Blade 4 of 5 · Windows
Windows, children and falls
The National Construction Code 2022 says: “A window opening in a bedroom must be provided with protection, where the floor below the window is 2 m or more above the surface beneath.” For rooms other than bedrooms, protection is required where the floor below the window is “4 m or more above the surface beneath.”
General information, not building advice. The code is quoted exactly because its 2022 edition may be copied but not adapted. A building surveyor or certifier decides whether a particular window complies.
Why the rule exists
The code’s explanatory note is short: “The intent of 11.3.7 is to reduce the risk of a person (especially a young child) falling through an openable window.” The Queensland Government’s deck and balcony safety page puts the stakes plainly: “People die or are seriously injured every year when:”
- “they fall from decks, balconies and windows”
- “decks or balconies collapse.”
The rule sits under a performance requirement in NCC Volume Two, which begins:
“(1) A barrier must be provided where people could fall”:
- (a) “1 m or more”:
- (i) “from a floor or roof or through an opening (other than through an openable window) in the external wall; or”
- (ii) “due to a sudden change of level within or associated with a building; or”
- (b) “2 m or more from a floor through an openable window in a bedroom; or”
- (c) “4 m or more from a floor through an openable window not covered by (b).”
Bedrooms: 11.3.7, word for word
“Protection of openable windows – bedrooms”
“(1) A window opening in a bedroom must be provided with protection, where the floor below the window is 2 m or more above the surface beneath.”
“(2) Where the lowest level of the window opening covered by (1) is less than 1.7 m above the floor, the window opening must comply with the following:”
- (a) “The openable portion of the window must be protected with”:
- (i) “a device capable of restricting the window opening; or”
- (ii) “a screen with secure fittings.”
- (b) “A device or screen required by (a) must”:
- (i) “not permit a 125 mm sphere to pass through the window opening or screen; and”
- (ii) “resist an outward horizontal action of 250 N against the”:
- (A) “window restrained by a device; or”
- (B) “screen protecting the opening; and”
- (iii) “have a child resistant release mechanism if the screen or device is able to be removed, unlocked or overridden.”
“(3) Where a device or screen provided in accordance with (2)(a) is able to be removed, unlocked or overridden, a barrier with a height not less than 865 mm above the floor is required to an openable window in addition to window protection.”
“(4) A barrier covered by (3) must not”:
- (a) “permit a 125 mm sphere to pass through it; and”
- (b) “have any horizontal or near horizontal elements between 150 mm and 760 mm above the floor that facilitate climbing (see Figure 11.3.7).”
The code’s explanation adds two things a household meets in practice. “Child resistance could be achieved by the need to use a tool, key or two hands.” And the device or screen “may be installed in a manner that allows it to be removed, unlocked or overridden in the event of a fire or other emergency to allow safe egress. In these situations the unlocking device must be child resistant.”
A shutter is not named in the clause; it names “a device capable of restricting the window opening” and “a screen with secure fittings.”
Other rooms: 11.3.8, word for word
“Protection of openable windows – rooms other than bedrooms”
“(1) A window opening in a room other than a bedroom must be provided with protection where the floor below the window is 4 m or more above the surface beneath.”
“(2) The openable part of the window covered by (1) must be protected with a barrier with a height of not less than 865 mm above the floor.”
“(3) A barrier required by (2) must not”:
- (a) “permit a 125 mm sphere to pass through it; and”
- (b) “have any horizontal or near horizontal elements between 150 mm and 760 mm above the floor that facilitate climbing.”
Why louvres count as windows
For a site built around blades, this is the line that matters most. The code explains:
“The term” window “is not italicised in 11.3.7 and as such, is not restricted to the definition of” window “in the NCC. The reason for this is to also capture windows that may let in air but not light, e.g. metal louvres. A metal louvre or openable panel would not fit in the NCC definition of window but is subject to the window barrier provisions.”
Which edition applies
Everything above is the 2022 edition. The ABCB’s advisory note on openable windows says the requirements were first introduced with NCC 2013. “NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026”, and the ABCB’s adoption table gives these start dates as at October 2026: Victoria 1 May 2026; the ACT and Western Australia 1 May 2026, each with a 12-month transition; NSW and Queensland 1 May 2027; Tasmania 1 May 2027, after a temporary adoption from 1 May to 4 June 2026 and a transition period from 5 June 2026; South Australia 1 May 2027 for the building code; the Northern Territory “Not adopted”. The 2025 wording is not quoted here, and the ABCB adds: “Some NCC requirements may apply at different times or not at all due to state or territory variations.” In Victoria, where NCC 2025 started on 1 May 2026 with no transition period, ask a building surveyor or certifier which edition applies to your work.
In any home, whatever its age
Queensland Government
Under “Children on decks and balconies”, its page says that besides always supervising children, a few simple changes make a home safer, including: “Don’t leave furniture or other climbable objects near windows.” and “Don’t rely on fly screens or non-safety-grade glass to protect window openings.”
Better Health Channel (Victoria)
Its window safety advice is to make sure children cannot open a window and fall out, keep furniture away from windows, and fit window locks that stop a window opening wide enough for a child, and fit window guards. It notes that insect screens do not stop children falling.
On hardware, the code’s explanatory note says: “Short chain winders and barrier screens will allow windows to comply with this requirement.” An installer or certifier can say which option suits a particular window.