Window Compliance in Victoria — Certificates, Standards and Who Signs What
Compliance paperwork is where window claims either hold up or fall apart. This page explains the standards behind our certificates, what you actually receive, and who is responsible for which part — because it's genuinely shared, and knowing the split protects you. As with everything compliance-related: this is typical guidance, and your project's specifics should be confirmed with your building surveyor.
What is AS 2047 and why does it matter?
AS 2047 is the Australian Standard for windows and external glazed doors in buildings. It's what makes a window rating meaningful rather than a marketing claim.
Under it, a window system is tested as a complete assembly for structural deflection, operating force, air infiltration, water penetration resistance and ultimate strength. Passing gives the system its wind classification and its serviceability, ultimate and water pressures. Every system we supply is tested to it, and when we tell you a window is N4 we're referring to a specific test report on a specific configuration — which is why we'll sometimes say a rating doesn't carry across from single to double glazing, because it's a different tested assembly.
What certificates do I get with my windows?
For a standard Melbourne house you'd receive an AGWA Window Compliance Certificate — Housing. It records your site's wind rating with the corresponding pressures, lists any corner windows by item number, states the U-value and SHGC alongside your NatHERS or BASIX certificate number, and covers bushfire level, fall prevention and acoustic rating where those apply.
It carries two signatures: ours as the company supplying the windows, and your builder's as installer, because correct installation is part of compliance. If the work is glazing only — a glass replacement or a shower screen — that's a separate Glass Compliance Certificate against AS 1288 instead.
What's the difference between a housing and a commercial certificate?
It comes down to how the wind loads are established. A housing certificate applies to Class 1 or 10 buildings — standard houses, garages, sheds and carports — that sit within the geometric limits of AS 4055. For those, the wind pressures are standard deemed values read from a table, so we simply tick your N rating.
A commercial certificate applies to Class 2 to 9 buildings, or to a house that falls outside those geometric limits because it's unusually tall, large or shaped. There the pressures are engineered specifically for the site under AS/NZS 1170.2 and entered as actual Pascal values from your engineer's schedule. If you're not sure which applies, the building class and the AS 4055 limits decide it, not the size of the job.
Do I need safety glass, and where?
In certain locations, yes — it's required by AS 1288, the Australian Standard for glass in buildings, which covers human impact safety glazing. Typical locations include doors and side panels, low-level glazing, bathrooms and wet areas, and glass in or near stairs.
Both toughened and laminated glass satisfy the safety requirement. The exact locations for your house come from the glazing schedule assessed against AS 1288, and your compliance certificate records which version of the standard — 2006 or 2021 — the work was certified to. We'd rather confirm the schedule against your plans than have you work from a general rule, because the trigger points depend on sill heights and door proximity.
What are the rules about windows and child safety?
Under the National Construction Code, openable windows need fall protection where the floor is four metres or more above the surface below and the opening is reachable from floor level — which in practice means upper-storey bedrooms and spaces used by young children.
The usual routes are restricting the window so it can't open more than 125mm, or fitting fall-prevention screens. Which applies to your project is recorded on the compliance certificate against the relevant item numbers. It's much simpler to settle this before manufacture than to retrofit, so we raise it early whenever we see upper-storey bedrooms on a plan.
Can I get restricted opening windows?
Yes. For sashes up to about 1200mm wide, the restriction is built into the chain winder itself. For wider sashes, we fit additional restrictors alongside the winder.
Two caveats worth stating plainly. That guidance is documented for some of our systems but not restated for others, so we confirm the arrangement per system rather than assuming it applies everywhere. And if the restriction is there to satisfy an NCC fall-prevention requirement rather than just personal preference, the maximum opening is 125mm and your building surveyor should confirm which items it applies to.
What if it's only glass — do I still get a certificate?
Yes, and it's a different certificate from the one you'd get for new windows.
Glazing-only work certified to AS 1288 — glass replacement, shower screens, splashbacks, balustrades, mirrors, domestic window glass — is covered by an AGWA Glass Compliance Certificate. It records the AS 1288 version the work was certified to, the client and site, the completion date, a plain description of the work and the type of glazing job. Unlike a window compliance certificate, which carries two signatures because installation is a shared responsibility, the glass certificate carries one: the company that both supplied and installed the glass.
It's a formal declaration, so it should only be issued on the basis of genuine substantiated compliance. If you're replacing glass and nobody offers you one, that's worth asking about.
Who is responsible for making sure my windows comply?
It's shared, which is why the window compliance certificate carries two signatures. We certify that the windows and doors were manufactured to AS 2047 and AS 1288 and that they meet the specified performance. Your builder or installer certifies that they were installed correctly under the NCC and that human-impact safety glass ended up in the right openings.
The site's wind classification and BAL assessment come from your engineer, designer or building surveyor rather than from us — we select and certify against them. A window that's compliant on paper can still fail in practice if it's installed badly, so the split is deliberate.