Flyscreen Installation Cost: 2026 Australian Price Guide

A new flyscreen for a standard window costs $60 to $150 supplied and installed in most of Australia, with large or awkward custom sizes reaching $250. If the frame is fine and only the mesh is torn, rescreening is cheaper at $30 to $80 per screen. Doors, retractable screens and security screens are a step up in price, from about $200 for a basic sliding flyscreen door to $1,600 or more for a stainless steel security door.

The figures below are indicative 2026 prices in AUD including GST. Screen makers usually measure on site and build to size, so your quote will depend on your exact windows and doors. Get at least three written quotes, and compare the mesh type, frame quality and warranty as well as the price.

Price by screen type

Many screen businesses have a minimum job charge, often $100 to $200, so a single small screen can cost more than the per-window rate suggests. Bundle all your windows into one visit if you can.

Mesh options and what they add

The mesh is where you decide how tough, how see-through and how secure the screen will be. Standard fibreglass is fine for most windows. Upgrades make sense where pets, kids, bushfire rules or security come into it.

A tip from the trade: if your dog or cat goes through standard flyscreens like paper, pay for pet mesh on the doors and the low windows they reach, and leave the high windows in fibreglass. You do not need the upgrade everywhere.

What sets the price

Size and shape

Screens are priced by size, and most makers have bands. A small bathroom awning window and a standard 1200 by 900 mm sliding window often cost about the same. Once the screen gets above about 2 metres on a side, it may need a midrail to stop the mesh bowing, and the price jumps. Arched, angled and bay windows cost more because each piece is cut individually.

Frame type and colour

Standard aluminium frames come in a range of powdercoat colours to match common window frames. Matching an unusual colour or a heritage timber window can add cost or lead time. Timber-framed flyscreens for period homes are made by a smaller number of specialists and cost more than aluminium.

Window type and fixing

Sliding windows usually take a simple screen that clips into the frame. Awning and casement windows open outward, so the screen goes on the inside, sometimes with a winder access flap or a retractable screen. Older timber windows may need clips or a new sub-frame to hold the screen square.

Access and height

Ground-floor windows are straightforward. Upper-storey windows that can only be fitted from outside need ladders or scaffolding and may need two installers, which adds labour. Most fitters install from inside where the window design allows.

Number of screens

The per-screen price drops as the job gets bigger. The measure-up, travel and set-up costs are spread across more screens, and many makers discount whole-house orders.

Prices around the country

For a standard window flyscreen with fibreglass mesh, supplied and installed as part of a job of several screens, expect roughly:

In the tropics and coastal areas, insect pressure keeps demand high year-round, and hardware should be marine grade or stainless to stand up to salt air. In bushfire-prone parts of the ACT, Victoria, NSW, WA and SA, metal ember mesh is often a requirement rather than a choice.

Three screen jobs priced out

Rescreening and new screens in Campbelltown, NSW

A three bedroom brick veneer with aluminium sliding windows. Eight existing screens have torn or sagging mesh, three windows never had screens, and the patio sliding flyscreen door has a bent frame.

Security doors and windows in Ipswich, QLD

A lowset brick home with front and back entries and four ground-floor bedroom windows. The owners want stainless steel mesh security screens that also keep insects out.

This job is above the QBCC licensing threshold, so the contractor should hold the right QBCC licence for the work, and the quote should show the licence number.

Retractable screens for a new alfresco in Mornington, VIC

A 4.2 metre wide bifold door opens onto a covered alfresco, and two kitchen servery windows open outward onto the same area. Fixed screens would block the openings, so the owners choose retractable screens.

If you are planning a covered outdoor area, our pergola cost guide covers the structure itself, and some owners enclose the whole area with fixed screen panels instead.

Fixed, retractable or security: choosing the right screen

Fixed flyscreens are the cheapest and simplest option for windows you open often. They do one job well and last 10 to 20 years with occasional rescreening.

Retractable screens roll away into a cassette when not in use. They suit doors and windows where a fixed screen would get in the way, such as bifolds, French doors and outward-opening windows, and they keep the view clear when you do not need them. They cost more and have more moving parts, so pick a supplier that offers a decent warranty and spare parts.

Security screens combine insect screening with protection against forced entry. To work as a security screen, the whole system matters: the mesh, the frame, the lock and the way it is fixed to the building. Look for products tested to the Australian Standard for security screen doors and window grilles, AS 5039, and installed to AS 5040. A security mesh in a flimsy frame or fixed with short screws into soft timber is not a security screen.

For many homes, the practical mix is security doors at the entries, security screens on accessible ground-floor windows, and standard fibreglass flyscreens everywhere else.

Bushfire areas and ember protection

If your home is in a designated bushfire-prone area, the construction standard AS 3959 sets requirements based on the property's Bushfire Attack Level (BAL). For most BAL ratings, openable windows and some doors need screens made of corrosion-resistant metal mesh, such as stainless steel, bronze or aluminium, with a small maximum aperture, commonly 2 mm, to stop embers getting in. Fibreglass mesh does not meet this requirement because it melts.

The requirement is triggered most often by new builds and renovations that need approval, but it is worth meeting voluntarily if you live near bushland. Your council, building certifier or the property's BAL assessment will tell you what applies. Expect ember-rated stainless mesh screens to cost roughly 1.5 to 2.5 times the price of a standard fibreglass screen.

Flyscreens and child safety

A standard flyscreen is designed to keep insects out, not to keep children in. Every year children are injured falling through open windows with only a flyscreen between them and the ground.

The National Construction Code requires openable bedroom windows in new work, where the floor is 2 metres or more above the ground outside, to have either an opening restriction or a compliant screen that resists an outward force. Standard flyscreens do not meet that test. If you have young children and upstairs windows, fit window restrictors or a screen designed and tested for fall protection. The Australian Building Codes Board publishes the NCC and guidance on window fall protection.

Licences and who can do the work

Fitting a flyscreen to a window is minor work that does not need a licence on its own in most states. Licensing can apply when the job is larger or involves building work:

• Queensland: building work over the QBCC threshold of $3,300, including labour and materials, generally needs a licence. Larger screen and security screen jobs often exceed this. Check licence classes with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.
• NSW: residential building work over the Fair Trading threshold needs a contractor licence. Check the current threshold with NSW Fair Trading. Our guide to what a handyman can do without a licence in NSW explains the rules in plain terms.
• Victoria: domestic building work above a set contract value needs a registered builder. Check the current threshold with the Building and Plumbing Commission.
• Other states: check with Building and Energy (WA), Consumer and Business Services (SA), CBOS (TAS), Access Canberra or the NT Building Practitioners Board.

Security screen installers in some states also need a security licence for certain work. Ask the installer what licences they hold for the job you are quoting.

DIY or professional

Rescreening is one of the easier home jobs to do yourself. A roll of fibreglass mesh, a spline roller and new rubber spline from a hardware store cost $20 to $40 and will do several screens. The trick is keeping the mesh tight and square without bowing the frame. Expect the first one to take an hour and the rest to take 20 minutes each.

New screens are a different matter. Custom screens need to be measured precisely, cut and assembled with corner stakes and fitted with the right clips or turn buttons for your window. Off-the-shelf DIY screen kits exist, but they rarely look as neat or seal as well as made-to-measure screens. Security screens and retractable systems should be installed by the supplier, because the warranty and the security rating depend on correct installation.

Timeframes

Most screen businesses visit to measure first, then make the screens in their workshop. Lead time is usually one to two weeks for standard flyscreens and two to four weeks for security and retractable screens, longer in spring and early summer when everyone wants screens before the mosquitoes arrive.

Installation is quick. A fitter can usually install 10 standard window flyscreens in one to two hours. Security doors take one to two hours each, and a large retractable screen for a bifold opening takes two to four hours. Rescreening on site runs at roughly 15 to 30 minutes per screen for an experienced installer.

Repairs that save replacing the screen

Not every tired screen needs replacing. Several common problems have cheap fixes.

Replace the whole screen when the frame is badly bent, corroded through, or the corners have split, as rescreening a warped frame never sits right.

How to spend less

• Rescreen rather than replace where the frames are straight and the corners are sound.
• Do the whole house at once. Minimum charges and travel costs make single-screen visits poor value.
• Book outside peak season. Late autumn and winter are quieter for screen makers, and lead times are shorter.
• Use upgrades selectively. Put pet mesh, security mesh and retractable screens only where they earn their keep.
• Remove old screens yourself if they simply lift out, and label them by window so the fitter can match sizes quickly.

Looking after your screens

• Clean mesh with a soft brush or vacuum attachment and mild soapy water a couple of times a year. Avoid pressure washers, which stretch and tear fibreglass mesh.
• Wipe tracks and rollers on sliding screen doors and add a little dry lubricant so they do not jump the track.
• Rinse stainless mesh and hardware with fresh water every few months in coastal areas to slow tea staining and corrosion.
• Repair small holes early with a patch kit before they spread.
• If you are painting window frames, take the screens off first. The house painting cost guide covers repaint pricing.

Well-made aluminium flyscreens last 10 to 20 years, with rescreening every 5 to 10 years depending on sun exposure, pets and kids. Stainless steel security screens can last 20 years or more.

Checklist for comparing quotes

• A list of every window and door, with the screen type, mesh and frame colour for each.
• Whether the price includes measuring, installation, removal of old screens and disposal.
• For security screens, the Australian Standard the product is tested to and the lock type.
• For retractable screens, the brand and the warranty on the cassette and mechanism.
• Lead time and installation date.
• Warranty on frames, mesh and workmanship.
• Licence numbers where the job value or state rules require one, plus ABN and insurance.

Red flags include a quote without anyone measuring, a large deposit for a small job, prices for "security screens" that are far below the market without any standard mentioned, and no written warranty.

Screens also do more than stop flies. Good screens let you open windows on mild nights instead of running the air conditioner, and they cut down the number of insects that get inside in the first place. If you are dealing with an established infestation, though, screens alone will not fix it, and the pest control cost guide covers treatment prices.

Rescreening and installation help through Yakka

Rescreening, swapping clip-in screens and fitting simple off-the-shelf screen doors are jobs a capable handyperson can do. You can book a handyman near you on Yakka to work through a whole house of torn screens in a morning, often at a lower total cost than separate visits from a screen business.

For made-to-measure screens, security doors and retractable systems, compare flyscreen specialists and security screen and door installers listed on the platform. Check their licence numbers where the job size requires one, and ask which Australian Standard their security products meet.