Child-safe blinds: what the standard actually says.

Why there is a mandatory standard at all.

A looped blind cord at a child's height behaves like a noose, and it is silent. A toddler can get caught in one in a room where an adult is present, which is what makes it different from most household hazards. The ACCC has recorded child deaths in Australia from window covering cords, and that is why the rules here are a mandatory consumer product safety standard under the Australian Consumer Law rather than an industry recommendation. Suppliers and installers must comply. It is not optional and it is not a marketing upgrade.

What the standard requires, plainly.

The Consumer Goods (Corded Internal Window Coverings) Safety Standard applies to internal blinds, curtains and shades that have a cord or chain. In practical terms it covers four things.

• The loop rule. Once installed, a loose cord must not be able to form a loop of 220mm or more at any point below 1600mm from the floor. That single measurement is the heart of the standard.
• Devices supplied. A corded product must be supplied with the hardware needed to comply, such as a cleat, a cord guide or a chain tension device.
• Devices actually fitted. When a supplier installs the blind, that device has to be fixed to the wall or window frame and the cord secured. Leaving the tension device in the packet on the windowsill is not compliance.
• Warnings and instructions. The product must carry the prescribed warning label and swing tag, and be supplied with installation instructions covering the cord requirements.

If you have been handed a new blind with a chain hanging loose and no device screwed to the wall, the installation does not meet the standard. That is a fair thing to raise with whoever fitted it.

What it means for blinds already in your home.

The standard governs supply and installation. It is not applied retrospectively to what is already hanging in a private house, so nobody is going to require you to remove existing blinds. The hazard, though, does not care how old the blind is. Three practical things are worth doing this week if you have small children:

• Walk the house and look for any chain or cord that hangs free. Refit the cleat or tension device, or fit one, so the cord is held taut against the wall.
• Move the furniture, not just the cord. Cots, beds, change tables, bookshelves and lounges next to a window give a child the height to reach a cord that is otherwise out of range.
• Check the chain on a blind you have had repaired. A replacement chain fitted without refitting the tension device is a common way a compliant blind quietly stops being compliant. See blind repairs.

Removing the hazard instead of managing it.

A tension device makes a corded blind compliant. Not having a cord at all makes the question disappear. There are three ways to get there.

Cordless spring operation.

You pull the bottom rail up or down by hand and the blind stays where you put it. No chain, nothing hanging. It adds a modest amount to the price of a roller blind, works well up to about a two metre drop, and is the sensible default for bedrooms and playrooms.

Wand operation.

Common on verticals and venetians. A rigid wand tilts and traverses the blind, and because it is rigid it cannot form a loop. A good option for wide sliding doors where a cordless spring would be awkward.

Motorisation.

No cord, no chain, no reach problem, and the only real answer for a high void or stairwell window. It costs $150 to $350 per blind above the base price, so most families motorise the handful of blinds that matter and go cordless elsewhere. More detail on motorised blinds.

Specifying a nursery properly.

A nursery wants three things together, and each one does a different job. Cordless or motorised operation, so the hazard is gone rather than controlled. Blockout fabric, because a Pakenham summer stays light past 8pm and a baby will not settle in a dim room. And side channels, because a blockout blind without them leaks light down both edges and is dim rather than dark. Expect $180 to $400 per window for a cordless blockout roller with channels in 2026. Place the cot away from the window regardless of what blind is fitted, because the blind is one hazard at a window and not the only one.

Why this comes up so much around here.

The Cardinia corridor skews young. The estates through Officer, Cardinia Lakes and Arena are full of families furnishing a first home with small children already in it, usually buying every blind in the house at once. That is the ideal moment to choose cordless, because the cost difference is small when it is part of the original order and material when it is a retrofit later. If you are in that position, the timing advice in blinds for new builds and the numbers on the cost guide are both worth reading before you order.

Frequently asked questions.