Most people shopping for security screens in Brisbane, the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast compare price, colour, and mesh look — and never ask the one question that actually matters: has this screen been independently tested to withstand a real break-in attempt, or does the word “security” just mean it’s got a mesh in front of your window?
There’s a specific test that separates genuine security screens from screens that only look secure. It’s called the Impact Test, and it’s the test most suppliers hope you never ask about — because a lot of “security” screens on the market either haven’t been tested to it at all, or scrape through the bare minimum and no more.
What the Impact Test Actually Measures
Under the Australian Standard AS 5039, a security screen has to withstand five impacts of 100 joules of force to pass. That figure isn’t arbitrary — it’s based on the fact that an adult male can easily generate more than 100 joules with a single kick. In plain terms: the standard is designed to simulate a person trying to kick their way through your door or window screen.
Passing this test is the minimum bar for a product to legally call itself a “security screen” in Australia. Products that haven’t been tested to AS 5039 — including a lot of cheaper fly-screen-style products marketed with “security” in the name — offer no certified resistance to forced entry at all.
Where Standard Screens Fall Short
Independent testing conducted through the University of Queensland and the Australian Defence Force Academy put a range of leading screen brands through the AS 5039 impact test and then kept increasing the force beyond the standard’s minimum requirement. The results were confronting: several well-known competitor products couldn’t even reliably survive the standard’s baseline requirement of five impacts at 100 joules — let alone anything harder.
This is the gap most homeowners never see, because it isn’t something a supplier volunteers on their website or in a showroom. A screen can technically be marketed as a “security screen” while barely — or not even — clearing the minimum legal bar.
The most telling part of that same independent testing round: even Crimsafe’s entry-level frame outperformed every competitor’s best-performing product by a wide margin. Crimsafe Regular — our standard, base-range frame — withstood a single impact of 500 joules. The strongest competing screen tested didn’t get close to that figure, meaning our regular frame is roughly twice as strong as the best-performing competitor screen on the market, not just an average one. That’s before you even step up to Crimsafe Ultimate.
| Product | Single Impact Resistance | Multiple of AS 5039 Minimum (100J) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard/competitor screens (strongest tested) | ~250 joules or less | Below 2.5x minimum |
| Crimsafe Regular | 550 joules (500J+ in comparative testing) | 5.5x |
| Crimsafe Ultimate | 750 joules | 7.5x |
| Crimsafe Heavy-Duty | 1,200 joules | 12x |
The reason comes down to construction. Crimsafe’s patented Screw-Clamp® technology clamps the mesh into the frame with tamper-resistant screws, spreading impact force around the entire frame rather than concentrating it at a single weak point. Combined with Tensile Tuff® mesh — a 0.9mm, stainless steel mesh — the result is a screen that absorbs and disperses force instead of tearing or popping out of the frame on the first solid hit.
It's Not Just the Kick Test
Impact resistance is only one part of AS 5039. A genuine security screen also has to pass the Knife Shear Test and the Jemmy Test — two scenarios that are arguably more common than a straight-out kick, because they’re quieter and don’t require brute strength.
The Knife Shear Test
This test simulates an intruder using a knife or box cutter to slash through the mesh — a common, low-noise method of entry that doesn’t need force, just a blade and a few seconds.
The mesh is mounted horizontally under load, and a heavy-duty trimming knife is drawn along it with up to 350N (roughly 35kg) of force. This is repeated three separate times, with a brand-new blade fitted for each pass, to stop any single blunted blade skewing the result. To pass, the mesh cannot be cut through in a continuous line longer than 150mm.
This is exactly why mesh quality matters more than most people realise. Crimsafe’s Tensile Tuff® mesh is a 0.9mm, marine-grade stainless steel woven specifically to resist blade penetration — a noticeably heavier gauge than the mesh used in many standard screens, which can shear through far more easily under the same test conditions.
The Jemmy (Lever Attack) Test
The Jemmy Test simulates an intruder using a crowbar, screwdriver, or similar tool to physically pry a screen away from its frame — attacking the locking points, hinges, and frame edges rather than the mesh itself.
Force is applied and held at each of these pressure points to check whether the frame, fixings, and locking mechanism hold their ground under sustained leverage. This is where a lot of “security” screens quietly fail: a mesh might resist a knife just fine, but if the frame pops away from its fixings under a jemmy attack, the mesh strength is irrelevant — the intruder simply pries the whole unit off.
Crimsafe’s frame, hinges, fixings and locking system are engineered to meet AS 5039’s jemmy requirements in every section, because the Screw-Clamp® system that holds the mesh also reinforces the frame’s structural integrity as a whole — not just the mesh panel.
Pull, Probe and Shear Tests
Rounding out the standard, these tests assess the mesh and frame’s resistance to being pried apart at the fixing points, punctured with a pointed tool, or torn once a small breach has been made.
Crimsafe is tested and certified across all six AS 5039 categories — impact, knife shear, jemmy, pull, probe and shear — not just the one that happens to photograph well in a brochure. You can see the full breakdown of results on our Crimsafe Testing Results page.
Frequently Asked Questions - Crimsafe Testing
Yes. Independent testing conducted through the University of Queensland found that Crimsafe’s entry-level Regular frame withstood a single impact of 500 joules — roughly twice the impact resistance of the strongest competitor screen tested, and 5.5x the minimum required by Australian Standard AS 5039.
AS 5039 is the Australian Standard that certifies security screen doors and window screens. It covers six tests: impact, knife shear, jemmy (lever attack), pull, probe and shear. A product must pass all six to be legitimately called a “security screen” in Australia.
Crimsafe Regular withstands 550 joules in a single impact, Crimsafe Ultimate withstands 750 joules, and Crimsafe Heavy-Duty withstands 1,200 joules — compared to the AS 5039 minimum requirement of five impacts at 100 joules.
No. Many products marketed as “security screens” have never been tested to AS 5039 at all, and independent testing has shown several well-known competitor brands fail to reliably pass even the standard’s baseline impact requirement.
Alcom Security publishes the full breakdown of Crimsafe’s independent AS 5039 test results on our Crimsafe Testing Results page.
The Question to Ask Before You Invest in Security Screens
Before signing off on any security screen, ask the supplier one simple question: “Can you show me the independent test results for this exact product?”
If the answer is vague, or the product has never actually been through AS 5039 impact testing, you’re not buying a security screen — you’re buying a screen that happens to be labelled as one.
Why This Matters for Your Home
At Alcom Security, we’ve Platinum Dealers of 3M and Crimsafe Accredited Licensee and established since 1993. In August 2026, 33 years in business, manufacturing every screen in-house at our Yatala factory and installing across 100,000+ homes and businesses throughout South East Queensland — from Brisbane and the Redlands to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Toowoomba. We don’t sell a product line we haven’t seen stand up to real testing, because the whole point of a security screen is that it works when it’s actually tested — not just when it’s sitting quietly in a doorframe.
If you’re weighing up your options, it’s worth seeing what genuine, independently tested protection looks like for your own home.
Or explore the full Crimsafe product range to see which option — is right for your property.