Smoke Alarm Legislation for Queensland
The new legislation requiring all homes and units throughout Queensland to be fitted with smoke alarms took effect on 1 July 2007.
What do I need to do?
If your home was built before 1 July 1997, and you don’t already have smoke alarms installed, you will need to buy and install at least one 9 volt battery operated smoke alarm.
If your home was built after 1997, it should have had at least one 240 volt (hard-wired) smoke alarms installed at the time it was built. This is a requirement under the Building Code of Australia (BCA).
If you have done major renovations to your home since 1997, it should have included the installation of 240 volt (hard-wired) smoke alarms.
The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service has a number of fact sheets available to answer basic questions about the new legislation and explain how it will affect you. Further information on smoke alarms and home fire safety can be found on the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service website www.fire.qld.gov.au under the community safety section or by contacting the Queensland Government on 1300 369 003.
Fact sheets include:
- New smoke alarm legislation
- Smoke Alarm Laws - Your Questions Answered
- Smoke Alarms
- Evacuation - get out, stay out
- It’s the Law brochure
- Smoke Alarms for Hearing Impaired People
- Tenant/Owner Checklist
The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service strongly recommends, when purchasing smoke alarms, people check that the smoke alarm they are buying complies with Australian Standards. For further information go to CSIRO’s Activfire website which provides consumers and fire safety advisers with details of smoke alarms that have been verified as conforming with requirements of Australian Standard AS 3786-1993.
The Active Fire website is at www.activfire.gov.au/smokeAlarms.asp
Last Updated: 06/09/2007