Apartment Intercom Not Working? Who Fixes It, What Fails and When to Replace

Byron Knight, Licensed Electrical Contractor

QLD Lic. 1511406 · 20+ years’ experience · Gold Coast & SEQ · Updated October 2026

When the intercom stops working, residents can’t let visitors in, couriers leave parcels in the street, and in the worst case the front door no longer locks properly. Everyone assumes someone else has already reported it. The committee, the strata manager and the owner can each point at the other.

This guide covers who is generally responsible, the faults we see most often, how to tell a repair from a replacement, and one cause that catches out buildings with mobile-answering intercoms: the 3G network shutdown.

Who is responsible for fixing an apartment intercom?

The starting point is the Queensland Government’s rule that a body corporate must maintain the common property in a good and structurally sound condition. The main entry panel, the shared cabling and the equipment that releases the front door normally sit on common property. The handset inside an individual unit is usually the owner’s responsibility, unless the scheme’s by-laws say otherwise.

We cover that split, with the exceptions that catch people out, in our guide to body corporate vs unit owner electrical responsibilities in QLD. A fault that affects every unit is almost always a common-property job. A fault in one unit needs an electrician to find out which side of the wall it is on before anyone argues about who pays.

The faults we see most often

Coastal buildings add one more cause. Entry panels sit outside, and salt air and driving rain work into connections over the years, the same process we describe in why Gold Coast switchboards corrode faster. A panel that is crackling in damp weather has usually let moisture in.

Intercoms that call your mobile: the 3G shutdown

Some intercom systems forward the call to a resident’s mobile through a built-in mobile-network module. If that module was 3G-only, it will have stopped working when the 3G networks closed. The ACMA lists Telstra and Optus switching off 3G from 28 October 2024, with TPG Telecom/Vodafone having already switched off theirs.

Telstra’s 3G closure FAQ says a device that only runs on 3G and was not updated to be 4G or 5G compatible will no longer work. It adds that the radio hardware in a 3G-only device usually cannot be upgraded, so the device typically needs replacing. Telstra’s business support page lists fire and security alarms among impacted devices, and the federal business.gov.au notice lists security systems and cameras.

None of those sources names intercoms specifically, so we won’t claim they do. But a 3G-only mobile-answering module works the same way as the devices they do name. If calls to mobiles stopped in late 2024 and the rest of the system still works, check the module and its SIM first.

Repair or replace?

Our approach is to repair first and replace only when it makes sense. A failed power supply, door strike or handset is a repair. Replacement becomes the better answer when:

• spare parts for the existing system can no longer be sourced;
• faults keep returning across several units or the main cabling, not just one component;
• the system depends on an obsolete network module that cannot be updated;
• the committee wants video, or answering on mobiles, which an old audio-only system cannot provide.

A fixed-price quote for both options lets the committee compare repair cost against replacement cost. Our intercom repairs and access systems service works that way, and a preventative maintenance programme can include the entry system in the routine check.

What to do when the intercom fails

1. Report it once, in writing. Send the strata manager the date, the symptom and which units are affected.
2. Check whether the front door still locks. A door that no longer latches is a security risk and is urgent.
3. Check the obvious. Look for a tripped breaker at the board that feeds the intercom, but leave the equipment itself to a licensed electrician. Anything connected to mains power is electrical work.
4. Get a diagnosis, not a guess. An electrician should test the supply, cabling, release and handsets and report which are failed.
5. Ask for repair and replacement options. With fixed prices, so the committee can decide.

Intercom and access faults in Gold Coast buildings

Older low-rise blocks and high-rise towers around Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Southport, Main Beach and Coolangatta often run entry systems installed decades ago. We handle this work for committees and managers through our strata and body corporate electrician service, and use our fault finding and troubleshooting approach when the cause is not obvious. Entry points are also where emergency lighting problems show up, so see our guide to a flashing emergency exit light, and for car park fittings, who pays for strata car park lighting.