What a compliant smoke alarm looks like
Each alarm must be photoelectric and marked with Australian Standard 3786-2014, with no ionisation sensor. It must be less than 10 years old, work when tested and be interconnected with every other alarm in the home.
The interconnection can be wired, wireless or a mix of both. Power comes from hardwiring to the mains, or from a sealed battery that lasts at least 10 years. Existing alarms count, as long as each one meets every one of these points.
Do you have to hardwire them?
No. Sealed 10-year battery alarms with wireless interconnection comply. The one exception is an alarm that is already hardwired, which must be replaced with another hardwired alarm.
Hardwired 240V alarms must be connected by a licensed electrician, who issues a Certificate of Testing and Compliance. Sealed battery alarms can be fitted by the owner. The Queensland Government lists claiming that only an electrician can install them as a misleading sales tactic.
If you are selling your home
If a sale contract is signed, the seller must bring the home up to the standard before the property transfers. That has applied since 2022, and it is the seller's job, not the buyer's.
The seller also has to tell the buyer in writing whether compliant alarms are installed, and declare it on the Form 24 transfer form.
What happens if a home does not comply
The Queensland Fire Department is the regulator. An owner who does not install compliant alarms can be fined 2 penalty units on the spot, which is $345.40 at the value from 1 July 2026, and up to 5 penalty units in court.
Interconnection matters because an alarm going off in one bedroom also sounds in the others, so everyone in the house hears it.
Where to start with your own alarms
Check the manufacture date printed on each alarm, and replace any that are 10 years old or more. Press the test button on one alarm and listen for the others. If they do not all sound, the alarms are not interconnected.
Then count the bedrooms, the hallways outside them and the storeys, and compare that with how many alarms you have. Our guide to how many smoke alarms you need goes through it room by room.
As a guide from our own jobs, a typical four-bedroom Townsville home with one hardwired alarm in the hallway usually needs six alarms in total to meet the 2027 standard. That is one in each bedroom, plus the hallways that connect them.