How to Read a Window Quote Before You Sign It

Buying Published 12 September 2026 2 min read

Written by [AUTHOR NAME - REQUIRED BEFORE LAUNCH]. Reviewed by [REVIEWER NAME AND CREDENTIAL - REQUIRED BEFORE LAUNCH].

The short answer

Check four things before you compare prices: that the quote is fully installed rather than supply-only, that each window has a WERS rating, that any Victorian discount appears as its own line, and that a job of more than $10,000↗ comes with a major domestic building contract, with insurance on work of $16,000 or more↗.

Is it installed, or just the windows?

This is where most price gaps come from. The Melbourne range of $2,300 to $3,500 per window↗ is for the whole job. The same company warns that prices well under its range are usually supply-only↗, or are imported product without AS 2047 testing. A quote that is missing reveals, sealing and disposal is not cheaper, it is smaller, and the rest turns up later.

Are the two quotes even for the same windows?

Check the schedule, not the total. Sizes, opening styles and glass specification all move the number, and so does counting seven windows instead of nine. Ask for the WERS heating and cooling stars, which run 0 to 10 stars↗, and for Uw and SHGCw↗, so you are comparing whole windows rather than panes of glass. The ratings come from AFRC-accredited raters↗, which is why they are worth asking for by name.

How should the Victorian discount appear?

On its own line, with the area behind it. The published rate is up to $210 per 10 m²↗, the work needs approved products only↗, and your final price is set by your accredited provider↗. If the discount is folded into a bundled price, you cannot tell whether you received it.

What contract and insurance does the job need?

Where a window job crosses the Victorian thresholds

Official and industry figures. Source: Windows Republic (Melbourne uPVC window maker); Canon Double Glazing (Perth); Consumer Affairs Victoria; Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria). Ten-window figure is our arithmetic on the per-window range.

Show the numbers

Item	Range
One window, Melbourne	$2,300 to $3,500
Ten windows, Melbourne	$23,000 to $35,000
Whole 3 bedroom home, Perth	$18,000 to $20,000
Marker: Contract from $10,000	$10,000
Marker: Insurance from $16,000	$16,000

One window sits well below both lines. A whole house clears them both. In Victoria, domestic building work of more than $10,000↗ needs a major domestic building contract, which only a registered building practitioner may enter, and work valued at $16,000 or more↗ must be covered by domestic building insurance. Other states set their own thresholds, so check your own regulator rather than assuming these travel.

Per window or per square metre?

Either is fine as long as every quote uses the same basis. Remember that small windows come out higher per m²↗, because measuring, making and fitting cost much the same whatever the size. A per-square-metre rate flatters a house of large openings and punishes a house of little ones.

Line on the quote	What to look for
Scope	Fully installed, with reveals, sealing, removal and disposal named
Window schedule	Every opening listed with size and style, and the count matching your house
Product	Frame material, glass specification, and AS 2047 testing
Performance	WERS heating and cooling stars, plus Uw and SHGCw
Discount	The VEU line, the approved product, and the area it was worked out from
Paperwork	Contract and insurance where the value requires them
Timing	Lead time from measure to install, and who makes good inside

One last check

Before signing, read the quote back against your own list of windows, room by room. It is a dull ten minutes, and it is the cheapest ten minutes in the whole project.

Sources

Victorian Energy Upgrades (energy.vic.gov.au): Victorian Energy Upgrades discount to double glaze windows. Checked 2026-09-12.
Victorian Energy Upgrades (energy.vic.gov.au): You must install a product on the VEU register of approved products to be eligible for the discount. Checked 2026-09-12.
Victorian Energy Upgrades (energy.vic.gov.au): Your final installation cost, including the discount, is determined by your accredited provider. Checked 2026-09-12.
Window Energy Rating Scheme (Australian Glass and Window Association): WERS rates a window's heating and cooling performance separately on a scale of 0 to 10 stars, where more stars is better. Checked 2026-09-12.
Window Energy Rating Scheme: about custom ratings: Whole-window U-value (Uw) accounts for the frame, edge-of-glass and centre-of-glass; whole-window SHGC (SHGCw) accounts for frame and glass. Checked 2026-09-12.
Window Energy Rating Scheme: what is WERS: To take part in WERS, window makers must get ratings from a rating organisation accredited by the Australian Fenestration Rating Council. Checked 2026-09-12.
Consumer Affairs Victoria: Domestic building work costing more than $10,000 requires a major domestic building contract, which only a registered building practitioner may enter. Checked 2026-09-12.
Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria): Domestic building work valued at $16,000 or more must be covered by domestic building insurance. Checked 2026-09-12.
Windows Republic (Melbourne uPVC window maker): A Melbourne window company reports double glazed windows cost this much per window, fully installed, in 2026. Checked 2026-09-12.
Windows Republic (Melbourne uPVC window maker): Smaller windows work out higher per square metre because measure, fabrication and installation costs apply regardless of size. Checked 2026-09-12.
Windows Republic (Melbourne uPVC window maker): Advertised prices well below the installed range are usually supply-only, exclude timber reveals, disposal and sealing, or are imported product without AS 2047 testing. Checked 2026-09-12.
Canon Double Glazing (Perth): A Perth double glazing company reports a complete double glazing package for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with about 20 to 25 m² of glazing runs this much. Checked 2026-09-12.

How to read a window quote