Who the rule covers
It isn't only houses. NSW requires smoke alarms in homes, apartments, rental properties, relocatable homes, caravans and anywhere else people sleep. The requirement was extended to every existing home back in 2006, so an older place gets no exemption.
The minimum is a working alarm on each level. The owner is responsible for that, and for making sure every alarm complies with AS 3786, the Australian Standard for smoke alarms.
What NSW landlords have to do
Check every alarm once a year
Each rental smoke alarm gets checked annually, and that's on the landlord.
Put in new removable batteries each year
Any alarm that takes a removable battery gets a fresh one every year. Sealed alarms skip this step, but they still have an end date.
Replace alarms by 10 years
Each alarm comes down within 10 years of the date it was made, or sooner if the manufacturer says so. The build date is usually on a sticker on the side or back.
Fix faults within two business days
Once you know an alarm isn't working, you have two business days to repair or replace it.
When the tenant can call an electrician
If a hardwired alarm fails and the landlord hasn't acted within two business days, NSW lets the tenant arrange the repair. It must go through a licensed electrician, whoever books it.
NSW Fair Trading treats any electrical fault in a rental, before or during a tenancy, as an urgent repair. When the work's done, the electrician gives a uniquely numbered Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW), and a tenant who receives one must pass a copy to the owner or agent.
What we couldn't confirm for NSW
Fire and Rescue NSW's smoke alarm page wasn't readable when we checked, so we haven't confirmed the NSW rules on hardwired or interconnected alarms in new or renovated homes. If you're building or doing major work, ask your builder or electrician which rule covers your plans, and get the answer in writing.
We also haven't seen an official NSW page that names a required sensor type, so we don't state one here. Photoelectric smoke alarms explained covers why fire services in other states recommend them.
Before you say yes to a hardwired alarm job
- Can I have your licence number to look up on Service NSW's licence check?
- Do the new alarms comply with AS 3786, and are they the same power type as the old ones?
- Will you put my email on the CCEW so the eCert system sends me a copy?
- What's the manufacture date on each alarm, so I know when they're due?
- If one fails in a rental, can you come back inside two business days?
What you can do yourself, and what you can't
You can
- Press the test button on each alarm.
- Change a removable battery.
- Write down each alarm's manufacture date.
- Note visible electrical hazards on a rental condition report, as NSW Fair Trading recommends.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Repairing or replacing a hardwired smoke alarm.
- Moving an alarm or adding a new hardwired one.
- Any electrical maintenance beyond changing a light globe, in NSW Fair Trading's words.
If it were our rental
We'd set a calendar reminder for the yearly check, record each alarm's manufacture date on the condition report, and line up a licensed electrician before one's needed, so a failed hardwired alarm is sorted inside two business days. If you own the home and live in it, test the alarms, check the dates and make sure every level has one that works.
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.