Why linking them matters
A fire that starts in the lounge at night can fill the far end of the house with smoke before the alarm outside the bedrooms picks it up. Linked alarms mean the one nearest the fire wakes everyone, wherever they're sleeping. ACT Fire and Rescue says interconnection gives everyone in the house the best chance to get out.
Wired or wireless?
| Wired (240 volt) | Wireless (radio) | |
|---|---|---|
| Power | Mains power, with a backup battery | Usually a sealed battery rated for 10 years |
| How they link | A cable between alarms, run through the ceiling | Radio signals between alarms, no cable |
| Who installs | A licensed electrician | Battery-only models can go up without an electrician, according to Victorian and Queensland fire services |
| Suits | New builds, renovations, and homes that already have hardwired alarms | Finished ceilings with no easy cable path |
| Watch for | In Queensland and the ACT, hardwired alarms must be replaced with hardwired ones | Walls and floors affect range, so test that each alarm sets off the rest |
Mixing wired and wireless, and why brand matters
You don't always have to choose. Some hardwired alarms can join a wireless group through a built-in radio or an add-on module. Red says its R10RF links with up to 20 Red alarms, mixing 240 volt hardwired and 10 year wireless models. Brooks' EIB3016 needs an add-on SmartLINK module to link wirelessly, and Legrand's 643088 can use either wired or wireless interconnection.
Plan on one brand for the whole house. In the makers' information we've read, alarms link within that maker's own range: Red with Red, Quell with its listed Quell models, CAVIUS within its Wireless Family. CAVIUS also says wireless range depends on the building materials and should be tested at every install.
Where the rules require interconnection
Queensland: by 1 January 2027 every home, townhouse and unit, owner-occupied ones included, needs interconnected photoelectric alarms. Wireless alarms with a non-removable 10-year battery can be installed yourself. If your current alarms are hardwired, the replacements must be hardwired too, and fitted by an electrician.
Victoria: homes built or largely renovated after 1 May 2014 that need more than one alarm must have them all interconnected. Western Australia: where more than one alarm is installed they must be interconnected, unless the home was built under a building permit applied for before 1 May 2015. ACT: a multi-level home needs an alarm on each level, interconnected.
Tasmania: Tasmania Fire Service's timeline says alarms have had to be hard-wired and interconnected since 1 May 2014 where there's more than one, but doesn't say whether that covers every home. We haven't confirmed interconnection rules for New South Wales, South Australia or the Northern Territory. Smoke alarm laws in every state has what we do know.
What you can fit, and what needs an electrician
You can
- Put up battery-only wireless interconnected alarms where your state allows it, following the maker's instructions.
- Test the whole set after fitting: press one alarm's button and check every other alarm sounds.
- Write each alarm's manufacture date on your calendar for its 10-year replacement.
- Stick to one brand so every alarm can join the same group.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Installing, moving or replacing any 240 volt alarm.
- Running interconnection cable between hardwired alarms.
- Adding a wireless module to a hardwired alarm.
- Checking alarm positions against your state's rules.
Where we'd start
If you already have hardwired alarms, we'd keep the system hardwired and have an electrician interconnect them, adding wireless modules where a cable can't reach. If you only have battery alarms and the ceilings are finished, one brand of wireless interconnected photoelectric alarms is the simplest way to link every room. In Queensland, we wouldn't leave it to the last weeks before the deadline.
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.