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Human impact zone (glazing)

Human impact zone is the location near doors and low panels in a home where occupants might fall into glazing. NCC Part 8.4 mandates Grade A safety glass in each.

By Dan Waring. Last updated 16 May 2026. Verified 16 May 2026.

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Human impact zone is a defined location within a residential building where the NCC and AS 1288:2021 require Grade A safety glazing because the location is one a person might foreseeably fall into or against during everyday occupation. The zones are listed in NCC 2022 Volume Two Housing Provisions Part 8.4 and cross-referenced from AS 1288:2021, the glazing-selection standard (verified 2026-05-16).

Locations classed as human impact zones (residential):

  1. Doors (glass in and immediately beside doors, both internal and external).
  2. Glazing within 300 mm of a door at the same level as the door.
  3. Full-height panels that could be mistaken for an opening at any height.
  4. Bathroom and shower screens (any glass forming part of a bath or shower enclosure).
  5. Glazing below 500 mm from floor level that a person could fall against.
  6. Perimeter glazing below 700 mm from floor level (some classifications).
  7. Pool fences and balustrade infill panels (separately regulated under AS 1926 / AS 1170).
  8. Stairs and ramp glazing within reach of the stair line.

In each of these locations, the glazing must be Grade A safety glazing per AS/NZS 2208:1996, which means toughened (tempered) glass or laminated glass of the appropriate thickness. Non-safety glass in a human impact zone is a regulator-prosecuted defect and an OC blocker.

How to read the requirement on drawings:

  • Architectural plans show window types tagged with the AS 1288 code (e.g. “G3.04 Grade A, 6.38 laminated”). The glazier reads the code and selects the right glass.
  • The certifier checks each marked human-impact-zone location at frame inspection and final.
  • A substitution from Grade A to Grade B or non-safety glass at any human impact zone is a defect.

Common defects:

  • Glazier accepts the supply of float glass (non-safety) for a low panel within 300 mm of a door because “the spec doesn’t say”. Spec is in NCC; specification on drawings is reinforcement, not the source of obligation.
  • Shower screens fitted from a non-Grade A supplier (cheap import). Replacement at OC.
  • Bathroom obscured glass without Grade A rating in the impact zone. Has to be replaced.
  • Reframed window in a renovation where the original was non-safety; the renovation triggers the current NCC compliance even though the original window was historically compliant.

Also known as: safety zone (glazing); AS 1288 human impact location; NCC Part 8.4 glazed zone.

Category: Compliance.

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-16. Verified: 2026-05-16. Quarterly review for currency.

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