Home safety should always be a high priority. After all, your home should be your sanctuary, place where you feel safe, comfortable, and protected. While we all like to think of our homes as our safe space, accidents can happen in even the best of households.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, approximately 162,000 injury hospitalisations in 2022-23 occurred at home, making it the most common location for preventable injuries. By taking simple steps now, you can make your safe space truly safe for everyone.
Common Home Safety Risks
Whether you have young children, elderly relatives, or live alone, being able to identify these common risks is the first step towards prevention and better home safety.
Choking and Poisons
The Poisons Information Centre receives thousands of calls each year from parents whose children have ingested cleaning products, cosmetics, detergents, or medications left within reach. Young children are also especially vulnerable to choking on small objects such as coins, batteries, small toys, foods like grapes and nuts, and buttons.
Trip and Fall Hazards
Falls are one of the most common causes of hospitalisations across in Australia. Loose rugs, cluttered walkways, poor lighting, and uneven surfaces create risks that are all easily overlooked. Bathrooms and outdoor areas such as gardens pools create additional concerns due to hard surfaces and the risk of drowning.
Gas and Electrical
Faulty wiring, frayed cords, overloaded power outlets, and outdated electrical systems create invisible dangers throughout the home. Gas appliances without proper ventilation can leak carbon monoxide or natural gas, both of which are potentially fatal.
Fire
Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires in Australia, with half of all residential fires starting in the kitchen, and much of the rest being caused by power outlets, faulty appliances, and flammable materials stored near heat sources.
1. Smoke Alarms and Other Fire Safety Items
You are at least four times more likely to get caught and die in a home fire if there are no working smoke detectors. For home safety, you should install at least one smoke alarm on each floor of your home, but it’s ideal it have one in all hallways near bedrooms, and in each bedroom and living area. Test your smoke detectors once a month and replace batteries every six months; at the beginning and end of daylight savings is a good way to remember.
An average three bedroom home should also have 1 or 2 fire extinguishers. Keep one in the kitchen and another near any fireplaces. Both should be easy to reach in an emergency.
If your home has an upstairs, having a fire ladder or other safety ladder. These are easily stored in closets or under beds for when you need to make a quick exit.
2. Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Carbon monoxide is an odourless, colourless, and tasteless gas used as fuel in appliances like gas heaters, wood fireplaces, gas stoves, clothes dryers, water heaters, and cars. When these things malfunction, this highly dangerous gas can accumulate in your home, causing headaches, dizziness, nausea, confusion, and even death.
CO detectors should be installed on every level of your home and near sleeping areas, kitchens, and garages for total home safety. They are useful regardless of your heating type or if you have any of these items in your home as carbon monoxide can also enter from neighbouring houses or idle vehicles. If the CO detector alarm sounds immediately leave your home and call triple zero (000).
3. Emergency Escape Plans
Every home should have an emergency escape plan for home safety. Creating one is easy and well worth the effort.
Start with a floor plan of your home showing all rooms, doors, and windows. Mark two emergency exits (doors or windows), and where any important items such as safety ladders for upper floors are stored. Remove any obstructions from near these exits.
Designate a safe meeting point in an environment close to your home where everyone can gather and be accounted for, such as a particular tree, letterbox, your neighbour’s driveway, or street corner.
4. AED (Automatic External Defibrillator)
If any family member, friend, or relative has a heart attack, having an AED in your home is the best way to ensure their home safety.
An automatic external defibrillator (AED) is a portable lifesaving device that can double or triple the person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. Its pads analyse heart rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electric shock to help restore a normal heartbeat. These devices come with automatic voice instructions which guide users through each step, meaning anyone can use them.
Keep your AED in an accessible, well-lit location where an adult can quickly retrieve it in an emergency, such as a hallway cabinet near the main living area, mounted on a wall near the front entrance, in a clearly labelled cupboard in the kitchen, or in a bedroom of a high-risk family member.
5. First Aid Kits
Every home should have at least one first aid kit. This essential home safety staple should include basics such as bandages, gauze, antiseptic ointments, scissors, tweezers, disposable gloves, sanitary wipes, cold packs, pain relief medication, a thermometer, burn gel, an emergency blanket, and any specific medications your or a family member might need. Store it somewhere easily accessible and away from moisture, and regularly check the expiration dates of anything inside.
Stay Safe Around the Home
Home safety equipment can help prevent accidents, but it’s only half the equation. Knowing what to do when something goes wrong makes all the difference. With a first aid training course you can take action when the unexpected happens.
Take the next step to make your home a truly safe environment. Enrol in a first aid course and equip yourself with skills that could make all the difference.
FAQs
In Australia, you can download comprehensive home safety checklists from SafeWork Australia and state health departments. Emergency services websites like NSW SES and Get Ready Queensland offer more detailed advice on creating emergency plans and preparing disaster kits.
Photoelectric smoke alarms detect smoke particles using a light beam and are more effective at detecting slow-smouldering fires, which cause most fire deaths in Australia. Ionisation alarms use radiation to detect fast-flaming fires but are prone to false alarms from cooking. Australian fire services recommend photoelectric alarms.
Every Australian state and territory requires working smoke alarms in homes, though specific requirements for placement, power source, and interconnection vary by location and when the home was built. Landlords must ensure rental properties comply with their state’s regulations, while homeowners are responsible for maintaining their own alarms.
