Question: Our pre-purchase checks found no fire safety certificate or asset record for the apartment’s smoke detector. Is the smoke detector compliant, and what can I do before settlement?
I’m looking at a 7-level residential building format plan in QLD with a fire panel in reception and a direct alarm to Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. The pre-purchase inspection contractor advised that the smoke detector isn’t independent of the panel.
The pre-purchase body corporate search stated no fire safety certificate was available, and enquiries with the building’s fire safety provider revealed no assets are recorded for the apartment.
This seems unusual, since the by-laws provide for false alarm call-outs to be billed back to the owner, which suggests there’s an individually coded detector for each location.
The sales agent told me the smoke detector isn’t a smoke alarm, so it only has to be installed, not comply. Is this correct?
Other providers suggest that compliance of the device (detector or alarm) includes the panel system being checked in accordance with state requirements, and all smoke detectors in the building being less than 10 years old. Detectors are replaced when faulty or non-compliant, with each recorded as an asset so it can continue to be monitored and replaced when due.
There doesn’t appear to be any record of replacement in the 17 years of the selling owner. Is the apartment compliant? What can I do before settlement?
Answer: Neither compliant nor non-compliant can be confirmed. This is an unresolved due diligence issue requiring written evidence before settlement.
The first step is to confirm whether the device inside the apartment is:
- a smoke detector connected to the building’s fire indicator panel; or
- an independent AS 3786 smoke alarm.
If it is connected to the fire panel, it forms part of the building’s fire detection and alarm system. It must be tested, maintained and recorded as part of that system. It is not sufficient to say that it only needs to be installed.
However, the 10-year replacement requirement applying to domestic smoke alarms does not automatically apply in the same way to panel-connected detectors. Their replacement depends on the approved system design, maintenance requirements, the manufacturer’s instructions, and the condition and service history. Seventeen years without any recorded replacement warrants investigation but does not, by itself, establish non-compliance.
The absence of an apartment asset record is concerning. Before settlement, I recommend:
- confirmation that the detector is connected to and identified at the fire panel;
- the detector’s asset identification, location and most recent test results;
- current AS 1851 maintenance records and the annual condition report;
- details of any outstanding defects;
- the approved fire detection design and as-installed drawings;
- confirmation of the detector’s age and the building’s replacement policy; and
- confirmation that the occupant-warning arrangements within the apartment comply with the approved design.
The false-alarm charge-back provisions indicate that the detector location can likely be identified, but this does not prove that the system is compliant or adequately maintained.
Based on the information provided, I would not yet describe the apartment as either compliant or non-compliant. I would describe it as an unresolved due diligence issue requiring written evidence. If the requested records cannot be produced, complete an independent inspection before settlement and refer the matter to your solicitor for rectification or appropriate contractual protection.
This post appears in the October 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Stefan Bauer
Fire Matters
E: sbauer@firematters.com.au
P: 07 3071 9088
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