Chinese Aluminium Windows and Doors Now Carry Border Securities of 5.3% to 73.3% While the Dumping Case Runs to 16 December. Ask Your Supplier Who Made Them and Re-Price Before You Quote.
Since 15 October, importers of Chinese aluminium windows and doors have had to lodge securities against possible dumping and countervailing duties, after the Australian Trade Remedies Commission's preliminary findings in Investigation 691. Here are the rates by exporter, what's covered, what builders and developers are saying, and the dates to watch.
Securities are already being collected at the border
If your next job has aluminium windows or sliding doors coming in from China, the price you were quoted in September may not hold. Since 15 October 2026, importers of Chinese aluminium windows and doors have had to lodge securities of between 5.3% and 73.3% of the export price when the goods enter Australia, while the Australian Trade Remedies Commission (ATRC) finishes its dumping and subsidy investigation.
The Commission's Trade Remedies Notice 2026/147, signed by Commissioner David Latina on 14 October, set out a preliminary affirmative determination in Investigation 691. It found there appear to be sufficient grounds for a dumping duty notice on exports from all Chinese exporters except one, and a countervailing (anti-subsidy) duty notice on non-cooperative exporters. The Commission, previously the Anti-Dumping Commission, changed its name on 29 September 2026.
The investigation started on 25 November 2025 after an application from Ventora Group and the Australian Glass and Window Association (AGWA).
The rates by exporter
These are the securities importers must lodge, as set out in Table 2 of the notice:
| Exporter | Effective security rate | | --- | --- | | Altop Facade Co., Ltd | Not applicable (not found to be dumped) | | Foshan AMJ Windows and Doors Co., Ltd | 5.3% | | Guangdong Kete Facadetech Co., Ltd | 12.1% | | Broad Windows and Doors and Curtain Wall System Co., Ltd | 24.4% | | Residual exporters | 24.4% | | Guangdong Yuanjiang Facade Co., Ltd | 34.8% | | Zhuhai Yipeng Technology Co., Ltd | 51.6% | | Uncooperative and all other exporters | 73.3% (70.4% dumping plus 2.9% countervailing) |
The notice warns the actual security liability "may be higher than the effective rate" depending on the importer's circumstances. Under the Commission's Dumping Commodity Register, the security is calculated on the FOB export price.
What's covered, and what isn't
The goods are aluminium windows and doors, fully or partially assembled, including frames, panels and sashes, with or without glass, thermally broken or not, with or without hardware. Windows are covered up to 3.0 metres high and 4.0 metres wide, and doors up to 3.0 metres high and 7.0 metres wide. Curtain wall products are excluded, and goods covered by a Tariff Concession Order are automatically exempt from the duties, according to the case page and the register.
In plain terms, that's the residential window and sliding door range most builders buy.
Why the Commission acted
According to ABC News' report on the findings, the Commission estimated the local aluminium windows and doors market was worth about $2.8 billion during the investigation period, with Chinese imports making up about 19% of sales and Australian product about 79%. It found half the tenders and quotes it examined were about 30% below expected prices, and estimated the local industry had lost about $350 million to undercutting.
AGWA chief executive Clinton Skeoch told the ABC: "We're asking government to protect competition from unfair trading."
Builders and developers are pushing back
Master Builders Australia's Acting CEO Melissa Byrne told the ABC the group would "carefully review the commission's findings", adding that "any measure that increases the cost of construction comes at a time when housing affordability and project feasibility remain under significant pressure."
UNSW Professor Zhou Weihuan told the ABC that securities could "effectively lead to price increases" because importers would build them into their pricing.
The Australian Financial Review reported on 27 October that apartment developers are warning the measures will make projects unfeasible, with one estimating it would add almost $10,000 to the cost of each unit it builds.
Builders are also putting their case on the record. The case's electronic public record lists submissions in response to the Commission's preliminary findings from building companies including Galmar Group, Austrahomes, Ironside Construction, Grimmond Construction and Ray Realty Subdivisions, filed between 20 and 26 October.
It lands on top of broader cost pressure. Cotality's Cordell Construction Cost Index rose 1% nationally in the September quarter and 3.2% over the year, Australian Broker reported on 27 October.
The dates that matter
- 15 October 2026: securities apply to goods entered for home consumption on or after this date.
- 20 days after the 14 October Statement of Essential Facts: submissions in response were due, which by our count is Tuesday 3 November 2026. Check the case page for the Commission's exact cut-off.
- 16 December 2026: the Commission must report its final recommendations to the Minister for Industry and Innovation by this date.
- Within 30 days after that: the Minister is expected to decide whether to impose dumping and countervailing duties, and at what level.
Securities are guarantees, not final duties. The Minister makes the final call, and the notice says any final duty notices may also cover duties imposed retrospectively.
Desk moves for builders
- Ask your window supplier straight out: is the product imported from China, which exporter makes it, and is the security already in the price?
- Get it in writing. Ask for quotes that say whether any security or future duty is included, and how long the price holds.
- Check your contracts. For fixed-price jobs with Chinese-made windows still to arrive, look at what your contract and supply terms say about price changes before you sign more work at old prices. Get advice if you're unsure.
- Price new work on today's numbers. Don't quote from a supplier's September price list without confirming it.
- Ask about local and other supply. Get lead times and prices from Australian fabricators and other sources so you have a fallback.
- Have your say. If you want your experience considered, contact the Commission's Investigations 1 team (investigations1@atrc.gov.au) about the submission timing for Investigation 691.
This article reports on a trade remedies decision and published reporting. It is not legal, tax or financial advice.
Sources: Australian Trade Remedies Commission, TRN 2026/147, Findings of a Preliminary Affirmative Determination, Investigation 691 (14 October 2026); ATRC, Dumping Commodity Register: Aluminium windows and doors; ATRC, Case 691 page and electronic public record; ABC News, China 'dumped' aluminium windows, doors in Australia, preliminary trade report shows (15 October 2026); Australian Financial Review, Developers warn federal aluminium tariff will send housing to the wall (27 October 2026); Australian Broker, Construction costs rise 1% as Cordell index signals renewed momentum (27 October 2026).
