Smoke Alarms

---

All existing private homes, townhouses, and units require interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms by 1 January 2027. All registered caravans and motorhomes must also be fitted with a photoelectric smoke alarm.

Legislation introduced on 1 January 2017 requires all smoke alarms to comply with Australian Standard 3786-2014, and requires pre-existing smoke alarms to be replaced with interconnected smoke alarms if the smoke alarm has expired; does not work anymore and/or converting the home into a rental property.

Smoke alarms must be installed:

• on each storey
• in each bedroom
• in hallways that connect bedrooms and the rest of the dwelling
  - if there is no hallway, between the bedroom and other parts of the storey; and
  - if there are no bedrooms on a storey, at least one smoke alarm must be installed in the most likely path of travel to exit the dwelling.

Smoke alarms should be regularly dusted or vacuumed to make sure they continue working properly.

Although accidental alarms may go off when there is no fire, it can it can  become dangerous and put you and/or your family at risk if you remove the alarm batteries or disable an interconnected system to silence the alarm.

Make sure you regularly test your smoke alarms to ensure they are working correctly.

Smoke alarms must: 

• be photoelectric.
• be interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the dwelling so all activate and go off together.
• comply with the Standard AS3786-2014 which is marked on the body of the alarm. To locate the marking, you may need to remove from the bracket to look underneath.
• not contain an ionisation sensor.
• be hardwired installed by a licensed electrician (e.g. 240v) to the mains power supply with a secondary power source (i.e. non removable 10 year battery) 

All homes or units being sold, will require photoelectric, interconnected smoke alarms.

The obligations on property sellers are triggered by the date the initial sale contract is signed.

When a contract of sale is signed after 31/12/2021, the seller is obligated to upgrade the dwelling to the updated interconnected domestic smoke alarm standard prior to the dwelling being transferred.

Within 30 days before the start of a tenancy, the lessor/landlord must test and clean each smoke alarm in the home.

Some real estate agents may outsource smoke alarm maintenance to another company with associated fees paid by the landlord.  The real estate may request a "certificate of compliance" from these companies as proof of service. This is not a legal requirement but may be part of the real estate agent's internal process.

Property owners/Landlords will receive an infringement notice if they are proven to have not complied with the legislation.