What counts as a safety switch
A safety switch, or RCD (residual current device), cuts the power almost instantly if current leaks to earth, which is what happens when it flows through a person. It's different from a circuit breaker, which protects the wiring from overload.
Queensland's rules define an approved safety switch as an RCD approved for use in Queensland that trips at no more than 30 milliamps. In the NT, it's an RCD registered in the national Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS).
The rules, state by state
| Selling | Renting out | Renovating or adding work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | Seller discloses in writing; the new owner installs one within 90 days | Owner installs one within 90 days of the tenancy starting | No installation work without one, unless the job includes fitting it |
| Western Australia | RCDs on all power and lighting circuits before the title transfers | RCDs required in the switchboard, at least two | Installing RCDs is licensed contractor work |
| Victoria | No sale rule we could confirm | Circuit breakers and safety switches required since 29 March 2023 | No rule we could confirm |
| New South Wales | Recommended, not a rule we could confirm | Recorded in the condition report; a faulty one is an urgent repair | Fair Trading recommends one on every circuit |
| Northern Territory | No separate sale rule confirmed | Earlier landlord rules were scrapped on 28 May 2026 | From 1 December 2028, no electrical work without one, with narrow exceptions |
| ACT, SA and Tasmania | No rule we could confirm | No rule we could confirm | No rule we could confirm |
Queensland: disclosure, then 90 days
When a Queensland home is sold, the seller must tell the buyer in writing, on or before the day the buyer takes possession, whether an approved safety switch protects the general power outlets. If none does, the new owner has 90 days after taking possession to have one installed, with a maximum penalty of 15 penalty units.
Rentals work the same way: the owner has 90 days after the tenancy starts. And a licensed electrician can't do installation work in a home without an approved safety switch on the power outlets unless the job includes fitting one, or another listed exception such as an emergency applies. So a renovation or a new circuit is often when an older Queensland home gets its first one.
Western Australia: before the title transfers
In WA, safety switches must be properly installed to protect all circuits supplying power points and lights before a property's title is transferred on sale. Building and Energy says two is the minimum and more may be needed. Landlords must have them in the switchboard, and short-term rentals need them before guests stay.
Building and Energy also recommends testing them every three months, and says a faulty one must be replaced immediately. Fitting them, or fixing a fault found in testing, is work for a licensed electrical contractor.
Victoria, NSW and the NT
Victoria: since 29 March 2023, rentals must have a modern switchboard with circuit breakers and safety switches. If the board already takes circuit breakers, an electrician can add safety switch protection to the power and lighting circuits; older fuse boards may need replacing outright. Since 25 November 2025, a rental has to meet the standard at the time it's advertised.
NSW: NSW Fair Trading strongly recommends that homes built before 2000 have a licensed electrician check whether safety switches are fitted, and recommends them on every circuit. In a rental, the condition report records whether there's a safety switch and whether it works, and a faulty one is an urgent repair.
Northern Territory: the safety switch rules were rewritten from 28 May 2026, and the earlier landlord duties were scrapped. What's left is regulation 191: from 1 December 2028, no one may do electrical work on a home's installation, rentals included, unless an approved safety switch is installed. Connecting the home to electricity and urgent or emergency work are the only exceptions.
ACT, South Australia and Tasmania: we haven't confirmed a safety switch rule at sale, lease or renovation. Ask the electrician or your regulator rather than assuming there's none.
Selling or buying: what to do
Count what you've got
Look at the switchboard for switches with a test button, and note which circuits they cover. An electrician can confirm the details quickly.
Check your state's rule
Queensland and WA have firm rules at sale. Elsewhere it's a recommendation, but still worth knowing before a buyer asks.
Fix it before settlement where you can
In WA it has to be done before the title transfers. In Queensland the written disclosure is the must, and fitting one before sale saves the buyer the 90-day clock.
Keep the certificate
A new safety switch comes with your state's compliance certificate. Hand it over with the rest of the house papers.
What you can do, and what's licensed
You can
- Press each safety switch's test button: Building and Energy in WA suggests every three months, NSW Fair Trading at least every six.
- Reset the switch after the test.
- Note which circuits go off when you test, so you know what each switch covers.
- Disclose in writing if you're selling in Queensland.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Installing a new safety switch or adding one to a circuit.
- Replacing a faulty safety switch.
- Upgrading an old fuse board that can't take one.
- Testing that each safety switch trips fast enough.
If we were selling
We'd get an electrician to check the safety switches before the house goes on the market, whatever the state. In Queensland and WA it saves a scramble before settlement, and everywhere else it takes a question off the buyer's list. If the board is still old fuses, that's the conversation to have now, not during the cooling-off period.
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.