False

2015 Bill

The key objective of the 2015 Bill is to implement recommendations from the Coronial Inquest into the Slacks Creek house fire that occurred in August 2011, claiming the lives of 11 people including eight children.  The recommendations were published on 29 November 2014.

Some key outcomes of the 2015 Bill would be:

• Photoelectric smoke alarms would be required in residential premises in Queensland

• These smoke alarms would be required to be in specified locations within residential premises.

The 2015 Bill provides for a staged transition, in accordance with the recommendations of the Coroner:

• for dwellings with smoke alarms complying with the law immediately before 1 July 2016: the owner must replace them with smoke alarms complying with the 2015 Bill, within 3 years

• for dwellings with no smoke alarms complying with the 2015 Bill on 1 July 2016:  the owner must install smoke alarms compliant with the Bill before the first of -

• a transfer of the dwelling
• the end of an existing residential tenancy or rooming accommodation agreement for all or part of the dwelling (or the start of a new one)
• 1 July 2017.      

The Fire and Emergency Services (Smoke Alarms) Amendment Bill 2015 and Explanatory Notes are available from the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel at www.legislation.qld.gov.au.

The Hansard transcript of the explanatory speech for the Bill can be accessed here.

2016 Bill

The key objective of the 2016 Bill is to improve personal safety in domestic dwellings by requiring the installation of photoelectric smoke alarms in all dwellings thereby reducing the loss of life or injury.

 Some key outcomes of the 2016 Bill would be:

• Photoelectric and interconnected smoke alarms, powered by an enduring power source (hard-wired or 10 year lithium battery), would be required in residential premises in Queensland

• These smoke alarms would be required to be in specified locations within residential premises, dependent on whether they are new or existing residences.

 An implementation timeframe is also provided in the 2016 Bill:

• When a new dwelling is built or substantial renovations are made to an existing dwelling, compliance would be required from 1 January 2017

• After 5 years, dwellings that are sold or leased would be required to comply immediately

• All government-owned housing would be required to comply within five years

• After 10 years all domestic dwellings would have to comply with the changes.

The Fire and Emergency Services (Domestic Smoke Alarms) Amendment Bill 2016 and Explanatory Notes are available from the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel at www.legislation.qld.gov.au.

The Hansard transcript of the explanatory speech for the Bill can be accessed here.

Hearings and Briefings

The committee has received 15 submissions on the 2015 Bill and 16 submissions on the 2016 Bill. The committee held a public briefing and hearing on the 2015 Bill on 24 February 2016 and a public briefing on the 2016 Bill on 16 March 2016.

Submissions and transcripts can be found under the relevant tabs on this page. 

A public hearing regarding the 2016 Bill was held at Parliament House on 20 April 2016.  The hearing details and transcript can be accessed under the related publications tab.

Other Information

The Fire and Emergency Services (Domestic Smoke Alarms) Amendment Bill 2016 and Explanatory Notes are available from the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel at www.legislation.qld.gov.au.  

Any additional information about the process for this Inquiry will be published in due course.

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Referral

On 2 December 2015, the Fire and Emergency Services (Smoke Alarms) Amendment Bill was introduced into the Queensland Parliament by the Member for Kawana, the Hon Jarrod Bleijie MP and referred to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee (the committee) for detailed consideration (the 2015 Bill).

On 23 February 2016, the government introduced the Fire and Emergency Services (Domestic Smoke Alarms) Amendment Bill 2016 into the Queensland Parliament (the 2016 Bill).  The 2016 Bill was also referred to the committee for consideration.

On 24 February 2016, the Parliament directed the committee to consider the 2016 Bill in conjunction with the Fire and Emergency Services (Smoke Alarms) Bill 2015 – that is, as cognate Bills.

The Committee tabled its report on both Bills on 23 May 2016.  It can be viewed under the Related Publications tab.