Where Should Pathway Lights Be Installed to Make Geelong Gardens Safer at Night?
October 13, 2026
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You step out your back door at 9pm to take the bins out. The path looks fine in daylight…
It’s a cold July night in Grovedale. The tenant texts the property manager: the ducted gas heater has died and the technician says it’s not worth fixing. Until now, the answer was simple. Order another gas unit and book the install.
From 1 March 2027, that answer is no longer legal for Victorian rentals.
Under Victoria’s new minimum energy efficiency standards, when a rental’s heating or hot water system fails and can’t be repaired, it must be replaced with an efficient electric system. No like for like gas swap. Here’s exactly what the rules require, what to install, what it means for your switchboard and how Geelong landlords and property managers can plan ahead instead of scrambling mid winter.
Victoria is rolling out new minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties in phases from 1 March 2027. They’re part of the state’s wider move away from gas and they apply to every residential rental in Victoria, including houses, units and townhouses across Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf Coast.
The standards cover six areas: heating, cooling, hot water, shower heads, ceiling insulation and draughtproofing. Each has its own trigger. For heating and hot water, the trigger is simple: the existing system permanently fails and can’t be repaired.
That matters because rentals are being held to a stricter standard than owner occupied homes. An owner occupier in Highton can still replace a broken gas heater with another gas heater. A landlord with a rental two streets away can’t.
This sits alongside two other changes already in play:
From 1 March 2027, when a rental’s fixed heating system fails and can’t be repaired, it must be replaced with an energy efficient fixed electric heater with an outlet in the main living area.
That means one of two options:
A non ducted reverse cycle air conditioner or heat pump (a split system) with a 2 star or above GEMS heating rating for your climate zone.
An electric ducted heating system (ducted reverse cycle) with a GEMS Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) of 3.2 or above for your climate zone.
Portable heaters don’t count. Neither do plug in panel heaters or oil column heaters.
What’s in the rental now | What you must do | When |
No fixed heater, or a gas or electric space heater under 2 stars | Install an energy efficient fixed heater in the main living area | Now. This is already required under current minimum standards |
Gas space heater (2 stars or more) | Replace with efficient electric heating | When it permanently fails and can’t be repaired |
Ducted gas heating | Replace with efficient electric heating | When it permanently fails and can’t be repaired |
Electric space heater (2 stars or more) or electric ducted | Replace with efficient electric heating | When it permanently fails and can’t be repaired |
LPG space heater | Efficient electric heating, or another LPG heater | When it permanently fails and can’t be repaired |
Wood heater | Efficient electric heating, or another wood heater | When it permanently fails and can’t be repaired |
Gas or electric hydronic | Efficient electric heating, or an electric hydronic system | When it permanently fails and can’t be repaired |
The first row catches more Geelong landlords than you’d think. If an older Belmont or Newtown rental still runs on a low rated wall furnace, it may already be non compliant today, before the 2027 changes even start.
A reverse cycle air conditioner heats and cools. So a single split system in the main living area can tick off the new heating standard and the new cooling standard at the same time. With Geelong summer days able to push into the high 30s, that’s one install instead of two.
For larger homes that rely on ducted gas, ducted reverse cycle is the closest like for like replacement, but it’s a bigger electrical job. More on that below.
We handle air conditioning installation across Geelong, including the dedicated circuit and isolator every system needs.
From 1 March 2027, when a rental’s hot water system permanently fails and can’t be repaired, it must be replaced with an energy efficient electric hot water system.
The two options are:
Either must meet the minimum energy savings, or the minimum small scale technology certificates, set out in Part B2 of the Plumbing Code of Australia. In plain terms: not every heat pump on the market qualifies. Check the product against the VEU Product Register before you order.
What’s in the rental now | What you must do | When |
No hot water | Provide hot water to the kitchen, bathroom and laundry | Now. Already required |
Any gas hot water (storage or instantaneous) | Heat pump or electric boosted solar | When it fails and can’t be repaired |
Old electric storage (element) system | Heat pump or electric boosted solar | When it fails and can’t be repaired |
LPG hot water | Efficient electric system, or another LPG system | When it fails and can’t be repaired |
Note the third row. It’s not only gas. A tired electric storage tank in a Corio or Norlane rental also has to go to a heat pump or solar when it dies.
A hot water changeover is usually a two trade job:
Getting both booked fast is what decides whether your tenant is without hot water for one day or five. We work alongside local plumbers on Geelong changeovers so the electrical side is ready when the new unit arrives.
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