Smart home advice written for Australian homes

Almost every smart home article you find online was written for an American house. It assumes 120V wiring, a neutral wire in every switch box, US retailers, US warranty law and US product availability. Follow it here and you will buy the wrong bulb fitting, plan an installation that is illegal to do yourself, and get a warranty that isn't honoured.

What we do differently

NXT Smart Home writes smart home advice from an Australian starting point. That means being specific about the things that actually differ:

• 240V / 50Hz and AS/NZS 3000. What you can legally wire yourself here (very little) and what needs a licensed electrician.
• Bayonet fittings. B22 is common in older Australian homes and almost unheard of in US product ranges.
• Local availability and pricing. Whether a product is actually sold here, and what the parallel-import trade-off costs you in warranty terms.
• Australian Consumer Law. Your statutory guarantees are stronger than a manufacturer's warranty, and worth knowing.
• Our climate and our grid. Time-of-use tariffs, feed-in tariffs, rooftop solar, bushfire smoke, humidity — these shape which automations are worth building.

Written here, useful anywhere

Most of what we cover — how Matter and Thread work, how to structure automations, how to stop devices dropping off Wi-Fi, how to think about privacy — is universal. If you are reading from outside Australia you will still get the value; you will just find the occasional note about local wiring rules that does not apply to you.

Independence

We are reader-supported through affiliate commission, explained in full on our disclosure page. We do not sell sponsored reviews, and manufacturers do not get to see articles before they go live. Our testing methodology spells out what we have used hands-on versus what we have researched, because conflating the two is the main way review sites mislead people.

Not electrical advice

Our guides are general information, not a substitute for a licensed professional. In Australia, fixed electrical wiring work must be carried out by a licensed electrician. Where an article touches on wiring, we say plainly where the DIY line sits. Please do not treat a blog post as authority to open a switch plate.