Which way will your home go?
| What you've got now | What the rules mean for you | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardwired alarms (240 volt, wired to the house power) | Replace them with hardwired, interconnected photoelectric alarms. That's licensed work for an electrician | |
| Only battery alarms, or none | Wireless interconnected alarms with a non-removable 10-year battery are allowed, and you can fit them yourself | |
| Alarms with an ionisation sensor | Replace them. Every required alarm must be photoelectric with no ionisation sensor | |
| Alarms more than 10 years old | Replace them. Queensland requires replacement within 10 years of the date of manufacture |
What makes the Gold Coast job different
A city of units
At the 2021 Census, 21.7% of occupied Gold Coast homes were flats or apartments and 20.6% were townhouses or semi-detached. The deadline covers every one of them, and the alarms inside each unit have to sound together.
A third of homes are rented
33.8% of occupied homes were rented in 2021. Rentals have needed compliant alarms at each new or renewed tenancy since 1 January 2022. The 2027 deadline catches everything else, including homes the owners live in themselves.
Queenslanders and the storey rule
Southport's older streets still have Queenslanders from around 1900, raised on stumps. An alarm is needed on every storey, so if the space underneath has been closed in as living area, it counts as a level too. On a storey without bedrooms, the alarm goes on the most likely path out of the house.
Storm season sits right before the deadline
The Christmas 2023 storms damaged 400 Gold Coast houses and left tens of thousands of Queenslanders without power for days. Hardwired alarms carry a backup battery for exactly that, which is one more reason to test them now rather than in late December.
Where the alarms have to go
In every bedroom. In the hallway or area joining the bedrooms to the rest of the home. On every storey. Each one must meet AS 3786-2014, be under 10 years old when it's installed, work when tested, and be interconnected, so one alarm going off sets off the lot.
A two-bedroom unit on one level often needs three alarms: one in each bedroom and one in the hallway. A big split-level home can need many more, so count rooms before you shop. The smoke alarm checker walks through your situation.
Landlords and sellers on the Gold Coast
Landlords must test and clean every alarm, and replace any flat battery, within 30 days before a tenancy starts or is renewed. They can't hand that duty to the tenant, and they need to give 48 hours' notice before coming in to install, test or replace alarms. During the lease, the tenant tests and cleans the alarms at least once every 12 months.
Selling? You must tell the buyer in writing, on or before the possession date, whether compliant alarms are installed. If you're also short a safety switch, the buyer will find that out in the same paperwork, so it's worth fixing both in one electrician's visit.
Your part, and the electrician's
You can
- Fit wireless interconnected alarms with a sealed 10-year battery, if you have no hardwired ones.
- Check the manufacture date on each alarm, usually printed on the back or side.
- Test every alarm with its button and vacuum off dust and cobwebs.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Replacing hardwired alarms, which must stay hardwired.
- Interconnecting mains-powered alarms, by cable or wireless modules.
- Running new cable where an extra alarm is needed on a hardwired system.
- Giving you a certificate of testing and compliance for the wiring work.
If it were our place on the coast
We'd look at the alarms this weekend: type, date, and whether any are hardwired. If even one is hardwired, we'd book an electrician who does smoke alarm work every week now, before the December holidays shrink everyone's calendar. If they're all battery alarms, we'd buy wireless interconnected 10-year alarms, fit them, and test that pressing one sets off the rest.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.