What do the South Australian smoke alarms laws actually state?

Just like every other Australian state and Territory, South Australia also requires working smoke alarms to be fitted into every home that are compliant to Australian Standard 3786. Fines of up to $750 can be imposed if alarms are not installed, and for rental properties the onus is on landlords to ensure the smoke alarms are working.

The two main governing pieces of legislation for smoke alarms in South Australia are the;

Regulation 76B of the Development Regulations 2008 and Regulation 95 of the Planning and Development Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017 call out minimum requirements for smoke alarms in dwellings. To summarise, they state that;

Existing homes or residential properties built prior to 1 January 1995

A replaceable battery powered smoke alarm may be installed in these premises subject to any change of ownership conditions.

When an existing house built prior to 1995 is sold, the owner then has 6 months from the date of title transfer to install a smoke alarm(s) which is either 240 volt mains powered or has a 10 year life non-removeable lithium battery.

Regulation 76B of the Development Regulations 2008 does not require multiple smoke alarms to be interconnected, unless required by the Building Code of Australia for new additions or extensions to existing dwellings.

New houses or residential properties built after 1 January 1995

The Building Code of Australia requires a 240 volt, mains powered smoke alarm that is interconnectable.

Further advise on the interconnection of smoke alarms in South Australia is available here.

Interestingly, legislation in South Australia does not specifically stipulate between ionisation or photoelectric smoke alarms, although the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service state that interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms provide the best protection across a range of fires.