Victorian rental smoke alarm rules: the annual test, hardwired homes and the minimum standards

What changed on 25 November 2025

Until late 2025 the annual smoke alarm test in Victoria lived in the prescribed safety terms of the rental agreement, which only applied to agreements entered into (or rolled over to periodic) from 29 March 2021. Older leases sat outside it. The 2025 amendments moved the duty into the Act itself as section 68AA, which says it applies irrespective of whether the agreement was entered into before, on or after 29 March 2021. Consumer Affairs Victoria describes the result as mandatory annual smoke alarm safety checks for all rental properties from 25 November 2025.

The duty has three parts. Every smoke alarm installed in the rented premises must be correctly installed and in working condition, fitted with batteries or replacement batteries, and tested at least once every 12 months in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Smoke alarms and the rental minimum standards

Property managers often file smoke alarms under the rental minimum standards, and the two are close cousins, but they are separate lists. The minimum standards are in Schedule 4 of the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 and cover things like locks, heating, window coverings and the electrical safety standard: since 29 March 2023 all power outlets and lighting circuits must be connected to a switchboard type circuit breaker and a residual current device. Since 25 November 2025 a property must meet those standards before it is even advertised.

Smoke alarms are not one of the Schedule 4 standards. They sit in section 68AA, next to the separate safety checks in Schedule 3 of the Regulations, which require an electrical safety check by a licensed or registered electrician every 2 years. For an electrician, the useful point is that one visit can cover all three: the 2 yearly electrical safety check, the RCD minimum standard and that year's smoke alarm test. The condition report form (Form 4) even has a line for the date of the last smoke alarm test.

Hardwired or battery depends on when the home was built

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that all buildings constructed after 1 August 1997 must have hardwired smoke alarms with battery backup, while buildings built before that date can have battery powered alarms. Alarms must meet AS 3786, and rooming houses must have hardwired alarms regardless of age.

That build date decides who can do the annual test. Section 68AA(5) says any testing, repair or replacement of a smoke alarm powered by mains electricity must be done by a suitably qualified person, and CAV adds that a hardwired alarm must be installed by a qualified electrician, while anyone can change a smoke alarm battery. So a post 1997 house on a service round needs a tech who is qualified for mains alarms, not just a battery changer.

Broken alarms are urgent repairs

A smoke alarm that is not working is an urgent repair. Once the renter gives notice, the rental provider or agent must arrange the repair immediately. If they cannot be reached or do not act, the renter can authorise and pay for the urgent repair up to $2,500, and the rental provider must pay them back within 7 days. Service firms on agency panels should expect these callouts to arrive direct from renters with the agent copied in.