The short answer

Fujitsu serials are sequential, not dated. Australian and New Zealand units start with E, R or T followed by six digits, and none of those characters encode a year. Decoder sites claiming otherwise are wrong. Use your paperwork, the model number's era, or ring General Assist with the serial, they can look up the shipping date.

Find your Fujitsu's age in 4 steps

  1. Skip the serial decoders. Fujitsu is the one major brand that does not encode a manufacture date in its serial numbers. Australian and NZ serials are a letter (E, R or T) plus six sequential digits. Any site offering a Fujitsu date decoder is inventing the rule.
  2. Check paperwork first. The installer's invoice, the warranty card or the original quote gives you an install date directly. With a 5-year parts and labour warranty, that date also tells you your cover status.
  3. Ring General Assist with model and serial. The nameplate is on the side of the outdoor unit, and on the side or behind the front cover of the indoor unit (never on the remote). Fujitsu can look up the unit's shipping date from the serial, which brackets the install closely. Note Fujitsu General now trades as GENERAL in Australia, so check the current support number on their site.
  4. Date it by era markers. Refrigerant on the plate: R22 means pre-2010, and R32 means late 2013 or later. Fujitsu was the first-mover on R32 in Australia, launching three ranges of R32 wall splits from late September 2013, so an R32 Fujitsu can be dated fairly tightly. R410A is the weakest of the three, because it arrived in the early 2000s and is still fitted to some ducted systems today, so on its own it rules out the R22 era rather than pinning a year.

What the serial does and does not tell you

Independent technician resources confirm Fujitsu does not encode the manufacture date in its serials, and note that even Fujitsu itself typically supplies an ordering or shipping date rather than a build date when asked. That shipping date is still the most precise answer available, and it is usually within weeks of when your unit was installed.

Watch out for two specific traps online: decoder sites claiming characters three to six hold the year and month (contradicted by the technician resources), and a well-known Fujitsu letter-year table that is actually for Fujitsu keyboards, not air conditioners.

What the age actually means

The working rules across every brand: under 8 years old with a minor fault, repair it. Over 10 years with a compressor or refrigerant-circuit fault, price a replacement before you approve the repair, the maths usually favours the swap once efficiency gains are counted.

If the sticker says the refrigerant is R22, stop counting: Australia banned imports of new R22 equipment from July 2010, so the unit is 15+ years old. R22 itself is nearly phased out (imports end entirely in 2030), which makes regassing expensive when it is possible at all. On the next major fault, replace rather than repair.

  • Fujitsu domestic systems sold in Australia carry a 5-year full parts and labour warranty.
  • The current R32 Lifestyle and Lifestyle Next ranges arrived from 2013 onward, with expanded R32 ranges in 2024. If your unit predates the R32 era it is likely a decade old or more.

Old enough to think about replacing? See what a replacement actually costs, or get quotes from up to 3 licensed locals who can assess the unit in person.

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Sources

Fujitsu age questions

How do I decode a Fujitsu serial number?
You cannot, and that is the honest answer. Fujitsu serials in Australia are a letter (E, R or T) plus six sequential digits with no date encoded. Use your invoice, the model number's era, or call Fujitsu with the serial, they can supply the shipping date.
Where is the model number on a Fujitsu air conditioner?
On the nameplate on the side of the outdoor unit, and on the side of the indoor unit or behind the front cover near the filters. It is never on the remote control, though the remote can help identify the model generation.
My Fujitsu runs R410A. Should I replace it?
On a wall split, R410A puts your unit broadly before the R32 changeover that began in Australia in late 2013, so it is likely 10 or more years old. On a ducted system it says much less, because R410A is still fitted to some ducted equipment today. That does not mean replace it today: if it runs well, service it and keep going. But when the next significant fault arrives, price a replacement alongside the repair, because at that age the swap usually wins.