QLD Smoke Alarm Laws 2027: Interconnected Smoke Alarms for Holiday Rentals

From 1 January 2027, every home in Queensland must have interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms. That includes holiday homes, Airbnb apartments and granny flats, not just long-term rentals. If you let your property to guests on the Gold Coast, your Christmas and New Year bookings will run across the deadline, so now is the time to upgrade.

This guide explains what Queensland's smoke alarm law requires, where the alarms must go, and what holiday-rental owners should do before January. It's general information as at November 2026. Check the Queensland Fire Department FAQ for the official detail.

QLD smoke alarm laws: the timeline

Queensland brought in the new rules in stages under the 2016 smoke alarm reforms:

• 1 January 2017: new homes and substantially renovated homes.
• 1 January 2022: homes being sold, or leased under a new or renewed tenancy.
• 1 January 2027: all remaining homes, including owner-occupied homes and holiday homes.

If your property has had a long-term or mid-term tenant on a residential tenancy agreement since 2022, it should already comply. If it has only ever been a holiday home or used by you, 1 January 2027 is your deadline.

Does the smoke alarm law apply to Airbnb and holiday rentals?

Yes. The requirement applies to every domestic dwelling: houses, townhouses, units, apartments and secondary dwellings such as granny flats (Residential Tenancies Authority). There's no exemption for short stays. From 1 January 2027 at the latest, a Gold Coast holiday rental needs compliant, interconnected alarms like any other home.

Holiday rentals arguably need them more. Guests sleep in an unfamiliar building and don't know the exits, and a fire in one bedroom has to wake everyone. That's exactly what interconnection is for.

What the law requires

Every required smoke alarm must:

• be photoelectric and comply with Australian Standard AS 3786-2014 (look for the marking on the alarm)
• not contain an ionisation sensor
• be less than 10 years old from its manufacture date
• work when tested
• be interconnected with every other required alarm, so when one sounds, they all sound. Wired or wireless interconnection are both allowed.
• be hardwired to mains power, or powered by a non-removable 10-year battery

New builds and major renovations need hardwired 240-volt alarms. If your existing alarms are hardwired, replace them with hardwired alarms. If they're battery alarms, you can replace them with 10-year non-removable battery alarms.

Where smoke alarms must go

• In every bedroom
• In hallways connecting bedrooms to the rest of the home. With no hallway, in the room between the bedrooms and the rest of the home.
• On every storey. On a storey with no bedrooms, at least one alarm in the path out of the building.

Where practicable, alarms go on the ceiling, and not:

• within 300 mm of the corner where the ceiling meets a wall
• within 300 mm of a light fitting
• within 400 mm of an air-conditioning supply vent
• within 400 mm of ceiling fan blades

If ceiling mounting isn't practicable, mount the alarm on a wall 100 mm to 300 mm below the ceiling, and more than 300 mm from any corner.

Gold Coast holiday homes often have air conditioning and ceiling fans in every bedroom, so placement takes some thought. A licensed electrician or smoke alarm specialist will lay it out for you.

Apartments: what the owner is responsible for

In a unit building, the alarms inside your apartment are usually your responsibility as the owner. Building-wide fire systems in corridors and common areas are usually the body corporate's. Check with your building manager what's already installed in your unit before you book a contractor. Our guide Can a body corporate ban Airbnb in Queensland? covers what else the building controls.

Do you need a smoke alarm compliance certificate in QLD?

Queensland law sets what alarms you need, not a certificate to prove it. Even so, a dated report from a licensed electrician or smoke alarm company showing what was installed, where and when is worth keeping. Insurers, buyers, property managers and future tenants may ask for evidence, and a report is the simplest way to show your property complies.

Testing and maintenance

• Long-term and mid-term tenancies: the owner or property manager must test the alarms and replace any flat batteries within 30 days before a tenancy starts or is renewed. Tenants then test and clean them at least once every 12 months.
• Holiday rentals: there's no tenant to do the yearly test, so build it into your routine. Test every alarm before each peak season, and check none have been covered, removed or disconnected after a stay.
• Replace at 10 years: any alarm 10 or more years past its manufacture date, or one that fails a test, must be replaced.

Cleaning is simple. Follow the manufacturer's instructions, which usually means a gentle vacuum around the vents. No qualification is needed to test or clean a domestic smoke alarm.

Holiday-rental smoke alarm checklist

• Count the bedrooms, hallways and storeys, and work out how many alarms you need
• Check every existing alarm: photoelectric, AS 3786-2014, under 10 years old, interconnected
• Book a licensed electrician or smoke alarm specialist before the Christmas rush
• Hardwired alarms replaced with hardwired, battery alarms with 10-year non-removable battery
• Keep the installer's dated report with your property records
• Add a line to your house guide: don't cover or disconnect alarms, and what to do if one sounds
• Test all alarms before each peak season
• Check your insurer has no extra fire-safety conditions for short-stay use

If you let rooms separately, or run a large house for big groups, other fire-safety rules can apply depending on how the building is classified. Ask a building certifier.

How we handle it for owners

Our maintenance team can arrange a licensed electrician to upgrade your alarms, and our cleaners inspect the property after every checkout, so a disconnected or missing alarm gets picked up. For the full list of what a Gold Coast holiday rental needs, from council approval to insurance, read our Gold Coast Airbnb rules guide.

Thinking about letting your holiday home or apartment? Get a free rental appraisal, with a compliance check included.

General information only, as at November 2026, based on Queensland Government smoke alarm guidance. For questions about your property, contact the Queensland Fire Department at SmokeAlarms@fire.qld.gov.au or on 13 QGOV (13 74 68), or ask a licensed electrician.