Legislation – Victoria

VIC Smoke Alarm Legislation Simplified Guide

Smoke alarms must comply with the Australian Standard AS3786. The current standard is the AS3786:2014 standard.
Smoke alarms must be located between each bedroom area and the rest of the house.
Ceiling mounted smoke alarms are preferable and must be at least 30cm from a wall.
Wall mounted smoke alarms are allowed if between 30cm and 50cm from the ceiling. There are also requirements for sloped ceilings for a smoke alarm to be between 50cm and 150cm from the apex of the ceiling.
Residential homes constructed, largely renovated or extended after 1 May 2014 must have interconnected, hard-wired smoke alarms with battery backup.
Residential homes constructed, largely renovated or extended between 1 August 1997 and 30 April 2014 must have hard-wired smoke alarms with battery backup.
Residential homes constructred prior to 1 August 1997 or that have had large renovations or extensions prior to 1 August 1997 may have battery powered smoke alarms.
It is the landlord / property owner’s responsibility to repair or replace non-functioning smoke alarms and to clean each smoke alarm annually and replace any batteries that require replacement.
Rooming houses, which are buildings where one or more rooms are available to rent and four or more people in total can occupy those rooms, must have hard-wired smoke alarms regardless of the date of construction.