Smoke Alarm Compliance & Upgrades

To comply with new Smoke Alarm legislation, introduced on 1 January, 2017 landlords are responsible for the installation of photoelectric smoke alarms.

Any smoke alarms manufactured more than 10 years ago or smoke alarms that do not operate properly, must be replaced with photoelectric smoke alarms that comply with Australian Standard 3786–2014.

Landlords and renters 1 January 2022

From 1 January 2022, at the commencement of a new lease or lease renewal, property must meet the requirements of the domestic smoke alarm legislation. This may involve installing interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms. 

30 days before the start of a tenancy in a domestic property, the lessor/landlord must test and clean the smoke alarms.

Tenants must test and clean each smoke alarm in the dwelling, at least once every 12 months.

You do not need to be qualified or licenced to clean or test a domestic smoke alarm. Testing and cleaning should be done ion accordance with the manufacturers manual which is simple and easy to do.

Owner occupiers 1 January 2027

All existing private homes, townhouses and units will require photoelectric interconnected smoke alarms. These must be either a hardwired (eg. 240v) or non-removable 10 year battery powered type alarm.

The legislation requires smoke alarms must be installed in the following locations:

• • on each level
  • in each bedroom
  • in hallways that connect bedrooms to the rest of the property
  • if there are no bedrooms on a level, at least one smoke alarm at the designated exit