Queensland Smoke Alarm Laws 2027: What Every Home Needs

Queensland's smoke alarm laws reach every home on 1 January 2027. Since 2022 the full requirement has applied only when a home is sold or a tenancy starts or is renewed. From that date it applies to all private homes, whether or not anything changes hands. If you own a home that has not been sold or leased since 2021, this deadline is the one that matters to you. If you would rather have an electrician handle it, see our smoke alarm installation on the Gold Coast.

This guide sets out the smoke alarm laws for QLD in 2027 as the legislation and the Queensland Government state them: which alarms comply, where they go, whether they must be hardwired, whether you can fit them yourself, and what landlords, tenants and sellers each have to do. Every rule below is linked to its source.

What the QLD smoke alarm laws require by 2027

The Queensland Government's smoke alarms page puts it plainly: "All existing private homes, townhouses, and units require interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms by 1 January 2027."

The rules are being phased in under the Fire Services Act 1990:

• Since 1 January 2022, the requirements have applied when a home is sold or when a tenancy starts or is renewed (s 147Z(2)).
• From 1 January 2027, the transitional rules expire and the requirements apply to all homes (ss 147Y, 147Z).

So yes, smoke alarms are compulsory in Queensland, and from 2027 the compliant kind is compulsory everywhere, not only at sale or lease.

What makes a smoke alarm compliant

A compliant alarm has to meet all of these. The first three come from the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (s 55E), the rest from the Fire Services Act (s 147Z(5)) and the regulation (s 55D):

• Complies with AS 3786-2014, the Australian Standard for smoke alarms.
• Contains a photoelectric sensor.
• Does not also contain an ionisation sensor. A combined photoelectric and ionisation alarm does not comply.
• Was manufactured less than 10 years before it is installed.
• Is interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the home, so when one sounds, they all sound.
• Is powered by hardwiring to the home's electricity supply, or by a battery that is built in so it cannot be removed and is made to power the alarm for at least 10 years.

Interconnection is easy to miss. A house with a few separate battery alarms, even photoelectric ones, does not meet the 2027 rule until every alarm is linked.

Where smoke alarms need to go in a Queensland home

Section 55C of the Building Fire Safety Regulation sets the locations. On each storey, smoke alarms go:

1. In every bedroom.
2. In the hallway, where one or more bedrooms open onto a hallway.
3. On the most likely path to an exit, for a storey with no bedrooms.

The Queensland Government's guide to buying smoke alarms sums this up as "in every bedroom / in hallways that connect bedrooms / on each level of the home".

The same section also sets clearances. An alarm must not be within 300 mm of a light fitting or of the corner where a ceiling meets a wall, and not within 400 mm of an air-conditioner air outlet or the blades of a ceiling fan. In a bedroom with a fan and a downlight, that leaves less room than you might expect, so plan positions before you buy.

Do smoke alarms have to be hardwired in QLD?

Not necessarily. The regulation (s 55D) allows either a hardwired alarm or one with a sealed battery made to last at least 10 years. Wireless interconnected alarms on sealed 10-year batteries can comply.

There is one exception that matters. Under the Fire Services Act (s 148A(3)), "If the smoke alarm being replaced was hardwired to the domestic dwelling's electricity supply, the replacement smoke alarm must be hardwired to the dwelling's electricity supply." If your home already has hardwired alarms, their replacements must be hardwired as well.

Can I install my own smoke alarms?

It depends on the alarm. The Queensland Government's buying guide says: "There are compliant smoke alarms available (e.g. wireless alarms) which don't need electrical work to be carried out during installation. A licensed electrician will need to be engaged if the installation involves electrical work." It also lists "saying a licensed electrician must perform the installation" as a misleading claim when the alarm needs no electrical work.

In practice:

• Wireless alarms with a sealed 10-year battery need no electrical work, so a homeowner can fit them, provided the positions and clearances above are met.
• Hardwired alarms are different. Installing electrical equipment and connecting it to supply wiring is electrical work under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (s 18), and only a licensed electrician may do it (s 55). That includes replacing an existing hardwired alarm.

If you are replacing hardwired alarms in an older home, the switchboard can come into it. Queensland's Electrical Safety Office notes in Electricity in the home that since 2002, licensed electricians have not been permitted to do electrical installation work on a home without safety switches unless the work also includes fitting one (some exceptions apply). If your home still runs on an old fuse board, see how a fuse box compares with a modern switchboard, and read the signs your switchboard needs upgrading before you book.

Landlord and tenant duties

For rentals, the rules have applied to every new or renewed tenancy since 1 January 2022. The duties split clearly, according to the Residential Tenancies Authority and the Fire Services Act (s 148B):

• The owner makes the home compliant. The Queensland Government states: "Making the dwelling compliant is the responsibility of the owner or landlord." The RTA adds: "A property manager/owner must not pass on their obligations to the tenant."
• The landlord tests before the tenancy. "Property managers/owners are required to test smoke alarms within 30 days before the start date of a tenancy."
• The tenant tests and cleans during the tenancy. "This must be done at least once every 12 months."
• The landlord gives notice before work. An entry notice is required 48 hours before work to install, maintain, test or replace smoke alarms.

Smoke alarms are not the only electrical duty on a rental. The Electrical Safety Office notes that since 2006, domestic rental properties have required safety switches on the power points. Our guide to electrical safety at home covers how to test them.

Selling a home: the Form 24

The requirements have applied on sale since 1 January 2022. The Queensland Government's buying guide states: "Property sellers must continue to lodge a Form 24 stating the requirements of the law have been met." If you plan to sell, make the home compliant before you sign the contract so the Form 24 statement is true.

Is there a smoke alarm compliance certificate in QLD?

People search for one, so here is what the law actually says. We found no legal requirement for a separate "smoke alarm compliance certificate" in the Fire Services Act, the Building Fire Safety Regulation, the RTA's guidance or the Queensland Government's pages. With no such requirement found, there is no legal validity period to quote for one either.

Two documents do exist:

• The Form 24 that sellers lodge, covered above.
• A certificate of testing and safety, where an electrician does electrical work such as installing hardwired alarms. Under the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (s 208), the licensed electrical contractor must give you this certificate as soon as practicable after testing the work. It names who the work was for, the equipment tested, the test date and the contractor's licence number. See our FAQ on what a certificate of testing and safety is.

Replacing smoke alarms at 10 years

The Fire Services Act (s 148A) sets two replacement rules:

• Replace each alarm within 10 years after the day it was manufactured. The clock runs from manufacture, not from installation.
• Replace an alarm immediately if it does not operate when tested.

Because a new alarm must also be less than 10 years old when installed, confirm when any alarm you buy was manufactured before you fit it.

A checklist before 1 January 2027

Walk through your home with these questions:

1. Is every alarm photoelectric only? Any ionisation or combined alarm has to go.
2. Is there an alarm in every bedroom, in each hallway that connects bedrooms, and on every storey?
3. Are the alarms interconnected, so testing one sets off the rest?
4. Is each alarm hardwired or on a sealed 10-year battery?
5. Was every alarm manufactured less than 10 years ago?
6. Do the positions clear light fittings, ceiling corners, air-conditioner outlets and fan blades?
7. If any existing alarm is hardwired, is a licensed electrician booked to replace it with a hardwired one?

If you answer no to any of the first six, the home does not yet meet the 2027 rule.

Sources: Queensland Government smoke alarms and buying-smoke-alarms pages, the Residential Tenancies Authority, the Fire Services Act 1990, the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008, the Electrical Safety Act 2002 and the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026, all linked above. This is general information, not legal advice. Last verified 30 September 2026.

Getting your home compliant

Wireless alarms suit some homes, and the law lets you fit those yourself. Hardwired alarms, and any home that already has them, need a licensed electrician. Ryder Electrical Services holds QLD electrical licence 92423 and is a Master Electricians member, and our workmanship carries a 10-year warranty. We install and interconnect compliant smoke alarms, and we give you the certificate of testing and safety the law requires for the electrical work.