How many smoke alarms does a Queensland home need by 1 January 2027?
Rules as at 15 October 2026, quoted word for word from Queensland legislation. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Queensland Government or the Queensland Fire Department.
Short answer: one in every bedroom, plus one in each hallway a bedroom opens onto (or, where a bedroom opens into another room, one between that bedroom and the rest of the home), plus one on each storey that has no bedrooms. Every alarm must be photoelectric, interconnected with all the others, and either hardwired or powered by a sealed 10-year battery.
Who it applies to
Since 2022 these rules have applied when a home is sold or leased. The parts of the Act that limited them that way expire at the end of 2026, so from 1 January 2027 they apply to every house, townhouse and unit in Queensland, owner-occupied or rented.
"Subsections (1) and (2) and this subsection expire on 31 December 2026."
Fire Services Act 1990 (Qld) s 147Z(7)
The Queensland Fire Department (QFD) explains the change for owners and renters on its smoke alarms page, in its June 2026 fact sheet (PDF), its June 2026 checklist (PDF) and its frequently asked questions. The rules below are quoted from the legislation those pages explain.
Where the alarms go
"A smoke alarm must be installed in each place in the domestic dwelling required by a regulation."
Fire Services Act 1990 (Qld) s 147Z(4)
"The locations in a domestic dwelling are—
(a) each bedroom; and
(b) for each storey of the dwelling with 1 or more bedrooms—
(i) if 1 or more bedrooms are connected by a door to a hallway—the hallway; and
(ii) if a bedroom is not connected by a door to a hallway— … a part of the storey that is between the bedroom and the rest of the dwelling …
(c) for each storey of the dwelling with no bedrooms— … on the most likely path of travel from any place in the storey to an exit to outside the dwelling."
Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld) s 55C(2)
How to count them
- Count the bedrooms on every storey.
- Add one for each hallway that at least one bedroom door opens onto. The law sets no spacing rule for long hallways, so it's one per hallway.
- For each bedroom that opens straight into another room, add one between it and the rest of the home. Bedrooms that open into the same room share it.
- Add one for each storey with no bedrooms, on the path to an exit.
| Home | Alarms needed |
|---|---|
| Single-storey house, 3 bedrooms opening onto one hallway | 4: 3 bedrooms + 1 hallway |
| Two-storey house, 3 bedrooms upstairs off a landing, living areas downstairs | 5: 3 bedrooms + the landing + 1 downstairs on the path to the front door |
| Single-storey house, 3 bedrooms off a hallway and a main bedroom opening into the living room | 6: 4 bedrooms + the hallway + 1 between the main bedroom and the living room |
| Unit, 2 bedrooms off a hallway | 3: 2 bedrooms + the hallway (check with your body corporate if the building has its own smoke detection system) |
What kind of alarm
"comply with AS 3786–2014; and … contain a photoelectric sensor; and … not also contain an ionisation sensor."
Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld) s 55E(1)
"be interconnected to every other smoke alarm installed in the domestic dwelling."
Fire Services Act 1990 (Qld) s 147Z(5)(e)
Interconnected means that when one alarm detects smoke, they all sound. The Act allows wired or wireless links.
Power
"hardwiring the smoke alarm to the domestic dwelling's electricity supply … a battery that is— (i) built into the smoke alarm in a way that prevents the battery being removed; and (ii) manufactured to power the smoke alarm for at least 10 years without being recharged."
Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld) s 55D
"If the smoke alarm being replaced was hardwired to the domestic dwelling's electricity supply, the replacement smoke alarm must be hardwired to the dwelling's electricity supply."
Fire Services Act 1990 (Qld) s 148A(3)
Alarms with a 9 V or AA battery you can take out don't qualify. Hardwired alarms must be installed by a licensed electrician. A new home being built must have hardwired alarms throughout (Building Regulation 2021 (Qld) s 11(2)).
Where on the ceiling
"must not be— (i) within 300mm of a light fitting; and (ii) within 300mm of a corner of the ceiling and a wall; and (iii) if the smoke alarm is installed in a stairwell—where smoke rising in the stairwell will not reach the smoke alarm … (iv) within 400mm of an opening from which air is supplied from an air conditioner … (v) within 400mm of the blades of a ceiling fan."
Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld) s 55C(3)(c)
Put it on the ceiling if you can. On a sloping ceiling it goes between 500 mm and 1,500 mm from the highest point (s 55C(3)(b)).
Replacing old alarms
"The owner of a domestic dwelling must replace a smoke alarm in the dwelling under this section within 10 years after the day the smoke alarm was manufactured."
Fire Services Act 1990 (Qld) s 148A(1)
The date of manufacture is printed on the label. An alarm that doesn't sound when tested must be replaced straight away (s 148A(2)).
The penalty
Each of these duties carries a maximum of 5 penalty units. A penalty unit is A$172.70 from 1 July 2026, so that's up to A$863.50 per offence.
Plan your own home
QLD Smoke Alarm Planner applies these rules room by room: you add your storeys and rooms, record the alarms you already have, and it lists what to add, keep, move or replace, with the section behind each line. The plan and the alarm check are free. QLD Smoke Alarm Planner is on its way to the App Store for iPhone. This page will link to it once it's live.
Sources, read on 15 October 2026: Fire Services Act 1990 (Qld), in force 6 December 2025; Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld), in force 20 June 2025; Building Regulation 2021 (Qld); penalty unit from the Penalties and Sentences (Penalty Unit Value) Amendment Regulation 2026. This page is a guide, not legal advice.