Which rule your Melbourne home falls under
Terraces, Edwardians and postwar homes
Inner-city terraces from the 1850s to 1890s, Camberwell and Caulfield's Edwardian homes, and the Housing Commission houses of the late 1940s to early 1970s all predate 1 August 1997. Standalone battery alarms meet the rule, unless a big renovation since has changed that.
Homes from the late 1990s to 2014
Point Cook only started developing in the late 1990s and grew from 1,738 people in 2001 to 32,143 in 2011. Homes like these, built after 1 August 1997, need mains-powered alarms with a battery backup.
Homes built since 1 May 2014
Point Cook more than doubled again to 66,781 people by 2021, so many of its homes were built after 1 May 2014. Where more than one alarm is needed, they must be interconnected so they all sound together.
Rentals
At the 2021 Census, 30.2% of Greater Melbourne's occupied homes were rented. Since 25 November 2025, rental providers must arrange a smoke alarm safety check every year, for every rental agreement.
Where do the alarms have to go?
Fire Rescue Victoria says the law needs at least one alarm on each level of a home, placed between each sleeping area and the rest of the house. Double-storey townhouses and terraces need one upstairs and one down at the very least, and a hallway that links several bedrooms is the usual spot.
If an older home has had a second storey or a new wing added, ask whether the work counted as a major renovation. The 2014 interconnection rule covers homes largely renovated after that date, not just new builds.
What Victoria's fire services recommend, beyond the minimum
A battery alarm may be legal in a 1980s Melbourne home, but the CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria recommend going further: alarms on 240 volt power with battery backup, or sealed 10 year battery alarms, interconnected so every alarm sounds when one does.
On the type of sensor, Victoria's fire services take a different line from some states. They say the number, location and interconnection of working alarms matter more than whether they're photoelectric or ionisation, and note that dual sensor alarms combine both. Our search found no Victorian rule requiring photoelectric alarms.
Whatever you have, Fire Rescue Victoria advises replacing every alarm after ten years. The manufacture date is usually printed on the alarm itself.
Your part, and the electrician's
You can
- Test each alarm once a month by holding the button until it beeps. A broom handle reaches high ceilings.
- Change replaceable batteries every year, and never pull one out to stop a false alarm.
- Fit wireless interconnected battery alarms in a pre-1997 home, if that's the route you choose.
- Check the manufacture date on each alarm and note any older than ten years.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Installing, moving or replacing any 240 volt alarm.
- Interconnecting mains-powered alarms, which Victoria's fire services say must be done by an electrician.
- New cable so an alarm can go in a hallway or upstairs where none was wired before.
- Issuing a Certificate of Electrical Safety for the wiring work.
What we'd do in a Melbourne home
Start with the build year and the dates on the alarms. If the home is post-1997 and the alarms are hardwired, keep them hardwired and have an electrician replace and interconnect them in one visit. In an older home, we'd still go beyond the battery minimum and interconnect them, as Victoria's fire services recommend. Landlords, line up the yearly smoke alarm check with the 2-yearly electrical check so one visit covers both when they fall due together.
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.