Find a trusted electrician in Brisbane

Queensland’s smoke alarm deadline

From 1 January 2027, every home in Queensland has to meet the state’s smoke alarm rules, not just rentals and houses being sold. That means photoelectric alarms that are interconnected, so when one sounds they all do, in every bedroom, in the hallway linking the bedrooms to the rest of the home, and on every storey. Each alarm must be hardwired or run on a sealed ten-year battery.

You can fit the battery type yourself, but hardwired alarms are electrical work, and an existing hardwired alarm has to be replaced with another hardwired one. With the deadline only months away, it’s worth getting a quote now rather than in late December. Expect around $120 to $200 per hardwired alarm, with interconnecting several adding to it.

Wiring in timber Queenslanders and post-war homes

Running new cable is often easier in Brisbane than in brick-on-slab cities. A highset timber house usually has an open subfloor and a roomy roof space, so an electrician can add a power point or a fan circuit without much cutting. Older homes bring their own issues, though: original rubber-insulated wiring that crumbles when it’s disturbed, ceramic fuses with no safety switches, and meter boards from before 1990 that may contain asbestos. If yours has any of those, ask for a switchboard and wiring check before adding a big new load like an induction cooktop or an EV charger.

Storm season adds another layer. Lightning and power surges take out appliances and trip safety switches, and some owners add surge protection at the board. Fallen wires are always a call to Energex, not something to go near.

How to check a Queensland electrical licence

Electrical licences in Queensland are issued by the Electrical Safety Office, not the QBCC. Two licences matter: the electrician doing the work needs an electrical work licence, and the business you pay needs an electrical contractor licence. Ask for the contractor licence number and look it up on the ESO’s Electrical Licence Search. When the job’s finished, you should get a certificate of testing and compliance for the work. Our Queensland licence check guide covers the other trades too.

Brisbane electrician rates

Brisbane rates sit mid-range: roughly $90 to $140 an hour in business hours, plus a call-out of about $80 to $150. LED downlights are typically $80 to $150 each installed, a ceiling fan $150 to $400 plus the fan, and a switchboard upgrade $800 to $2,500 for a typical house. Asbestos meter boards and new mains push that higher. Our electrician price guide has the full list.

Matching you with a Brisbane electrician

Give us the job and your suburb, and we’ll find one local electrician whose licence, insurance and reviews check out. You get their quote and decide in your own time. Browse electricians nationally, see all Brisbane trades, or get a free quote now. If the job is a new split system, our page on air-con installers in Brisbane explains which licences that takes.