Compliant Security Screens: What "Cheaper" Really Costs You
When you’re comparing quotes for security screens and doors, it’s tempting to go with the lower number. But not every quote is for the same product. Some of the screens on the market that look similar to ours, and are priced well below them, don’t actually meet the Australian Standard for security screens at all. That difference doesn’t show up until the one moment it matters: when someone’s trying to get into your home.
What actually makes a screen a “security screen“
In Australia, a product can only be legally called a security screen or security door if it meets AS 5039, the Australian Standard covering these products. It has three parts:
AS 5039.1 sets the classification and performance requirements — how the product itself is designed and built.
AS 5039.2 covers installation — how the screen must be fitted to the frame to actually perform as tested.
AS 5039.3 sets the test methods — the six physical tests every compliant product must pass: dynamic impact, jemmy, pull, probe, knife shear, and corrosion.
To pass the dynamic impact test, a screen has to withstand five direct hits at either 100 or 200 joules of force and stay in the frame. That’s what a Security Level rating (SL100 or SL200) actually means — it’s not a marketing term, it’s a pass mark from a real forced-entry simulation. Every Prowler Proof screen we install carries one of these ratings.
Why the cheap quote often isn’t a security screen at all
A lot of the products undercutting us on price are what the industry calls barrier doors or safety screens — they’re built to look like a security door, sometimes even with a similar mesh or grille, but they haven’t been tested to AS 5039.1 and haven’t passed the AS 5039.3 tests. Some have thinner frames, non-welded corners, or fewer fixing points than a compliant product needs. On paper, and often to the eye, they look like they’re doing the same job. Under real force, they’re not.
There’s a simple way to check: a genuine compliant security screen has to carry a Manufacturing Compliance Label from the maker, confirming it passed AS 5039.1 and AS 5039.3, and an Installation Compliance Label applied by the installer, confirming it was fitted to AS 5039.2. If a product doesn’t have both labels, it isn’t a compliant security screen, no matter what it’s called on the quote.
Why this is the one detail you don’t want to compromise on
The whole point of a security screen is what happens in the moments someone is actively trying to force their way through it — kicking, prying, jemmying, cutting. That’s precisely the scenario AS 5039 testing is built to simulate. A screen that hasn’t been tested to that standard hasn’t been proven to hold up when it counts. You won’t notice the difference sitting in your living room. You’d only notice it in the one situation you installed the screen to prevent.
What you get with Miza Home Security
As a Prowler Proof Certified Dealer and NSSA member, every screen and door we supply is manufactured and tested to AS 5039.1 and AS 5039.3, carrying a genuine SL100 or SL200 rating. Every installation is carried out to AS 5039.2 by a QBCC licensed installer, with a compliance label applied on-site. You can request a compliance certificate for your records, so you have proof — not just our word — that what’s on your home meets the Australian Standard.
Before you compare quotes, ask the other installer:
Is this product tested and labelled to AS 5039.1? Will it carry a Manufacturing Compliance Label? Can I get a compliance certificate after installation? Is the installer licensed?
If the answer to any of those is no, you’re not comparing two security screens. You’re comparing a security screen to a barrier door, at a security screen’s job.
Get a genuine, compliant quote
Request your free measure & quote and we’ll show you exactly what standard your screens are built and installed to — in writing.