What a compliant Queensland alarm looks like
- AS 3786-2014 marked on it, as the Queensland Fire Department advises.
- A photoelectric sensor, and no ionisation sensor at all.
- Less than 10 years old on the day it goes up.
- Working when you press the test button.
- Interconnected, so when one sounds, every alarm in the home sounds.
- Powered by the home's electricity (hardwired), or by a built-in battery you can't remove that's designed to last at least 10 years.
Where the alarms have to go
Queensland wants an alarm inside every bedroom, not just in the hall outside. You also need one in each hallway or area that joins the bedrooms to the rest of the home, and at least one on every storey.
On a storey with no bedrooms, such as a downstairs living level, the alarm goes on the most likely path out of the home. Three bedrooms off one hallway on one level means at least four linked alarms.
Hardwired or wireless: who can fit them
| Hardwired (240V) | Wireless, sealed 10-year battery | |
|---|---|---|
| Power | Mains, with a backup battery for blackouts | A built-in battery you can't remove, designed to last at least 10 years |
| Who installs it | A licensed electrician, every time | You can, according to the Queensland Fire Department |
Selling, renting or renovating before 2027
The deadline for everyone is 1 January 2027, but plenty of homes were caught earlier. Since 1 January 2022, the same rules have applied the moment an owner signs a contract to sell, and whenever a new tenancy starts or an existing one is renewed.
Renovations have been covered since 2017. If the work needs building approval and, together with any approved work in the previous 3 years, covers more than half the home's volume, the alarm rules apply straight away.
Selling? You must tell the buyer in writing, on or before the possession date, whether compliant smoke alarms are installed.
Landlords: before each tenancy, and during it
Within 30 days before the tenancy starts
Test and clean every smoke alarm, and replace any flat or nearly flat batteries (Fire Services Act 1990, sections 148B, 148C and 148E). The Residential Tenancies Authority says the same applies before a lease is renewed.
Give notice before you go in
The tenant gets an entry notice 48 hours before you enter to install, maintain, test or replace smoke alarms.
Don't hand it to the tenant
Landlords and property managers can't pass their smoke alarm obligations on. The tenant's part is set by law: test and clean each alarm at least once every 12 months, and replace flat or nearly flat batteries.
The safety switch catch for hardwired alarms
Queensland's Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 says a licensed electrician must not do installation work in a home with no approved safety switch protecting the power points, unless the job includes installing one or another listed exception applies, such as an emergency.
So if your switchboard has no safety switch (an RCD, which cuts the power fast when current leaks to earth), a hardwired alarm job may grow to include one. Ask about it when you book rather than on the day.
What you can do, and what's licensed work
You can
- Put up wireless alarms with a non-removable 10-year battery, which the Queensland Fire Department says homeowners can install.
- Press each test button and check that every alarm sounds together.
- Read the date on each alarm and plan replacements before any reaches 10 years.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Removing or replacing any hardwired (240V) smoke alarm.
- Wiring new alarms into the mains, or linking hardwired alarms together.
- Adding a safety switch if the switchboard doesn't have one.
Where we'd start
Count your bedrooms, hallways and storeys, then look at what's on the ceiling now. If any alarm is hardwired, book a licensed electrician who does smoke alarm upgrades well before the deadline, and ask them to check for a safety switch in the same visit. If everything runs on batteries, sealed 10-year wireless alarms are the simpler path, as long as each one is photoelectric, marked AS 3786-2014 and linked to 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.