Smart Home Buying Guides for Australian First Homes
Twenty guides covering locks, cameras, lights and the Wi-Fi that holds it all together — prices in Australian dollars, subscription traps flagged guide by guide.
Start here
The three that matter first
The map of the whole category and the order to buy in — an Echo Dot at around $59 plus a $49 Tapo smart plug 4-pack is most of a starter kit.
A TP-Link Deco X55 three-pack at around $389 fixes the dead spots that make every other device on this page look broken.
The cheapest big upgrade here: the Tapo D205 answers your front door from anywhere for around $66.
The first night in a new place comes with a quiet inventory question: how many copies of the front-door key exist, and who has them? A smart lock answers that permanently, which is why this category starts at the front door — then works outward to the Tapo D205 doorbell at around $66 and a Eufy SoloCam at $120 watching the driveway.
Inside, the spend gets cheap fast: a $59 Echo Dot to run the show, Mengshen door sensors at $28 a pair, and a $23.79 IR blaster that gives a dumb air-con a phone app. Skip the all-at-once ecosystem shop — fit the lock, live in the house a fortnight, and let the annoyances tell you what to automate next. Every device here was verified against its live Australian listing first.
The plan and the pipes
Read the starter-kit map first, then fix coverage. A $38 Tenda extender patches one dead room; a TP-Link Deco M4 mesh three-pack at around $179 fixes the whole house.
The front door
Locks from the $144 Yale Keyless up to the Schlage Encode at around $356, doorbells that never charge a subscription, and a $28 sensor pair that tells you the back door is open.
Eyes on the place
Cameras inside and out. Indoor cameras start around $39, the solar Eufy SoloCam S220 runs about $120 with no subscription, and photoelectric smoke alarms from around $38 round out the safety net.
Lights, plugs and other cheap wins
Smart plugs from around $11 and colour bulbs from around $12 are the cheapest way in. The light switch guide covers the one job here that needs a licensed sparky, and a $24 LinknLink IR blaster puts a dumb old aircon on your phone.
Smart IR BlasterAn infrared blaster is the cheapest smart-home upgrade there is - a small WiFi box that learns your existing remotes so your phone or voice assistant can run the air conditioner, TV, soundbar and fans. The killer use case in Australia is the aircon: switch it on from your phone before you get home in summer, schedule it, automate it. We compared ecosystems, IR versus RF coverage and honest owner ratings across six picks, from the 24 dollar LinknLink eRemote HA up to the 288 dollar SofaBaton X1S universal remote, with the Matter-certified TP-Link Tapo H110 taking the top spot.Top pick: LinknLink eRemote HA Smart WiFi IR Remote — $23.79★ 3.9from $23
Surge ProtectorWe compared six surge protectors and surge-protected power boards on Amazon AU on Joule rating, outlet spacing, built-in USB charging and connected-equipment warranties - so your TV, computer and console survive the next spike.Top pick: HPM Adaptor Surge Protector — ~$12★ 4.5from $12Beyond the walls
The gadget drawer's outer suburbs: a UGREEN tracker card at around $29 for the wallet, a Viofo dash cam from around $129, a power station from around $319 for blackouts, plus noise cancelling headphones from $94 for the commute.
Smart Home questions, answered straight
What smart home devices should I buy first in a new house?
Sort the Wi-Fi before anything else; a TP-Link Deco M4 three-pack at around $179 is the budget fix if the router can't reach the back rooms. Then spend around $11 on a Tapo Mini smart plug to see whether you actually enjoy automating things. The front door comes next: the Tapo D205 video doorbell at around $66, then the Aqara U300 smart lock at around $269 once you're committed.
Do video doorbells and security cameras need a subscription in Australia?
Only if you pick a brand that locks features behind one. Our doorbell camera guide leads with no-subscription picks like the TP-Link Tapo Doorbell Camera at around $129, and flags that the Ring Video Doorbell 4 needs a subscription for full features. On the camera side, the Eufy SoloCam S220 at around $120 is solar-powered with nothing ongoing.
Can I install a smart light switch myself in Australia?
No. Our guide says to use a licensed electrician for any hardwired switch. It only rates SAA and RCM-certified gear, like the $35.99 meross Matter relay and the $89 Aqara H2 wall switch, as legal to hardwire here. If you'd rather skip the sparky, a Tapo L530B smart bulb at around $12 gets you most of the effect by screwing into the socket you already have.
The video doorbell paid for itself in one week of missed couriers. The smart bulbs in rooms I never sit in are still just bulbs that demand Wi-Fi.
— Anish Puri, NestPath
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.