Security Door Myths Busted: What Actually Keeps Intruders Out

If you’ve started shopping around for security doors and screens, you’ve probably already noticed how much confident-sounding advice is floating around. Some of it holds up. A fair amount of it doesn’t. And because a break-in is still one of the more common things to happen to an Australian household, the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded 218,000 break-ins in 2023-24, up from the year before, with one in five of those households broken into more than once, it’s worth knowing which advice is actually backed by something, and which is just a story that’s been repeated so often it sounds true. For a closer look at how much difference a door really makes, see what the data says.

Here are the myths we hear most often from homeowners, and what the research says instead.

Myth 1: “A flyscreen door does the same job”

A standard aluminium flyscreen keeps insects out and gives you almost no resistance against a person. A genuine security door is a completely different product. It’s built with a heavier frame, a mesh or grille rated to withstand forced entry, and hinges and locks designed to be tested under load before they’re sold. In Australia, products that earn the “security door” label are meant to be assessed against recognised standards for exactly this reason. When you’re comparing options, ask whether the door has actually been tested this way, because the look of a product tells you almost nothing about how it performs when someone tries to force it. If you’re weighing up a retractable option too, see our take on retractable fly screens.

Myth 2: “Burglars come through the back, so the front door is the one to worry less about”

This one gets the logic backwards. Research from the Australian Institute of Criminology, summarised by Canstar, found that around two in three break-ins happened through a door or window that was simply left unlocked, front, back, or side. Most offenders aren’t picking locks or smashing glass; they’re checking handles until one gives way, and they’re moving fast once they’re in, often spending less than five minutes inside before leaving. The takeaway isn’t “watch the back door more.” It’s that every entry point on your home, including the one visitors use every day, needs to be genuinely secure and actually locked.

Myth 3: “If the door looks solid, it’s secure”

A heavy timber door feels reassuring, but the wood itself is rarely the weak point. It’s usually the lock, the hinges, or the door frame that gives way first, and a standard frame can fail under a single solid kick. This is part of why a security door is sold as a complete unit, frame included, rather than just a panel you bolt onto whatever is already there. A good locksmith or installer should be able to tell you, without any sales pressure, exactly where the weak points are in your current setup.

Myth 4: “This sort of thing only happens in rougher areas”

Break-in rates move around by suburb, but the national data doesn’t support the idea that it’s a problem confined to particular postcodes. The ABS figures above cover households right across the country, and the rate has been climbing again after a low point during the pandemic. Most offenders aren’t planning a specific target weeks in advance; the Institute of Criminology’s research into burglars in Western Australia found that a lot of decision-making happens on the spot, based on how easy a particular house looks compared to the one next door. An unlocked gate, an open window, or a key left somewhere obvious can be the deciding factor, regardless of which suburb that house happens to be in.

Myth 5: “Once it’s installed, you’re covered”

A security door only does its job if it’s actually closed and locked. That same Institute of Criminology research found that offenders specifically described favourable conditions as homes without a working alarm, without Bankstown security screens, or where a key had been left somewhere easy to find near the door. In other words, the hardware matters, but so does the habit of using it properly every single time you leave a room or the house. A door propped open for convenience, or a screen that’s installed but rarely latched, isn’t offering you much more than the flyscreen from Myth 1.

Myth 6: “One thing, a dog, an alarm, a security door, is all you need”

Each of these helps. None of them is a complete answer by itself. The same research into burglars’ own accounts lists dogs, alarm systems, door and window grilles, sensor lights, and lights left on after dark as the deterrents that actually changed their minds about a property. The properties that get passed over usually have more than one of these working together, not just one strong measure surrounded by gaps. A national home burglary survey by Budget Direct found that around half of Australian households already have security screens installed, and a similar number have deadlocks; these measures are common precisely because most people use them as part of a combined approach, not a single fix.

What Actually Helps

Strip away the myths and the practical advice is fairly simple:

• Choose a door that’s been genuinely tested for forced entry, not just one that looks heavy duty.
• Fit it properly, frames included, since a strong door on a weak frame is only as good as its weakest part.
• Lock it every time, on every door, not just the one you think matters most.
• Pair it with basic visibility and lighting around entry points, rather than relying on it in isolation.

None of this requires a major renovation or a big leap in budget. It just means putting your money toward a door that’s actually built to do the job, and then making the small daily habits around it count just as much as the hardware itself. It’s also an upgrade that can pay off if you ever sell. Here’s how security doors add value at resale.