Smoke Alarms

From 1 January 2027 every dwelling in Queensland must have interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms in every bedroom, in every hallway connecting bedrooms to other parts of the home, and on every level. Hard-wired alarms are required for renovations and new builds; existing homes can use ten-year sealed lithium battery alarms provided they meet the same interconnection and photoelectric requirements. Most homes need an upgrade to comply.

Photoelectric alarms detect smouldering fires earlier — the type of fire that produces large smoke particles, like a couch or a mattress, and which kills most people in residential fires. Ionisation alarms are better at flaming fires but more prone to nuisance alarms from cooking. Queensland legislation specifies photoelectric for residential — they're simply the right technology for the risk profile in a home.

Yes. Interconnection means when one alarm detects smoke, every alarm in the home sounds. That's critical at night — an alarm in a remote part of the house can wake you in time even if the fire isn't in your immediate room. Interconnection is done either by a wired link between alarms or by wireless interconnection for retrofits where wiring isn't practical.

Yes. Wireless-interconnected ten-year sealed lithium battery alarms are a clean retrofit for existing homes — each alarm runs on its own permanent battery, and they're paired wirelessly so they all sound together. For renovations and new work the hard-wired option is used because the cabling is already exposed.

Smoke alarms have a ten-year service life regardless of type. After that the sensor chamber degrades and detection performance falls below the standard. Every alarm has a manufacture date printed on it — the team checks dates during installation visits and lets you know which alarms in your home will reach end of life before the next milestone.

Every bedroom, every hallway leading to bedrooms, and at least one alarm on every level of the home. Stairwells need an alarm at the top. Kitchens and bathrooms are avoided because steam and cooking trigger nuisance alarms. The team plans positions during the quote visit and explains the legislation requirement for your specific layout.

Yes. A Certificate of Testing and Compliance is issued for hard-wired smoke alarm work, and a written record is provided showing the model, location and manufacture date of each alarm — useful for landlord compliance, insurance and selling the home. The team also tests every alarm with smoke aerosol before leaving.