The holiday security checklist South Australian homeowners actually need
Going away for a bit shouldn’t mean spending half the trip wondering if your house is fine. But burglars know the calendar too, school holidays, long weekends, the run-up to Christmas, break-in attempts tick up right on cue in Adelaide, and it’s rarely random houses that get hit. It’s the ones that look empty.
We had a customer in Mawson Lakes a while back who did everything right except one thing, they left the bins out on the curb for the entire ten days they were gone. Neighbours noticed before any burglar did, but it’s exactly the kind of small tell that gives a house away. So this is the list we actually give people before they head off, not the generic version, the things that get missed.
Make the house look like someone’s still living in it
An empty-looking house is basically an invitation. The goal isn’t to trick anyone up close, it’s to stop the place looking obviously vacant to someone driving or walking past.
- Mail and deliveries — put a hold on Australia Post if you’re away more than a week, pause the paper and any meal kit subscriptions, and get a neighbour to grab whatever slips through daily. A stuffed letterbox is one of the loudest signals there is.
- Lighting — a house dark every night for two weeks is a tell, but so is a porch light left on around the clock, that’s arguably worse, since it means nobody’s touched it in ten days. A timer set for the evening works, and if the app lets you vary the time slightly each night, use it, a light clicking on at exactly 7:00pm every single night starts to look automated too. A TV simulator light near a window rounds it out.
- Bins and the lawn — get a neighbour to wheel your bins out on collection day and back in the next morning. Mow the lawn before you leave, not after you land back exhausted. Overgrown grass after ten days away is one of the more obvious tells going.
Physically lock the place down
Smart lighting and cameras only help if someone actually has to work to get in. Before you head to the airport, walk the property and check the physical stuff.
| Area | What to actually check |
| Windows | Latches fully engaged, not just pulled shut. Sliding windows get a key bolt or a dowel rod in the track. |
| Sliding glass doors | A metal or timber rod in the bottom track, stops forced entry even if the lock’s bypassed. |
| External doors | Deadbolted, and strike plates actually into the wall studs, not just the door frame trim. |
| Side gates | Padlocked properly, not left on a latch. |
| Garage | Automatic opener disconnected, or manual lock slider engaged, garage frequency scanning is a real gap. |
Let the electronics do their job
This is where most of the actual peace of mind comes from, but only if it’s set up properly before you leave, not fumbled with from an airport lounge.
- Test the alarm a week out, not the morning you’re leaving, so there’s time to fix anything that fails.
- Check the backup battery’s actually holding charge. A flat backup during a power blip defeats the whole system.
- If you’re on 24/7 monitoring, update your travel dates and confirm who they call if something trips.
- Wipe the camera lenses. Cobwebs and dust cause more false alerts than actual break-ins do, and a dusty lens also means worse footage if something happens.
- Check your phone’s actually getting push notifications and live video, not just recording quietly to a drive nobody checks.
- Aim the motion-sensor spotlights at the driveway and front path, not the fence line three metres to the left.
The ten-minute checklist before you actually leave
This is the bit people rush, right as the taxi’s pulling up. Worth doing properly anyway.
- Passports, spare keys and jewellery locked in an actual bolted safe, not a drawer
- Curtains and blinds left in whatever position looks normal day to day, not fully shut and not wide open, both look staged
- TV and computer unplugged, partly for security, partly so nothing shorts out while you’re away
- Any spare car in the driveway locked, garage remote taken out of it
- Travel photos held back until you’re actually home
FAQs
Curtains open or closed while I’m away?
Whatever’s normal for your house day to day. Fully closed for two straight weeks looks staged, wide open the whole time lets anyone confirm there’s no movement inside either way.
Is it really a problem to post holiday photos while I’m still away?
Yes, and it’s one of the easiest mistakes to make without thinking. A public post with dates and location is basically telling anyone watching that the house is sitting empty right now. Save it for when you’re home.
What do I do with the spare key?
Don’t leave one outside at all, under a mat or in a fake rock is the first place anyone looks. Give it to someone you actually trust, or take it with you.
