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QRFS Home > Learn About Safety > Smoke Alarms > Legislation

Smoke Alarm Legislation for Queensland

The new legislation requiring all homes and units throughout Queensland to be fitted with smoke alarms will take 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 in this website under the community safety section.

Legislation amending the Fire legislation was passed by Parliament on 2 November 2006.
                                                     
Click here for a summary of the main provisions of the Fire and Rescue Service Amendment Act 2006 (PDF / 99 KB)

QFRS 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 http://www.activfire.gov.au/smokeAlarms.asp

Smoke Detection Systems

Recent changes to the Fire and Rescue Service Act 1990 require that all homes and units throughout Queensland must be fitted with smoke alarms.  This mainly affects homes built before 1997 since, from that date, all new homes and those substantially renovated, must have hardwired smoke alarms installed.

QFRS is aware that some smoke detection systems incorporated into home security systems, whilst complying with the intention of the smoke alarm legislation, may not be fully compliant.

Where there is any doubt as to whether these systems meet the requirements of the legislation, homeowners should contact the Regional Manager Community Safety for advice.

As with all legislation, Queensland Fire and Rescue Service will be reviewing the new legislation relating to smoke alarms, to reflect the needs of the community and the highest levels of safety for all Queenslanders.

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Last updated 15 June 2007