ONLY WORKING SMOKE ALARMS SAVE LIVES

By 1 January 2022 all homes being sold or leased must have photoelectric smoke alarms fitted.

Smoke Alarm Laws

An important step in ensuring your family’s fire safety is having working smoke alarms.

In 2017, the first stage of new smoke alarm laws was introduced in Queensland requiring all residences be fitted with interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms in all bedrooms, hallways and on each storey of a home. All houses and units approved to be built or substantially renovated after 1 January 2017 must comply.

In stage two, from 1 January 2022, all houses or units being sold or leased, or existing leases renewed, must comply before the next lease that commences.

With this deadline fast approaching, it is now time for homeowners and landlords to act. Not only will this greatly enhance the safety of your family, it will ensure you aren’t caught out by circumstances beyond your control.

As a landlord if your property is not compliant on time you won’t be able to legally rent it, resulting in potential:

  • Loss of tenants and rental income
  • Penalties for non-compliance
  • Insurance implications.

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Installation requirements

The laws require smoke alarms in residences to be:

  • Photoelectric type only
  • Hard wired to the electricity supply (and installed by a licenced electrician) or non-removable 10-year battery powered alarms can be installed in place
  • Interconnected to every other smoke alarm
  • Installed in each bedroom
  • Installed in hallways serving bedrooms and
  • Installed in the exit path of every storey not containing bedrooms.

Testing and maintenance

Smoke alarms must be maintained through regular cleaning and testing, which can be carried out by pushing the ‘test’ button. Cleaning should be done in line with manufacturer instructions, which usually requires vacuuming the exterior vents. Testing and cleaning should be done at least once every 12 months.

To test a smoke alarm, press the ‘test’ button.


The three implementation stages

1 January 2017 – Houses and units approved to be built or substantially renovated after 1 January 2017 must comply.

1 January 2022 – All houses or units being sold or leased, or existing leases renewed, need to comply before the next lease that commences.

1 January 2027 – All other dwellings must comply.

For more information visit QFES


What type of smoke alarm do you have in your home?

There are two types of smoke alarms, photoelectric and ionisation. Ionisation smoke alarms (the older type) can be slow to react and may not give you or your loved ones enough time to escape.

That’s why there’s new legislation to install photoelectric smoke alarms, which have been proven to be more effective at detecting smoke from a range of domestic type fires. The new laws aim to protect the lives of every resident, by creating safer homes and one unified smoke alarm system

Upgrading your smoke alarms today could save a life.

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