The Victorian, Tasmanian and WA police pages agree on deadlocks for every outside door and a way to see who is knocking before you open it, and the Tasmanian and WA pages add a solid door. Each force says it in its own words, and Tasmania Fire Service adds the part that matters most at night: being able to get out.
The table sets the three police pages side by side. The rest of this guide explains the advice that needs more than a table cell.
| Advice | Victoria Police | Tasmania Police | WA Police Force |
|---|---|---|---|
| The door itself | Not covered on its page. | Solid core construction, with deadlocks fitted. | Its checklist asks whether your doors are solid core, with locks and deadbolts. |
| Deadlocks | On every external door and window. | On outside doors, ideally all keyed alike so one key opens each. | On every external door and window. |
| Seeing who is there | A peephole, also called a door viewer. | A doorbell camera, or a door viewer as the low-cost choice. | A doorbell camera or a peephole. |
| Around the door | A security screen door, a monitored alarm, cameras and sensor lights. | Security lighting over the doors you use; it suggests motion-sensor lights. | A security screen door, an alarm, cameras and sensor lights. |
| Pet doors | Named among the doors to lock. | The smallest size your pet can use, fitted where nobody reaching through could work the door locks; locked or closed off when not in use. | Named among the things to lock. |
| The garage | Lock both the internal and the external garage doors. | Shut whenever you are not in it, and closed and locked while you are away. | Its checklist asks whether the garage or shed is locked. |
A deadlock has to open from the inside too
A lock that keeps a burglar out can also keep you in. Victoria Police’s advice to fit deadlocks carries a reminder in the same line: unlock the deadlock while you are home, so you can get out if there is a fire. Tasmania Police makes the point through keying. When one key opens every deadlock, it says, getting out of the house quickly in an emergency such as a fire is easier.
Tasmania Fire Service goes further. Its best option is a deadlock that opens from the inside without a key, and while you are home, it says not to deadlock a door unless the key is left in the lock.
Its reason is plain: in a fire it will be dark and smoky, and keys will be hard to find. Tasmania Police’s advice on where keys belong inside the house differs a little from the fire service’s, and the guide to keys and changing locks puts the two side by side.
When someone knocks
Victoria Police suggests making a noise when someone knocks, so they know the house is occupied, and not leaving things sitting at the door. It also suggests leaving out a dog bowl or a lead, even if you have no dog. Tasmania Police’s case for a door viewer is the simplest of all: you see who is there before the door is open.
Every door, not only the front one
Victoria Police’s list of what to lock reaches well past the front door: the internal and external garage doors, windows, gates, sheds, pet doors, skylights and any other way in. The WA Police Force gives almost the same list.
Tasmania Police adds two moments that are easy to miss. Lock up whenever you go out, even if you are only going a short way for a short time. And keep the doors locked while you are busy at home, running a vacuum cleaner indoors or power tools in the shed. If you are working in the garden, it says to keep the door locked and a key with you.
Police in the other states
Other forces publish their door advice in other forms. The NSW Police Force links a full home safety booklet from its Home safety page. SA Police has separate pages on home security habits and on technology to keep your home safe. ACT Policing has pages on home security and on apartment security. Each is listed at the foot of this page, so you can read your own state’s version in full.
Doors are one way in among several. The next position of the bolt is windows and sliding doors, and the deadlocks above all need keys, which have a guide of their own. Back to the home page and all six positions.