Smoke Alarm Compliance in Queensland Residential Properties
Published:
Modified:
This article was first published in July 2021 and has been reviewed and updated to reflect current requirements.
Smoke alarm laws changed for Queensland residential properties in 2017, under the Fire and Emergency Services (Domestic Smoke Alarms) Amendment Act 2016 and the Building Fire Safety (Domestic Smoke Alarms) Legislation Amendment Regulation 2016.
The changes upgraded the minimum number, type and placement of smoke alarms required in residential dwellings, based on evidence that improved smoke alarms save lives in the event of a fire.
These requirements apply to every residential dwelling, including houses, townhouses, and units and apartments, whether owner-occupied or rented.
What is a compliant smoke alarm?
All smoke alarms installed in a residential dwelling must now be:
- Photoelectric
- Interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the dwelling, so that if one activates, all activate
- Hard-wired to mains power, or powered by a non-removable 10-year battery
It is illegal to install ionisation smoke alarms, alarms with a removable battery – such as the older 9-volt type, or alarms that are not interconnected with the rest of the dwelling.
If a dwelling has existing hard-wired smoke alarms, they can only be replaced with new hard-wired alarms. A hard-wired alarm cannot be replaced with a battery-only alarm.
Where smoke alarms are required
A smoke alarm must be installed:
- On each storey of the dwelling
- In each bedroom
- In hallways that connect bedrooms to the rest of the dwelling
- Where there is no hallway, between the bedrooms and the rest of that storey
- Where a storey has no bedrooms, in the room most likely to be used as a path of travel to exit, such as a living or dining room
In most units and townhouses, this means an alarm is required in almost every room, plus each hallway.
Compliance timeline
The requirements were introduced in three stages:
- From 1 January 2017: all new dwellings, and dwellings undergoing substantial renovation
- From 1 January 2022: all rental properties, and all dwellings at the point of sale
- From 1 January 2027: all remaining owner-occupied dwellings
The first two stages have now passed. The final stage – full compliance for all owner-occupied dwellings that have not already been captured by an earlier trigger, such as sale, lease, or renovation, takes effect on 1 January 2027.
Outside of this final deadline, an alarm must also be upgraded at the point of any of the following, if it hasn’t been already:
- The alarm reaching its 10-year expiry (measured from date of manufacture, not installation)
- The dwelling being renovated
- The dwelling being sold or leased
10-year expiry
All smoke alarms expire 10 years after their manufacture date, regardless of whether they are still functioning, and must be replaced with a compliant alarm at that point. The manufacture date is printed on the alarm or on an accompanying sticker. Dwellings with alarms installed before roughly 2016 should have their alarms checked, as many will now be at or approaching this expiry.
Ongoing testing obligations
Installing compliant alarms does not remove the need for ongoing testing. For rental properties, landlords through their property manager remain responsible for testing and cleaning each smoke alarm within 30 days before the start of a tenancy, and for managing testing obligations throughout the tenancy in line with the legislation.
Further information
Further detail on smoke alarm requirements is available from the Queensland Fire Department at fire.qld.gov.au/prepare/fire/smoke-alarms.
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