Each year, around 50 children fall from windows or balconies in Australia. Many suffer serious injuries or worse, these falls can be fatal.

Children aged from one to five years are most at risk, as they are naturally curious, but lack the ability to recognise the danger. These falls often happen in the child's own home, and as the weather warms up families are more likely to leave windows and doors to balconies, open both during the day and at night.

There are legal requirements in place that apply to strata buildings in NSW and new buildings, designed to improve child safety.

Ensuring Your Home and/or Your Investment Is Safe and Compliant

Since 1st May 2013, there has been a requirement in the national construction code for the Protection of Openable windows for all new construction where windows are positioned 2 metres above the ground floor. These windows must be restricted or protected in a way to not permit a 125mm (12.5cm) opening and resist a 250N outward force.

In NSW window safety laws were passed in parliament for residential strata buildings to adopt these new requirements in new construction through to existing strata buildings.

In NSW owners corporations had until 13th March 2018 to install such devices for the protection of openable windows. This included owners corporations who also had to ensure devices were installed on all applicable common property windows too.

If you or your tenants live in a multi-storey house or apartment you can prevent window fall injuries and tragedies by childproofing your windows and doors. In turn, you can give yourself peace of mind that you’ll be keeping children safe and compliant with current legislation.

How Do I Know If A Window Safety Device Is Compliant?

Besides restricting the window from opening more than 125mm (12.5cm) the device must also be able to withstand a force equal to 25 kilograms. We recommend you check the packaging on the locks or if you’re still uncertain contact the seller or manufacturer for further information.

Preventing Falls From Windows

In addition to ensuring your windows are compliant with current legislations there are other ways to also prevent children from falling from windows in your home:

Keep furniture, such as sofas, chairs, tables, beds, cots, change tables etc. away from windows.
Keep light objects such as empty boxes or books that can be stacked up to form a ladder away from windows.
Do not rely on fly screens, as they’re not strong enough to stop a child falling out of an open window. Falls Prevention Warning labels are available for purchase via the Australian Window Association.
Lock windows that aren’t being used.
Where possible install windows that open from the top.
If you have casement windows, remove the crank handle to keep the window closed. Make sure to screw it back in when you want to open the window.
Educate children to play away from windows.
Supervise children when they’re near open windows.

Are There Alternatives To Locks?

There are alternatives to security screens, such as bars or grills on the windows so long as they have gaps less than 125mm (12.5cm).

Flyscreens don’t comply unless they are capable of resisting the very strong outward pressure (250N) which would prevent a child from falling through.

Some other alternatives include:

Fixed Window Screen – Professionally installed and certified to withstand withhold 25kgs of pressure in three different points from the inside.

Window Guards – Fix the guard mounts to the window frame with screws. Window guards can help protect the opening, but make sure they have release buttons so they can be removed quickly in an emergency.

Window Restrictors – Attach the device to the window frame with screws. Window restrictors can be unlocked with a key and then disengaged to open the window.

Safety Nets – Fix the anchorage to the entire window frame with screws and then hook the nets onto the anchorage. In an emergency, you can remove the netting from the anchorage system.

Key-Operated Window Locks – Attach the device to the window frame with screws. It can be mounted to keep the window from opening more than 125mm (12.5cm). You can unlock the device with the supplied key.

Window Wedges – Apply the loop strip on the window frame and then attach the wedge to the strip. You can adjust the wedge on the strip for the desired opening. You can also use it to prevent your child from opening the window by ‘wedging’ it shut.

Balcony Safety

In addition to window safety, it is important to also ensure that children and adults are safe on balconies.

Balconies, decks, balustrades and railings must be built to the Building Code of Australia and relevant Australian Standards. They must also be regularly inspected and maintained.

It is a requirement that landlords provide and maintain rented premises in a reasonable state of repair. When a tenancy starts, faults or damage should be recorded on the condition report and repaired or replaced where necessary.

You must:

Make sure where possible, balustrades (railings):
- Are at least 1 metre high.
- Have vertical bars which are no more than 125mm (12.5cm) apart. You can use a ruler to measure the gaps between your vertical balustrade posts.
- Have no horizontal or near horizontal parts that would allow children to climb.

Additional safe advice includes:

Keeping all furniture, pot plants and other objects that children can climb away from the edge of balconies.
Don’t have furniture that is light enough for children to drag to the balcony edge.
Keep balcony doors locked to stop a child from going on the balcony.
Supervise children on balconies.

Blind and Curtain Safety

Window coverings (such as curtains, shades and blinds) with cords and chains can cause injury and death to young children and babies if they become wrapped around their necks.

Strangulation can occur when cords are too long or end in a loop:

If a child slips, moves quickly or plays with a cord, the cord can act as a noose.
Babies can reach through cot slats, grab a nearby blind or curtain cord and pull it into the cot and around their necks.
Young children can strangle on dangling cords after climbing onto a bed or other pieces of furniture.

Don’t risk injury and death, follow these additional tips to stay safe.

Home Security Advice

Whilst it is important to provide a safe and compliant environment when it comes to windows, blinds and balcony safety it is also important to touch on the security of your home to ensure that you’re not left vulnerable.

So, whilst a door may be the first place an intruder tries to enter your property, the next in place they’ll test is the windows. Unfortunately, windows by their very nature aren’t as secure as a hard timber door.

But because windows offer a snapshot into your home-life and they put all your valuables and precious things on display, they represent a tantalising opportunity to your average burglar. After all, everything inside seems just out of reach.

That’s not to say that there aren’t measures you can and should take to improve security around the perimeter of your home.

Believe it or not, just over half of all forced entries are through a window.

Windows make a very an inviting prospect for intruders because they tend to be hidden behind greenery and fences, and of course, they’re usually weaker than doors.

In older homes especially, would-be thieves are very much aware that many homeowners neglect to install locks on the windows or keep them consistently closed and locked when they leave the house.

Having windows that lock will not only appeal to prospective tenants, but they’ll keep your insurer happy, and your family much safer.

Read on for some of the approaches you can take to securing all the different types of windows on your property.

So Where Are Your Property’s Weak Spots?

Whether you live in a rental or own your own home, take the time to do a round-up and identify all the different types of windows on your property so that you can talk confidently to a professional to get the right locking mechanism for each window.

Plus, if you’re not quite sure which windows are which, this Encyclopedia of Windows might help.

A Few Final Tips On Window Security

Love your giant TV?
- So do thieves – don’t leave valuables on display. Close the blinds.

Live above ground level?
- You should still lock upstairs windows and doors.

Have window panes in your doors or sidelight windows?
- Make sure your lock is not so close to the window that someone can break the pane, reach around and unlock the door.

What's New In Real Estate

Windows, Blinds and Balconies - Safety and Security