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Screens are the most Australian thing fitted to a window. They let a house be opened up through a long hot evening without letting the mosquitoes in, and in much of the country they are not an accessory but the reason the window can be used at all.

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What many owners do not realise is that a screen can also be a legal safety device. The ABCB Housing Provisions require window opening protection for bedroom windows where the floor below is two metres or higher above the surface beneath: where the openable part is below 1.7 metres, a device must prevent a 125 millimetre sphere passing through, must resist an outward horizontal action of 250 newtons, and if it is removable must have a child-resistant release mechanism and be backed by a barrier at least 865 millimetres high. New South Wales applies a parallel rule in strata buildings, requiring a lock on any openable window whose lowest part is within 1.7 metres of the inside floor where that floor is two metres or more above the ground outside, limiting the opening to 12.5 centimetres and requiring the device to be childproof and to resist a force equal to 25 kilograms.

That is the line between a flyscreen and a fall-prevention screen. An ordinary insect screen is designed to stop an insect and will not hold a child. New South Wales allows a flyscreen instead of a lock only where it can resist very strong outward pressure, and allows bars or grilles only where the gaps are under 12.5 centimetres.

The four jobs a window screen can be doing

  • Insect screening, the standard fibreglass or aluminium mesh in a light frame, which keeps mosquitoes and flies out and does nothing structural.
  • Pet-resistant screening, a heavier mesh in the same kind of frame, which survives a dog or a cat but is still not a safety device.
  • Security screening, a structural mesh or grille in a fixed frame designed to resist forced entry, tested as a system rather than as a mesh.
  • Fall-prevention screening, which is the same kind of construction judged against the opening-protection requirements for bedroom windows and, in New South Wales strata, against the window safety device rules.
  • Ember screening in designated bushfire prone areas, where the mesh aperture and the frame material are doing fire work rather than insect work.
  • Retractable and pleated screens for large openings and sliding doors, which solve the insect problem on a wide opening without a fixed frame.
  • Privacy and shade screens fitted outside the glass, which are shading devices rather than screens in the insect sense.

What a screen has to withstand before it counts as protection

The ABCB Housing Provisions set the test. For a bedroom window where the floor is two metres or higher above the surface beneath, and the openable part is below 1.7 metres, the protective device must not allow a 125 millimetre sphere to pass and must resist an outward horizontal action of 250 newtons. If the device is removable it must have a child-resistant release mechanism, and a barrier at least 865 millimetres high is required as well.

New South Wales expresses the same protection differently for existing strata buildings. There, a window with its lowest part within 1.7 metres of the inside floor, where that floor is two metres or more above the ground outside, must have a safety lock that stops the window opening more than 12.5 centimetres, that is childproof, and that resists a force equal to 25 kilograms. Security bars or grilles may be used instead provided the gaps are under 12.5 centimetres, and flyscreens are accepted only where they can resist very strong outward pressure. Fixed windows that do not open need nothing.

The NSW Planning window safety page describes the same devices as limiting the opening to less than 125 millimetres and resisting up to 250 newtons, equivalent to 25 kilograms, with a child-resistant release. The numbers line up; the point is that a screen only counts if it has been made and fixed to take that load.

Where the window safety rules currently apply in New South Wales

  • Strata schemes, where the owners corporation must pay to install and repair the window locks unless the by-laws say otherwise.
  • Homes built after 1 May 2013, where the NSW Planning page says the requirement applies to bedrooms only.
  • Windows that open, since fixed windows are outside the requirement entirely.
  • Windows whose lowest part is within 1.7 metres of the inside floor, measured inside the room rather than from the sill outside.
  • Rooms whose floor is two metres or more above the ground outside, which in practice means first floor and above on most sites.
  • The certification framework sits in the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021, which is where the NSW Planning page locates proposed changes.
  • Everywhere else in the country the equivalent protection comes from the National Construction Code as adopted by that state or territory, not from a New South Wales rule.

Mesh and frame choices, and what each is good for

  • Fibreglass mesh, the cheapest and the most forgiving to re-spline, which sags and tears over time and is purely an insect screen.
  • Aluminium mesh, stiffer and longer-lived than fibreglass, still an insect screen rather than a safety device.
  • Stainless steel woven mesh in a structural frame, the usual basis of a security screen, where the grade of stainless matters a great deal near the coast.
  • Perforated aluminium sheet, an alternative security screen material that gives more privacy and less view than woven mesh.
  • Aluminium grille and bar systems, which meet the gap limits by geometry rather than by mesh strength.
  • Powder-coated versus marine-grade finishes, which is the choice that decides whether a coastal screen is still sound in a decade.
  • Frame fixing, which is the component that actually carries the load, and the reason a good mesh in a screwed-on frame is not a safety device.

Keeping screens working in Australian conditions

  • Hose screens down regularly in coastal and dusty areas, because salt and grit are what corrode a mesh from the inside of the weave.
  • Check the fixings on any screen doing safety work annually, since the fixings, not the mesh, are what resist the load.
  • Re-spline or replace insect mesh as soon as it bellies, because a sagging screen is being pushed against every time the window is used.
  • Clean and lubricate the tracks on retractable and sliding screens, which jam with sand and sunscreen long before they wear out.
  • Check that a removable safety device still has a working child-resistant release, and that the release has not been disabled for convenience.
  • Keep furniture and beds away from protected windows, since a chair below a window undoes a great deal of what the device is there to do.
  • Replace a screen that has been forced or impacted rather than straightening it, because its rating no longer means anything.

The gap between an insect screen and a safety screen

The single most dangerous assumption in this trade is that a flyscreen will stop a child. It will not, and it is not designed to. A standard insect screen is held in a light frame with clips or friction and is intended to be removable for cleaning, which is the opposite of what a fall-prevention device has to be.

New South Wales makes the distinction explicitly in its strata rules: flyscreens are allowed instead of locks only if they can resist very strong outward pressure to stop a child falling through. Everything else in that regime is about resisting force, whether it is the 25 kilogram figure for a lock or the requirement that grille gaps stay under 12.5 centimetres.

If a window in your house meets the height conditions and a child sleeps in that room, treat the screen question as a safety question. Buy a device made and tested to take load, have it fixed into structure rather than into a light frame, and check it periodically rather than assuming it has stayed as it was installed.

Screens: frequently asked questions

Will a flyscreen stop a child falling out of a window?

No. An ordinary insect screen is designed to stop insects and is deliberately easy to remove for cleaning. New South Wales allows a flyscreen in place of a window safety lock in a strata building only where it can resist very strong outward pressure to stop a child falling through, which ordinary flyscreens cannot. The devices the rules contemplate resist a force equal to 25 kilograms, or an outward horizontal action of 250 newtons in the National Construction Code's words, and that is a structural requirement rather than a mesh one.

Which windows in my home need a safety device?

In an existing New South Wales strata building, any openable window whose lowest part is within 1.7 metres of the inside floor where that floor is two metres or more above the ground outside. In new construction, the National Construction Code's Housing Provisions require opening protection for bedroom windows where the floor is two metres or higher above the surface beneath and the openable part is below 1.7 metres. The NSW Planning page notes the requirement currently applies to strata apartments and to homes built after 1 May 2013, bedrooms only. Fixed windows are outside it.

How far is a protected window allowed to open?

Not far enough for a child to pass. New South Wales requires a safety lock that stops the window opening more than 12.5 centimetres. The Housing Provisions express the same limit as a device that does not allow a 125 millimetre sphere to pass through, and the NSW Planning page describes devices that limit the opening to less than 125 millimetres. Bars or grilles used as an alternative must keep their gaps under 12.5 centimetres. A device that can be wound open further, or released without a child-resistant mechanism, does not satisfy the requirement.

Who pays for window locks in a strata building?

The owners corporation must pay to install and repair window locks, unless the strata by-laws say otherwise. That is the New South Wales position for strata schemes and it applies to the common property windows as a whole rather than lot by lot. If you live in an apartment and a window meeting the height conditions has no compliant device, it is a matter to raise with the strata committee rather than something to fit yourself.

Is a security screen the same as a fall-prevention screen?

They overlap but they are answering different questions. A security screen resists forced entry from outside; a fall-prevention device resists a load pushing outwards from inside and limits how far the window opens. Many well-made security screens will do both, but that has to be established from the product's own documentation and from how it has been fixed, not assumed from the fact that it is heavy. Ask the supplier to state in writing that the screen as installed meets the opening-protection requirements that apply to that window.

Sources

  1. ABCB Housing Provisions, Part 11.3 Barriers and handrails
  2. NSW Government: Safety rules for strata common property
  3. NSW Department of Planning: Window safety

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides

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What affects the cost of screen

Prices depend on the details of your project. We only publish price ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch quote data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the price:

  • Number, size and style of windows or doors
  • Frame material and glass options
  • Full-frame replacement or insert
  • Repairs to rotted framing or sills
  • Interior and exterior trim and capping
  • Access, including upper floors

How to compare screen installers before you hire

  • Look for an installer who measures on site and explains how the new window or door will be sealed and flashed.
  • Ask whether the quote is for a full-frame replacement or an insert, and why they recommend it.
  • Compare quotes on the same product type, glass options, installation method and interior and exterior trim.
  • Ask who handles warranty issues: the installer, the manufacturer or both.
  • For garage doors, choose a technician trained on springs and openers, since that work can be dangerous.

Questions to ask screen installers before you hire

  • Will you replace the full frame or install an insert, and what's the difference for my home?
  • How will you insulate and seal around the new units?
  • Is interior and exterior trim included in the price?
  • What does the manufacturer's warranty cover, and what does your installation warranty cover?
  • How long will it take for the products to arrive once I order?
  • Will your own crew do the installation?

When to call a pro for screen

  • Drafts, condensation or fog between the panes
  • Windows or doors that stick, won't lock or let water in
  • A garage door that's off track or has a broken spring: don't try to force it, and call a garage door technician.

Screen permits and local rules

Some screen work needs a permit or has to meet local bylaws. Rules vary by municipality, so ask your pro whether a permit is needed and who will apply for it — and check with your city or town if you’re unsure.

Permits and licensing

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