ONE of Australia’s largest home safety service providers has welcomed Mornington MP Chris Crewther’s support for stronger oversight of rental property safety checks in Victoria, warning that current gaps are putting tenants at risk.
Detector Inspector, a leading provider of residential safety services, backed Crewther after he raised concerns in Parliament this month about shortcomings in the way smoke alarm, gas and electrical safety checks were being carried out across the state.
Crewther urged the Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos to address loopholes that allowed unsafe practices to continue, despite requirements set out under the Victorian Residential Tenancies Act.
In his address, Crewther said renters remained vulnerable to preventable injury and death when critical safety checks were not completed to legislated standards.
Detector Inspector executive director and co-founder Jordan Kagan Gescheit said the company supported Crewther’s call for urgent reform to improve rental safety compliance.
“Chris’ advocacy and commitment to tenant safety will be invaluable as we continue working with government and industry to strengthen compliance,” Gescheit said.
The push for reform has been supported by key stakeholders across Victoria’s rental sector and aligns with findings from an evidence based McKell Institute Report, which identified a systemic breakdown in oversight, auditing and accountability for safety checks administered by Consumer Affairs Victoria.
The report also highlighted results from mystery shopping exercises conducted by Detector Inspector, which found some inspections were completed by unlicensed practitioners in just 15 minutes, despite requiring 60 minutes to be done properly.
The exercises further revealed that a third of providers did not check the proper functioning of a single smoke alarm at the property.
First published in the Mornington News – 10 March 2026
