The State of the Industry · 2026-Q2 · AU

Australia's HVAC sector earns strong ratings but stays largely invisible in search, with growth split down the middle

A sweep of 196 HVAC and climate services businesses reveals a sector rated highly by customers yet struggling to be found. The median performance score sits at 45.8, with just 5.6 per cent reaching Accomplished tier and 28.6 per cent off the radar entirely.

RADAR score distribution · 196 businesses2026-Q2
MEDIAN · 45.8
0255075100
The numbers that define the industry
4.8★
Median Google rating
11
Median reviews — top quartile starts at 42
60.2%
Attract under 100 organic visits/month
5.6%
Reach Accomplished — the top tier
Tier distribution
56
76
53
11
Off the radar (0–34) · 28.6% Emerging (35–54) · 38.8% Established (55–74) · 27% Accomplished (75+) · 5.6%
Findings from the sweep
Finding 01 · The reputation paradox

High ratings, thin review counts undermine trust

The cohort holds a median rating of 4.8, but the median business carries just 11 reviews. Around 30.3 per cent show this review paradox, where strong scores rest on too few reviews to carry weight, and top-quartile operators gather 42 or more. Volume, not sentiment, is the gap.

Finding 02 · Search invisibility

Most HVAC firms barely register in search

An estimated 60.2 per cent of the cohort sits in low-traffic territory, and 34.2 per cent are effectively invisible online. With median domain authority at just 8, most businesses lack the search foundations to be discovered by prospective customers. These figures are third-party estimates and should be read as approximations.

Finding 03 · Growth versus decline

A sector split almost evenly on momentum

Some 61 per cent of the cohort is growing while 36.2 per cent is declining, pointing to a widening divergence rather than uniform progress. Thirteen businesses have collapsed in visibility over the period. The gap suggests digital momentum is compounding for some and eroding for others.

Finding 04 · Website and conversion

Weak websites hold back nearly half the field

Some 44.4 per cent of the cohort ranks in the bottom band for digital presence, with WordPress the leading platform and a notable share showing no detectable CMS. Strong ratings are being squandered by sites that fail to convert interest into enquiries. The website layer is the sector's clearest fixable weakness.

State by state
RegionBusinessesMedian RADARAccomplished
TAS2 61.1
SA10 58.2
1
NT3 53.2
QLD38 51
3
WA14 47.1
2
NSW67 43.1
2
VIC46 42
2
ACT1 18.9

Smaller cohorts shown for indication only.

Technology landscape
WordPress
61.2%
Other / none detected
20.9%
Squarespace
7.7%
Wix
5.6%
Webflow
1.5%
METHODOLOGY — RADAR scores five pillars (Reputation, Authority, Digital experience, Activity, Reach) from verified public data across the 2026-Q2 HVAC & Climate Services cohort (196 businesses, AU). Figures are aggregated and anonymised; individual business data is never disclosed. Search metrics are third-party estimates shown as approximations. RADARREGISTER.COM · AN INITIATIVE OF REDFOX DIGITAL.