Short answer
A licensed electrician. Low-voltage plug-in garden lighting from a transformer on an existing outdoor outlet is the exception you can buy off a shelf, and it is worth knowing the difference — anything hardwired, anything on a wall, and anything that needs a new outdoor outlet is licensed work.
When it is someone else
Calling the wrong trade costs an attendance fee to be told so. These are the cases where this problem belongs to someone other than a Electrician.
the lighting is part of a garden design or needs trenching. Coordinating the trench once is cheaper than digging twice.
What to do before anyone arrives
- Walk the property at night and mark what you actually want lit — paths, steps, the front door, the washing line. Lighting a garden evenly is rarely the goal.
- Decide switching now: from inside, by sensor, by timer, or all three. Sensors that cannot be overridden from inside are the most common regret.
- Check whether existing outdoor outlets are weatherproof-rated and have a safety switch.
- Think about neighbours and about wildlife. Floodlighting a boundary is the fastest way to a complaint.
What to ask when you book
- Are the fittings rated for this location, and what is the IP rating?
- Is the circuit protected by a safety switch?
- Can I override the sensors from inside?
- Is trenching in the quote, and to what depth and protection?
What changes the price
No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.
- Trenching, and what the cable has to pass under.
- Number of fittings and whether they are on one circuit or several.
- Sensor and timer control.
- Hardwired versus low-voltage plug-in systems.
Is this licensed work?
Licensed electrical work, with additional requirements for outdoor and damp situations — fittings must be rated for the location and outdoor circuits must be protected by a safety switch.
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.
Common questions
- Who should I hire for outdoor lighting to install
- A licensed electrician. Low-voltage plug-in garden lighting from a transformer on an existing outdoor outlet is the exception you can buy off a shelf, and it is worth knowing the difference — anything hardwired, anything on a wall, and anything that needs a new outdoor outlet is licensed work.
- Can I install garden lights myself?
- Low-voltage garden lighting supplied by a plug-in transformer is sold for householder installation and is generally fine. The moment anything connects to the mains side — a new outdoor outlet, a hardwired floodlight, a wall-mounted fitting — it is licensed work, and outdoor circuits are exactly where the safety-switch requirements matter most.
Find a Electrician near you
3,996 electricians in this directory, ranked on published evidence rather than on advertising.
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General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.