Smoke Alarms

As of April 2003 all new houses and consented alterations must have smoke alarms installed.

The Building Code amendment applies to all new houses now under construction, where there are house alterations that require a consent and for a change of use when a building becomes a home and needs a building consent.

• may be battery operated (i.e. does not have to be connected to a mains power supply)
• must have a hush facility having a minimum duration of 60 seconds (A hush facility is a button on the alarm which silences the alarm for a limited time after activation, allowing the cause of an alarm (e.g. smoke from burnt toast) to be cleared without removing the battery to silence the alarm)
• must have an alarm test facility located on the alarm readily accessible by the building occupants, and should be tested monthly.
• alarms must be located on the escape routes on all levels within the dwelling.
• on the level/s containing the bedrooms the alarms must be located either in every bedroom or within 3.0 metres of every bedroom.
• must be audible to the occupants of the bedroom/s even when the door is closed.
• must be installed on or near the ceiling.
• should be cleaned annually with a vacuum cleaner, (the alarm should not be disassembled when carrying out this maintenance procedure)