Frequently asked questions

All orders ship from our warehouses here in Australia. We never drop-ship from overseas — everything is genuine Australian stock, packed and sent locally.

Metro delivery usually takes 2–4 business days after dispatch, and regional areas may take longer. You'll receive a tracking number by email as soon as your order leaves the warehouse.

We'll call or email you before dispatch. You can choose to wait for the restock (we'll give you an ETA), swap to an equivalent model, or cancel that item for a full refund. We never ship a partial order without telling you first.

Standard shipping is free on all orders over $300 AUD, Australia-wide. Orders under $300 ship at a flat rate of $25, calculated at checkout. Tracking is included on every order.

No — we ship within Australia only. This keeps our stock Australian-spec and our warranty fully local.

We don't offer pickup. Our warehouses are dispatch-only facilities without a customer counter, and stock moves between locations daily, so we can't guarantee an item is at a specific site on the day. Metro delivery usually takes 2–4 business days. Regional areas may take longer.

Yes, 100%. Every Hikvision, Dahua, HiLook and TP-Link VIGI product we sell is a genuine Australian-market model sourced through Australian supply chains — never grey imports. That means factory-sealed units, Australian-region firmware that works with the official apps out of the box, and a full 3-year local warranty.

Cheaper listings on marketplaces are often "grey market" units imported from overseas. They may have region-locked or modified firmware, no Australian warranty, and can be refurbished or previously used. Hikvision and Dahua don't honour warranty on these units in Australia.

Buying from Smarket gets you Australian-spec stock, a sealed box, a 3-year local warranty and local warranty support.

All cameras, NVRs and DVRs come with a 3-year back-to-base manufacturer warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship, in addition to your rights under Australian Consumer Law. Hard drives and accessories are covered as set out in our Warranty Policy.

Email sales@smarket.com.au with your order number, the product's serial number and a short description or photo of the fault. If the unit is faulty, we'll issue a return authorisation and repair or replace it. If an item is faulty on arrival, tell us within 7 days and we'll cover the return shipping.

No. Self-installation doesn't void the warranty. What isn't covered is damage caused by incorrect wiring, wrong voltage, flashing the wrong firmware, or physical and weather damage. If you're not confident, we recommend a licensed installer.

You have 30 days from the day you receive your order to request a change-of-mind return. Items must be unopened, factory-sealed and in resalable condition. A 15% restocking fee applies and return postage is at your cost. Faulty or incorrectly supplied items are different: we cover the return shipping and refund or replace at no charge. Read the full Return & Refund Policy.

Contact us within 7 days of delivery with your order number and a photo. We'll send a prepaid return label and arrange a replacement or full refund — whichever you prefer — at no cost to you.

Once we receive and inspect the return, refunds are processed within 10 business days to your original payment method. Your bank may take a few extra days to show it.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay. All prices are in Australian dollars and include GST. For trade and larger orders, contact us about paying by bank transfer.

Yes. Checkout runs on Shopify's PCI-compliant, encrypted platform — the same infrastructure used by millions of stores worldwide. We never see or store your full card details.

Yes. A GST tax invoice is emailed automatically with your order confirmation. Need it addressed to a business name or ABN? Reply to the confirmation email and we'll reissue it.

No. We sell directly to homeowners, businesses and trade customers alike. Professional-grade gear shouldn't be limited to professionals — though for larger or commercial jobs we do recommend a licensed installer.

We can connect you with licensed installers in Sydney and Melbourne. Installation typically starts from around $200 per camera depending on cable runs and site conditions. Email sales@smarket.com.au with your address and camera count for a quote.

Yes — most customers do. Our IP kits use Power over Ethernet, so each camera needs just one Cat6 cable back to the NVR for both power and video. Plug the cameras in, connect the NVR to your router, scan the QR code in the app, and you're recording. Our DIY guides cover mounting, cabling and app setup step by step.

Support is available for products purchased from Smarket. Email sales@smarket.com.au with your order number and we'll reply within 1 business day. Our DIY guides and the manufacturer's setup videos cover most first-time setup questions.

Yes, and there's no subscription. Hikvision uses the free Hik-Connect app, Dahua uses DMSS, HiLook uses HiLookVision and TP-Link uses VIGI. Footage is stored locally on your NVR's hard drive, so there are no cloud fees. Scan the QR code on the NVR and you'll have live view, playback and motion alerts on your phone in minutes.

Password resets are handled through the manufacturer. Hikvision and HiLook: export the device file with the free SADP tool and submit it through Hikvision Australia's support portal. Dahua: use the "Forgot password" option in the DMSS app. If you bought the device from Smarket and get stuck, email us with your order number.

Download firmware from the manufacturer's Australian support site for your exact model. Never flash firmware from another region — it can brick the device and isn't covered by warranty. If you bought from Smarket and aren't sure which file to use, email us your order number and model.

Start with three questions: how many areas do you need to cover, do you want colour night vision, and do you want AI alerts that ignore cars and animals? For most homes, a 4-camera 8MP ColorVu or Full-Colour kit is the sweet spot. Not sure? Use our CCTV Advisor — answer a few questions and it recommends a kit — or email us and we'll spec it with you.

Hikvision and Dahua are the two largest CCTV manufacturers in the world and are very close in image quality, AI features and app experience. Hikvision's strengths are AcuSense (human/vehicle detection) and ColorVu (24/7 colour). Dahua's are WizSense AI and TiOC active deterrence (siren and strobe). HiLook is Hikvision's value range — same app, simpler feature set, around 30% cheaper. Pick the brand whose app and features you prefer, then keep cameras and NVR on the same brand.

8MP (3840 × 2160) gives you noticeably more detail when you zoom into a face or number plate, and with H.265+ compression the extra storage cost is small. 6MP (3072 × 2048) is a good value choice for close-range areas like a front door or side passage. If the camera covers a driveway, street frontage or anything more than about 10 metres away, go 8MP.

Walk around your property and list every approach: front door, driveway, side gates, back yard, garage. Each one is a camera. A typical house needs 4; a corner block or larger property needs 6–8. Buy an NVR with spare channels — an 8-channel NVR with 4 cameras lets you add more later without replacing anything.

Turrets (eyeball) are the best all-rounder: easy to aim, no IR glare, and they work under eaves. Bullets are highly visible deterrents with longer IR range, ideal for driveways and fence lines. Domes are vandal-resistant and suit exposed or commercial locations. Most home kits use turrets for this reason. More in our buying guides.

Standard infrared cameras see 30–40 metres in black and white. ColorVu (Hikvision) and Full-Colour / TiOC (Dahua) cameras use a built-in warm light to record in full colour at night, typically to 30 metres, which makes clothing and vehicle colours identifiable. Hybrid or Smart Dual-Light models stay in IR and only switch on the white light when a person or vehicle is detected.

As a rule of thumb, four 8MP cameras recording 24/7 with H.265+ use about 2TB for 2 weeks of footage; switch to motion-only recording and that stretches to 4–6 weeks. Our kits ship with a 2TB, 4TB or 6TB surveillance drive and you can upgrade the drive on the kit page before checkout. Tell us how many days you need to keep and we'll recommend the size.

Most of our Hikvision and Dahua cameras support ONVIF, so they'll work with many third-party NVRs for basic recording. However, AI features like AcuSense, WizSense and active deterrence only work fully when the camera and NVR are the same brand. If you're adding to an existing system, email us the NVR model and we'll confirm compatibility before you buy.

For a permanent system we always recommend wired PoE. One cable carries power and video, there's no Wi-Fi dropout, no batteries to charge, and 4K streams don't compete with your home internet. Wireless cameras suit spots where a cable is genuinely impossible, but for a whole-house system PoE is more reliable and cheaper over time.

Yes. You can mix 6MP and 8MP, or ColorVu and AcuSense, on the same NVR as long as the total bandwidth stays within the NVR's rating (we check this for every kit we sell). To add cameras later, just plug them into a spare PoE port on the NVR — no reconfiguration needed. This is why we suggest an 8-channel NVR even if you start with 4 cameras.

Yes. Found the identical product cheaper at another Australian retailer with local stock and warranty? Send us the link and we'll match it — confirmed within 1 hour during business hours, before you order. Excludes grey imports, auctions, clearance and pricing errors. Request a price match.

Yes. Installers, resellers and integrators who buy regularly can apply for a Trade account and get 6% below RRP on our Best Sellers range, applied automatically at checkout on orders over $600. Applications are reviewed within 1 hour during business hours. Apply for a Trade account.

Absolutely. Tell us the number of cameras, site type and any must-have features, and we'll put together a kit and price — usually the same business day. Request a quote.