Legislation that affects YOU

From January 2017 all rental properties in Queensland must have functioning, interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms in every bedroom.

All homes being sold now have the same requirements and from January 2027 they will be required in every home.

It is not enough to have a smoke alarm in every room they must be connected, either wired or wirelessly.

Wired Smoke alarms still contain a battery backup, it is recommended that you replace this battery every 12 months.

Safety Switch legislation has been around a long time. All Queensland homes built or renovated since 1992 must have safety switches.

Homes sold must have a safety switch installed within 3 months of sale.

Rental properties must have functioning safety switches on all circuits within 6 months of a new tenancy agreement.

TESTING your safety switch every 3 months is recommended.

The latest trend in safety switches is to have one on each circuit that way if you have a fault on one circuit you do not loose power to your whole premises.

 Specified electrical equipment and safety switches need to be tested at intervals according to type of work they are used for.

 A durable tag must be attached after inspecting and testing to clearly show the test date and the next scheduled test and inspection date. 

 The type of work being performed determines how often specified electrical equipment is tested. Specified electrical equipment is defined by section 97 of the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 as electrical equipment with a current rating of not more than 20 amps*. Specified electrical equipment also includes cord extension sets and electrical portable outlet devices (EPODs).