In short: Most handover findings are about finish. A window that opens wide on an upper floor is about whether a child can fall through it, and it turned up on two Truganina handovers.
The finding
At Truganina handovers in August 2025 and April 2026, first floor bedroom windows did not have the opening restriction they needed. The inspector's note on both said the same thing: the windows must be restricted to 125mm to prevent a child from falling.
Why 125mm
The NCC requires openable windows in bedrooms to be restricted where the floor below is far enough down to be a fall risk and the sill is low enough to climb. The 125mm limit is small enough that a young child cannot get through.
Why it is easy to miss
The window looks finished. It opens and closes, the glass is clean and the frame is sealed. Only opening it fully, upstairs, shows that nothing stops it.
Fixing it
A compliant restrictor can usually be fitted to the existing window by the window supplier or builder. It is a short job, and it should be done before anyone moves in.
Where it sits in the report
We put safety items like this at the top of the handover report, above roof and finishing items, so they are dealt with first. On those same Truganina double storey homes the roof list was long too, but the window was the one item that could not wait.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Truganina. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
