The AS 5039, 5040 and 5041 standards in plain English
What the three Australian Standards for security screen doors and window grilles actually cover, the tests a product has to pass, what a compliance label looks like and how to check a quote before you sign it.
Quick answer
A real security screen is built to AS 5039, tested by the methods in AS 5041 and installed to AS 5040. The tests cover knife, impact, jemmy, pull and probe attacks on the whole door or window, not just the mesh. If a quote does not name all three standards in writing, ask why.
AS 5039
How the product performs
AS 5040
How it is installed
AS 5041
How it is tested
Tests
Knife, impact, jemmy, pull, probe
A general guide for homeowners. The standards themselves are published by Standards Australia.
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Book a free measureThree standards, one system
In Australia, security screen doors and security window grilles are covered by three standards that work together. One sets how the product must perform, one describes how it is tested, and one covers how it is fitted to your home. A screen that meets only one or two of them has not been proven as a complete system.
Standard
What it covers
Applies to
AS 5039 · Performance
Infill, frame, lock, hinges
The manufacturer
AS 5040 · Installation
Fixings, frame, gaps, opening
The installer
AS 5041 · Test methods
Knife, impact, jemmy, pull, probe
The testing laboratory
The key idea is that a screen is tested as a whole. Strong mesh in a light frame, or a well-made door fixed with the wrong screws, will not perform the way the test results suggest. That is why the three standards only mean something together.
AS 5039: how the product must perform
AS 5039 is the Australian Standard for security screen doors and security window grilles. It sets the performance a complete door or window screen must reach, covering the infill, the frame and its joints, the lock, the hinges and the way the infill is held in the frame.
It is a pass or fail standard. A product either meets it as tested or it does not, so be wary of claims such as “tested to a higher grade” or “exceeds the standard” without a test report behind them.
Infill
The mesh, perforated sheet or grille has to resist cutting, impact and being pulled out of the frame.
Frame
The frame and corner joints have to hold the infill in place under attack without bending away from it.
Lock
The lock has to keep the door closed when someone tries to lever it open from the outside.
Hinges and fixings
Hinges and screws have to stop the door being lifted or prised off from the hinge side.
The standard applies to the product as it was tested. Change the infill, cut in a pet door or swap the lock, and the door may no longer perform as tested. The same goes for re-meshing an old frame: it can be worth doing, but it does not make an untested door comply. Our stainless mesh, perforated aluminium and diamond grille comparison explains how each infill behaves.
The tests in AS 5041
AS 5041 describes the methods a laboratory uses to test a door or window screen against AS 5039. Each test is designed to copy a common way of breaking in. A product has to pass all of them, on the same design, to claim it complies.
01
Knife shear test. A blade is drawn across the infill under force, to check it cannot be cut through the way a fly screen can be slashed.
02
Dynamic impact test. A heavy weight is swung into the screen, copying a kick or a shoulder charge, to check the infill does not tear or burst out of the frame.
03
Jemmy test. A lever is forced between the door and its frame at the lock and hinge sides, to check it cannot be prised open.
04
Pull test. The infill is pulled away from the frame, to check it stays locked in its retaining system.
05
Probe test. A probe is pushed through the infill and any gaps, to check nobody can reach through to the lock or release the door.
Testing is done on samples of a design by an independent laboratory, which then issues a test report. Ask your supplier which product range they install and whether it has been tested as a complete door or window, not just as a sheet of mesh.
AS 5040: how it must be installed
AS 5040 covers installation. A tested door is only as strong as the frame and wall it is fixed to, so the standard deals with how the screen is fixed to the building, the fixings used, the gaps around the edges and the condition of the opening it goes into.
In practice, that means a compliant installer checks the opening at the measure, uses the right fixings for timber, brick or aluminium, packs out-of-square frames so the door hangs true, and keeps the gaps around the screen tight enough that it cannot be levered or reached around.
It is also why we use our own installers rather than subcontractors. If a frame needs a sub-frame or a new track to be fitted properly, we tell you at the measure and list it on the quote. The price guide explains how that shows up in the cost.
What a compliance label looks like
Compliant products are usually identified by a small, permanent label or sticker on the frame, often on the hinge-side stile or the top rail of a door, or on the frame of a window screen. It normally names the manufacturer or product range and the standard the product was tested to.
Your paperwork matters as much as the label. When the job is finished, you should be able to see, in writing, that the product is tested to AS 5039 and installed to AS 5040.
What to keep
Your security screen paperwork
Product range and infill
Named on the quote
Product standard
AS 5039, tested to AS 5041
Installation standard
AS 5040
Label on the frame
Manufacturer and standard
Warranty
In writing, period per part
Keep the invoice and quote with your home records. You will need them for a warranty claim.
What is not a security screen
Plenty of products look strong without being tested. None of them is wrong for the right job, but none of them should be sold to you as a security screen.
Fly screens
Fibreglass or aluminium insect mesh in a light frame. It keeps insects out and nothing else, and it can be cut with a pocket knife.
“Security look” doors
Doors with a heavy-looking frame or a decorative grille that have never been tested to AS 5039. Looking solid is not the same as passing the tests.
Untested grilles
Many older and budget diamond grille doors were never tested. Grilles can comply, but larger openings are easier to reach through.
Self-fitted kits
A tested product installed without following AS 5040 may not perform as tested, however good the door itself is.
Other standards and rules sit alongside these three. Openable windows in upper floors have their own rules for child safety, explained in our child-safe window screens guide, and homes in bushfire-prone areas may need ember screens to suit their BAL rating, covered in ember screens and BAL ratings.
How to check before you buy
You do not need to read the standards to protect yourself. A few questions, asked before you sign, tell you most of what you need to know.
Standards checklist
The quote names the product range, not just “security door”
It says the product is tested to AS 5039
It says installation is to AS 5040
The infill is named, for example 316 stainless steel mesh
The installer is the supplier’s own crew, or named on the quote
You will get a label on the frame and paperwork at handover
The warranty is in writing, with a period for each part
A supplier who installs tested products will be happy to put all of this in writing. If the answers are vague, ask again, or ask us to look over the quote with you.
See our security doorsFour checks before you sign.
The four things that tell you whether a security screen is the real thing, and how much weight to give each one.
Tested to AS 5039
The product range has passed the AS 5041 tests as a complete door or window, and the quote says so.
Priority
Essential
Installed to AS 5040
Fitted by trained installers with the right fixings, packing and gaps for your frame.
Priority
Essential
Label and paperwork
A permanent label on the frame and a written statement of compliance at handover.
Priority
High
No changes after testing
No cut-in pet doors, swapped locks or re-meshed frames presented as compliant.
Priority
Worth asking
Standards questions.
Not sure whether your existing screens comply? Send us a photo of the frame and the label and we will tell you what we can see.
Ask us a questionIs AS 5039 compulsory?
Not for every screen, but a product can only be called a security screen door or window grille under the standard if it meets it. Some builders, insurers and body corporates ask for it. Either way, it is the clearest guide to real strength you will find.
Does stainless mesh automatically meet AS 5039?
No. The standard applies to the complete door or window: infill, frame, lock and fixings tested together. Good mesh in an untested frame does not comply, which is why we install tested product ranges rather than mesh alone.
Can my old security door be made compliant?
Usually not by repair alone. Re-meshing or new hardware can make an old door work well again, but the frame and lock were not tested with the new parts. If you need a compliant door, it is generally a replacement.
Are your doors and screens tested and installed to the standards?
Yes. The stainless mesh and perforated aluminium doors and window screens we install are tested to AS 5039 and fitted by our own crew to AS 5040. We name the product and both standards on your written quote.
See the proof.
Book a free measure and we will bring tested samples, show you the label and send a fixed, written quote within two business days.
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