The WA Seniors Safety and Security Rebate: How to Claim Up to $400 on an Alarm or CCTV Install

If you hold a WA Seniors Card, the State Government will give you back up to $400 per household on home security equipment — including alarm systems, CCTV and video doorbells. The catch most people miss: for security items like alarms and cameras, the work has to be done by a licensed security installer, or the claim doesn't qualify.

We install alarm and camera systems across Perth every week for seniors claiming this rebate, so here's the whole process explained plainly — what qualifies, what doesn't, and how to make sure your receipt actually gets you the money. (Scheme terms can change — confirm the current guide on the Seniors Card website before you buy.)

What the Rebate Is

The Safety and Security Rebate is run through WA Seniors Card. Members can claim back the cost of eligible safety and security items purchased for their home, up to a combined total of $400 per household. Purchases made from 22 August 2021 onward can be claimed.

It's a rebate, not a discount — you pay for the equipment and installation first, then claim the money back from Seniors Card with your receipt.

What Qualifies

The scheme covers a list of item categories. The ones we deal with directly:

• Home alarm systems — a new burglar alarm, or repairs to an existing one (up to the $400 household cap)
• CCTV systems — security cameras and recorders (up to the $400 cap)
• Video doorbells — capped per item (around $200 each under the current guide)
• Security door and window screens, and roller shutters
• Deadlocks — capped per lock
• Sensor lights — capped per item

It also covers electrical safety items — RCDs, mains-powered smoke alarms, fire extinguishers (capped at $50 each) and fire blankets (capped at $25 each) — though those sit outside what a security company installs, apart from noting that mains-powered items need a licensed electrical contractor.

Equipment must meet the relevant Australian Standards, which any properly specified system from a professional installer will.

The Licensed-Installer Requirement

This is the part that trips people up. For alarms, CCTV, security screens and deadlocks, the Seniors Card guide requires the work to be done by a licensed Security Agent and Security Installer — that's a WA Police licence issued under the Security and Related Activities (Control) Act 1996, not just any handyman with an ABN.

That means:

• A camera kit from a retail shelf that you (or a grandson) install yourself generally won't get you the rebate.
• A quote from an unlicensed trade won't either, no matter how neat the install.
• A licensed security company's tax invoice — showing the ABN, the date, and what was supplied and installed — is exactly what the claim form asks for.

Whoever you use, confirm before booking that they hold the required WA security licences — a legitimate installer will tell you without hesitation. We set our invoices out so the Seniors Card claim is straightforward: itemised, dated, ABN shown.

How to Claim, Step by Step

1. Check your Seniors Card membership is current. The rebate is only open to WA Seniors Card members.
2. Get the work done and pay for it. Keep the tax receipt — it must show the business ABN and the purchase date.
3. Lodge the claim. There are several ways: through your Seniors Card online account, a downloadable form (posted or emailed back), by phone on 1800 671 233, or in person at Seniors Card and Department of Communities counters.
4. Wait for payment. The rebate is paid to you once the claim is processed.

If you've already claimed part of your $400 in a previous purchase, you can claim the remainder on a later one — the cap is per household across the scheme.

Making the $400 Work Hardest

Four hundred dollars won't cover a full professionally installed system on its own, but it takes a meaningful bite out of one — and it changes the maths on a few common jobs:

• An alarm repair or service. Repairs to existing alarms are explicitly eligible. If your old alarm has been beeping, flat-battery-ing or sitting dead since the 3G shutdown, the rebate can cover most or all of getting it working and reporting again.
• A video doorbell add-on. Eligible on its own, and a genuinely useful item for anyone who doesn't want to open the door to strangers.
• The camera-plus-sensor-light combination. Both categories are eligible, and together they cover the two things that actually deter prowlers: being seen and being lit up.
• A wireless alarm in an older home. Wireless systems such as Ajax avoid chasing cables through double brick — often the difference between a tidy half-day install and a much bigger job.

Some Perth councils run their own security rebates on top of the state scheme — in some cases the two can apply to the same project. See our guide to Perth council CCTV rebates for what your council offers, and note that several council schemes require pre-approval before you buy anything.

What We Do Differently for Rebate Jobs

Nothing exotic — just the things that stop claims bouncing:

FAQs