Window Tint Laws in Tasmania (2026)

The short answer: In Tasmania, the front windows next to the driver must let through at least 35% of light. Glass behind the driver, including the rear window, can go down to 20% if the car has a rear-vision mirror on each side (the bulletin says external, and both must work). The windscreen must let through at least 70%, with a tinted band allowed only in the area above the wiper sweep or the upper 10%, whichever is greater. Tinted glass must not reflect more than 10% of light.

Tasmania’s tint rules are in regulation 42 of the Vehicle and Traffic (Vehicle Standards) Regulations 2024, which took effect on 25 June 2024 and kept the same percentages as the regulations they replaced. Service Tasmania’s car window tinting page points to those Regulations and to the Department of State Growth’s “Applied Film / Window Tint” information bulletin from December 2018. The bulletin still refers to the older regulations; the current law is the 2024 Regulations.

Tasmanian tint limits at a glance

The bulletin and the Regulations measure luminous transmittance (LT): the share of light that gets through the glass and any film together. The lower the number, the darker the window.

On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Window	Minimum light transmittance
Front windows next to the driver	35%
Glass behind the driver, with a working external mirror on each side	20%
Windscreen	70% (band only at the top)
Goods vehicles, behind the driver, with mirrors on both sides	0%

The bulletin says “Front windows, other than the windscreen, that are adjacent to the driver’s normal driving position may have film applied to the glazing to achieve a LT of at least 35%.”

The windscreen band

“A windscreen must have a LT of at least 70%”, and “a windscreen may have a tinted band applied to the upper part of the windscreen providing this band is no deeper than the greater of: a) the area above the swept path of the windscreen wipers, or b) the upper 10% of the windscreen.” Nationally, ADR 8/01 requires at least 70% in the primary vision area for passenger cars built from 1 January 1994.

Reflective film

The bulletin defines reflectance but doesn’t set a limit. The Regulations do: “Glazing that has been coated to reduce its luminous transmittance must not have a reflectance of more than 10%.”

Mirrors decide the rear limit

Glass “located behind the driver in the normal driving position may have film applied to achieve a LT of 20% subject to the vehicle having at least one external rear vision mirror fitted to each side of the vehicle.” The bulletin adds: “Both mirrors must be operational.”

The Regulations go further. Regulation 32 requires at least one rear-vision mirror on each side of “a light motor vehicle having any side or rear glazing of a luminous transmittance of less than 70%”. So a car with any side or rear glass below 70% needs a mirror on each side.

Goods vehicles and factory privacy glass

Goods vehicles

“A vehicle that is primarily designed for the carriage of goods (for example a van, panel van, ute, truck …) may have, for glazing rear of the drivers normal seating position, a film applied to achieve a LT of 0%.” Mirrors are required on both sides.

Factory privacy glass

The bulletin “does not apply to glazing that is tinted in the initial manufacturing process”. That changes once film goes on: “if film is applied to this glazing the Luminous Transmittance (LT) values applicable to the specific window and vehicle apply.”

The bulletin doesn’t cover factory-tinted glass on its own, but as soon as you add film, the window has to meet the 35% or 20% limit with the glass and film together. A film rated at the limit won’t get there on glass that’s already tinted.

How tint is measured

Tasmania’s bulletin is one of two regulator documents we found that publish a measuring tolerance; Queensland’s inspection manual is the other. The bulletin says “A measuring adjustment of 5% is applied to cater for any inaccuracy in the measuring device or technique.” That’s bulletin policy, not part of the Regulations.

Don’t plan a job around the 5% adjustment. Choose film that keeps the finished window at or above the limit, so the adjustment never comes into it.

Medical exemptions

Neither the bulletin nor the Service Tasmania page describes a medical exemption process. That doesn’t prove none exists, so if a customer has a medical reason for darker film, ask the Vehicle Standards Unit in writing before you fit it. Service Tasmania lists the unit’s contacts as vehicle.standards@building.tas.gov.au and (03) 6166 3263.

Penalties

The bulletin and the Service Tasmania page give no fine or demerit points for illegal tint. The penalty is in the Regulations: regulation 5 bars using a vehicle unless it “complies with each provision of the Vehicle Standards”, with a “Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.”

How Tasmania compares

Tasmania follows the national default of 35% at the front and 20% behind the driver with a mirror on each side, the same as NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA and South Australia. It moved to 20% at the rear and 0% for goods vehicles in November 2018. The NT allows 15% behind the driver. In the ACT, Access Canberra’s page says 20%, but the regulation itself still says 35%. Our window tint laws by state guide compares all eight jurisdictions, and our guide on how to tint car windows covers the job itself.

Last checked 12 October 2026. Rules change. We checked every regulator page and regulation listed below on 12 October 2026. Confirm with the Vehicle Standards Unit before you fit film.

Sources

Other states

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