Window Tint Laws in Queensland (2026)

Queensland’s tint rules are in section 44 of Schedule 1 to the Transport Operations (Road Use Management–Vehicle Standards and Safety) Regulation 2021, and in TMR’s Queensland Light Vehicle Inspection Manual, which section 6 of the regulation also makes a vehicle standard. We couldn’t find a general Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) web page on window tinting. TMR’s vehicle standards guidelines page lists one tint item, a guideline on non-standard tinting for hearses and ambulances. So this page quotes the regulation, the inspection manual and that guideline directly.

Queensland tint limits at a glance

The regulation measures luminous transmittance: “the amount of light that can pass through the glazing as a percentage of the amount of light that would be transmitted if the glazing or coating were absent”. The lower the number, the darker the window, and the glass and film are measured together.

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

Section 44(5) sets the front limit: “Glazing used in a window or interior partition of a motor vehicle, other than rear glazing, may be coated to achieve a luminous transmittance of not less than 35%.” Rear glazing means glazing “located behind the normal driving position of the vehicle”, so it covers the rear side windows and the back window.

The windscreen band

“Glazing used in a windscreen of a motor vehicle must have a luminous transmittance of at least 70%.” The windscreen rules don’t apply to the greater of “the area above the highest point of the windscreen that is swept by a windscreen wiper” or “the upper 10% of the windscreen”. That’s the most Schedule 1 allows. TMR’s inspection manual words it differently: it fails a car with windscreen tint “apart from a strip of material fitted to the upper edge of a windscreen which extends no lower than the lesser of” the top of the wiper sweep or “the upper 10 percent of the windscreen”. It also says tint must not affect a camera or sensor at the top of the windscreen. To be safe at an inspection, keep the strip above the wiper sweep and within the top 10%.

The national design rule for glazing, ADR 8/01, also requires at least 70% in the primary vision area for passenger cars built from 1 January 1994.

Reflective film

Section 44(9) covers the windscreen, windows and interior partitions: glazing “that has been coated to reduce its luminous transmittance must not have a reflectance of more than 10%.”

Mirrors decide the rear limit

The 20% rear limit depends on mirrors: “If at least 1 rear vision mirror is fitted to each side of a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle’s rear glazing may be coated to achieve a luminous transmittance of at least 20%.”

Goods vehicles, hearses, ambulances and privacy glass

Goods vehicles

A goods vehicle can have 0% rear glazing if it has a mirror on each side and either at least four wheels, or at least three wheels and a gross vehicle mass over 1 tonne.

Hearses and ambulances

TMR’s guideline “Non-standard tinting materials for light motor vehicles in Queensland” covers vehicles “operated for the purpose of transporting human remains” and ambulances. It says such a vehicle “may have windows rearward of the front seating positions fitted with tinting material that allows no luminance transmission (non-standard tinting).” If the tint is below 35%, external mirrors are required on both sides. The guideline was re-issued in 2026.

Factory privacy glass

The regulation treats factory glass and film separately: “glazing” “does not include a coating added after manufacture”. We found no separate rule for factory privacy glass in Queensland.

Medical exemptions

TMR doesn’t describe a medical exemption process in anything we read. The only tint exemption guideline we found covers hearses and ambulances. That doesn’t prove none exists, so if a customer has a medical reason for darker film, ask TMR in writing before you fit it.

Penalties and how tint is checked

TMR doesn’t publish a tint fine. The regulation sets maximum penalties in penalty units. A light vehicle is defective if “the vehicle does not comply with the light vehicle standards”, and driving or parking a defective light vehicle on a road carries a maximum of 20 penalty units.

The regulation also provides for defect notices. An authorised officer who reasonably believes a light vehicle is defective may issue one, stating how the vehicle is defective, the action required and the day by which it must be taken. Failing to comply with a defect notice carries a maximum of 30 penalty units.

The inspection manual is how tint is checked. TMR says it is used for safety certificates and “by transport inspectors and police officers when determining if a vehicle is defective”. It fails side and rear tint below the 35% and 20% limits “unless specifically approved”, and it allows for meter error: “A measuring inaccuracy allowance of 5% for equipment may be acceptable for the specified light transmittance factor”.

How Queensland compares

Queensland 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, WA, South Australia and Tasmania. 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.

Sources

• Transport Operations (Road Use Management–Vehicle Standards and Safety) Regulation 2021, sections 6 to 11 and Schedule 1, section 44
• Department of Transport and Main Roads, Vehicle Inspection Manuals (Queensland Light Vehicle Inspection Manual)
• Department of Transport and Main Roads, Vehicle standards guidelines
• Department of Transport and Main Roads, Non-standard tinting materials for light motor vehicles in Queensland (Word document)
• Australian Design Rule 8/01, Safety Glazing Material

Other states

• Window tint laws in New South Wales
• Window tint laws in Victoria
• Window tint laws in Western Australia
• Window tint laws in South Australia
• Window tint laws in Tasmania