsu and Samsung all explicitly require ARC-licensed installation in their warranty terms. The five-year manufacturer warranty disappears the moment an unlicensed person opens the system. Your full warranty rights under the Australian Consumer Law survive against the installer — but if the installer was operating illegally, recovery becomes a CBS small-claims exercise rather than a manufacturer call.
• Home insurance void for the unit. Most household policies require electrical and refrigerant work to be performed by suitably licensed tradespeople. Damage caused by a non-compliant install — refrigerant leak in the wall cavity, electrical fault, water damage from poorly fitted condensate line — is typically excluded.
• Personal exposure to the operator. The operator (the unlicensed installer) faces fines up to $27,500 per offence. The homeowner is not personally liable for the installer’s offence, but the install must still be remediated to legal compliance — which means paying a licensed installer to recover the refrigerant, retest, and recommission.

The cleanup cost on a remediated unlicensed install runs $800–$1,800 in the typical Adelaide case. Add the cost of refrigerant lost to atmosphere if a recovery wasn’t performed, and the original “saving” disappears.

Companion checks: state electrical licence, ABN, public liability

The ARC licence is one of four documents a competent residential installer carries. The others:

• Electrical worker’s licence. South Australia regulates electrical work through Consumer and Business Services (CBS). The installer (or his electrical sub-contractor) must hold a current SA Electrical Worker’s Licence. Verifiable through the CBS public licence lookup.
• ABN. A current Australian Business Number, listed on the quote and invoice, traceable through the ABR. No ABN, no GST credit, no clear legal entity to chase if something goes wrong.
• Public liability insurance. Standard residential cover is $20m. The certificate should be current and name the trading entity that matches the ABN.

Each of these takes 60 seconds to verify. Doing all four turns a 5-minute due-diligence pass into a meaningful filter — most cowboys fail at least one.

The five-minute due-diligence checklist before you pay a deposit

Before transferring a deposit, run this sequence:

1. ARC lookup (arctick.org) — name and licence number match.
2. CBS electrical licence lookup (cbs.sa.gov.au) — name and licence number match for the SA-licensed electrician on the job.
3. ABN lookup (abr.business.gov.au) — ABN active, trading name matches the quote.
4. Public liability certificate — currency date in the future, insured entity matches the ABN.
5. Manufacturer authorisation (optional, brand-dependent) — Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric maintain authorised dealer networks. Authorised dealers often offer extended warranty terms. Brand websites list current dealers.

A clean pass on all five reduces your installer-risk to background levels. The same checklist applies whether you’re hiring us, acting on a personal recommendation, or responding to an ad. Trade networks like the Adelaide arborists at Tree Fox follow a similar verification pattern with their AQF qualifications — the principle is the same across regulated trades.

We keep all five checks current — our ARC and CBS licence numbers, ABN and PI certificate are all verifiable, and the licence numbers appear on every quote.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check if my aircon installer is ARC-licensed? Go to arctick.org, click Find a Technician, and enter the licence number from the quote or invoice. The result must show the same name, a current licence class, and an expiry date in the future. Allow 60 seconds — it’s the quickest part of the due-diligence pass.

What’s the difference between an RAC and RTA licence? RAC (Refrigerant Handling Licence) is held by an individual technician — it authorises that person to handle refrigerant. RTA (Refrigerant Trading Authorisation) is held by a business — it authorises the company to acquire and store refrigerant. A sole-trader installer needs both. A larger firm holds one RTA plus one RAC per technician.

Is it illegal for an unlicensed person to install a split system? Yes. Any work involving refrigerant — even the flare connections on a single-head split — requires a current RAC under the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989. Penalties run up to $27,500 per offence for an individual and $137,500 for a corporation.

Will my warranty be void if my installer isn’t ARC-licensed? Yes. Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Fujitsu and Samsung all require licensed installation in their warranty terms. An unlicensed install voids the manufacturer warranty immediately. The Australian Consumer Law statutory rights survive against the installer, but recovery becomes harder.

What’s the maximum fine for unlicensed refrigerant work in Australia? $27,500 per offence for a natural person, $137,500 per offence for a corporation, under the federal Ozone Act. The Clean Energy Regulator and the ARC both have enforcement powers. State-level penalties for unlicensed electrical work run on top.

Does a handyman need an ARC ticket to install a portable air conditioner? A self-contained portable unit (the kind that vents through a window with a flexible duct) ships factory-charged and sealed, and does not require ARC handling at install. The moment the work involves making or breaking a refrigerant connection — which includes any split system, ducted system, or wall-mount install — the RAC is required.

Ready for a written quote from an ARC-licensed Adelaide installer?

Submit the quote form — our ARC, CBS electrical, ABN and public liability are all current and verifiable. You receive a written quote, usually within 24–48 hours, with the licence numbers visible on the quote.