Websites for home security installers

Someone buying a home security system is making a decision about their house and the people in it, and most don't know the terms. Alarm, camera, intercom, monitored, app-controlled: they're after a simple answer. A good site explains what each system does, what the monthly fee covers if there is one, and who comes to the door to fit it.

Trust matters more here than in most trades, because the installer sees the inside of the house. Show your own people, your licence number and the equipment you fit. Explain where recordings are kept and who can see them. Give homes, businesses and apartments their own pages, and keep a clear line between the work you do and the monitoring you arrange with others.

What the site carries

• Alarms, cameras, intercoms and access control on separate pages, each explained in plain terms.
• Your security licence number beside the business name, where your state licenses this work.
• What monitoring means, who does it, and what the monthly fee covers if there is one.
• Where camera recordings are stored and who can view them, in a short paragraph.
• Wired and wireless options explained, with a note on which suits which kind of building.
• Photos of your own installers and finished neat installs, with cables tidy and cameras placed sensibly.
• What the system does when the power or the internet goes out.
• A form that asks about the type of property, the doors and windows, and what the owner wants to see on their phone.
• How you handle renters and apartment owners who can't drill into walls.
• Whether contracts have a minimum term and how to cancel, written before the customer asks.
• Servicing and warranty on equipment, and who the customer rings if something fails.

The work your customers look for

• alarm systems
• CCTV cameras
• video doorbells
• intercoms
• access control and keypads
• smart locks
• gate and driveway sensors
• security lighting
• alarm repairs and upgrades
• camera system add-ons
• monitored alarms

What they type

• "alarm installation"
• "CCTV installers"
• "security cameras for home"
• "home alarm system"
• "video intercom installation"
• "security system installer near me"
• "alarm monitoring"
• "upgrade old alarm system"

Where your state licenses this work, show the licence number beside the business name on every page, and don't imply a licence you don't hold.

Don't claim a system prevents break-ins or is burglar-proof, since Australian Consumer Law treats an unsupported guarantee as misleading.

Don't use police, insurer or monitoring-company logos or names to suggest an endorsement you don't have.

If monitoring is compulsory with the system, include it in the price shown, as the ACCC single price rule puts the total at least as prominent as any part price.

How the rules differ across Australia for home security installers

New South Wales	In New South Wales, the Police Force's Security Licensing and Enforcement Directorate issues master and class licences, so the site names the classes you hold.
Queensland	In Queensland, security providers are licensed by the Office of Fair Trading, so the licensed name goes on the site, not only the brand.
Western Australia	In Western Australia, WA Police Licensing Services handles security licences, and the licence belongs on the site where a customer can find it.
Tasmania	In Tasmania, CBOS asks for the licence number in any advertisement, so it sits in the footer and near the quote form.
ACT	In the ACT, Access Canberra issues security licences, so your licence goes on the site.
Northern Territory	In the Northern Territory, NT Police handles security licences, and showing yours on the site saves a customer asking.

Rules change. Have your licence and wording checked against your regulator before the site goes live.

• Stock photos of masked burglars and padlocks that frighten and say nothing about you.
• Equipment lists full of model numbers and no explanation of what they do.
• Monitoring fees and contract terms that only appear at the end of a quote.
• No sign of who is actually turning up at the door to fit the system.
• Camera pictures with no word on privacy, recordings or who can watch them.
• A licence number that is missing from the pages for cameras and intercoms.