Do Plantation Shutters Make an Empty Holiday Home Secure? What Police and Council Advice Says

Plantation shutters will not secure an empty house on their own, and none of the summer security advice we lined up suggests they do. We read four sets of it: Lake Macquarie City Council's "Lock it, Light it, Label it", and NSW Police tips reported from the Hunter by Newcastle Weekly, from the Illawarra by Region Illawarra and from the Clarence Valley by the Clarence Valley Independent.

Two steps appear in all four. Make the house look lived-in. Lock up the way in, whether that means doors and windows or the garage and shed. Not one of the four names blinds, shutters or curtains as a security step. The only window covering any of them mentions is curtains, as something to keep lamps away from.

So the order of work is locks first, then signs of life, then everything else. Window coverings come in late, and mostly for one job: keeping what is inside out of sight.

The NSW summer school holidays run from Friday 18 December 2026 to Wednesday 27 January 2027 in the Eastern division, which is when plenty of homes around the lake sit empty. Police tips reported in the Clarence Valley call the summer holidays a "peak period for residential break-ins". That is a seasonal pattern, not a crime wave: BOCSAR's June 2026 quarterly update rated break and enter dwelling "Stable" across NSW and regional NSW over the two years to June 2026.

What police and council advice agrees on for an empty home

Advice	Lake Macquarie City Council	Hunter police (Newcastle Weekly)	Lake Illawarra police (Region Illawarra)	NSW Police tips (Clarence Valley Independent)
Make the house look lived-in (lights, mail, neighbour, deliveries)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lock doors and windows	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Secure garage or shed	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Yes
Move spare keys from outdoor hiding spots	Not listed	Yes	Not listed	Yes
Put away tools or furniture that help a break-in	Not listed	Yes	Not listed	Yes
Trim shrubs	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
Sensor or motion lights	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
Cameras or alarm	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Blinds, shutters or curtains as a security step	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed

Four sets of summer security advice, side by side.

The police voices in these reports keep coming back to one word: unlocked. Sgt Ben Walsh of the Lake Illawarra Police District told Region Illawarra that "probably the majority of our offences relate to people leaving things unlocked". In the Hunter, Acting Supt Rod Pistola said "break-ins are usually an opportunistic crime and criminals will target homes with poor security".

Council puts it just as plainly: "Lock all doors and windows, even when you are home or if you will only be away for a short time". The same page notes that "Most home burglaries occur when the home is unoccupied", which is why the second half of every list is about looking occupied.

Do plantation shutters make a home more secure?

An unlocked window in an empty home, full of valuables, is an opportunistic thief's dream.

Acting Supt Rod Pistola, Hunter-area NSW Police, as reported by Newcastle Weekly, December 2022

At Lake Macquarie Shutters we would rather tell you straight: a plantation shutter is a window covering, not a lock. Whatever sits in front of the glass, the window behind it still needs to be shut and latched before you leave.

Where shutters can earn a place is visibility. An Australian Institute of Criminology paper cites a UK study listing common homeowner mistakes, and "valuables in view" sits on that list beside open windows, keys hidden by doorways and mail left out. Angling the louvres closed on street-facing windows keeps the TV, the laptop and the keys bowl out of a passer-by's sight. That is our reasoning, not a tested result, and it is no promise that anyone will be put off.

One caution from us. Every covering shut tight for six weeks with no light behind it can read as a closed-up house. Pair closed street-facing louvres with lamps on timers, so the room still looks lived-in after dark. Our guide to privacy without losing light explains how louvre angle trades view for privacy, and our plantation shutters page covers the options.

Louvres closed on a street-facing window, with a lamp on behind them.

Whatever you fit to a bedroom window, whether a shutter, a screen or anything else, make sure it can still be opened from inside in an emergency. Check that with everyone who sleeps in the house.

The lock-up walk: every way in, in order

Front door and street-facing windows: lock (Council); keep valuables out of view (AIC)
Bathroom, laundry and other windows often left open: lock (Council)
Bedrooms: lock windows; any shutter or screen still opens from inside in an emergency
Kitchen bench: car keys into a drawer (Council)
Internal garage door and garage door closed and locked (Newcastle Weekly); garage remote out of cars parked outside (Region Illawarra)
Backyard: outdoor furniture away from windows (Clarence Valley Independent); tools locked away (Newcastle Weekly); shed secured (Clarence Valley Independent); spare key removed from hiding spot (Newcastle Weekly)
Garden edge: shrubs trimmed clear of entry points, sensor lights (Council, Region Illawarra)
Inside: lamps on timers, kept away from curtains; internal doors closed (Clarence Valley Independent, Newcastle Weekly)

The lock-up walk, one loop on the morning you leave.Source: Lake Macquarie City Council, Australian Institute of Criminology, Newcastle Weekly, Region Illawarra, Clarence Valley Independent

Walk the house in one loop on the morning you leave, so nothing gets skipped.

Front door and street-facing windows. Lock them, and close the louvres or curtains on rooms with valuables on show.
The windows you usually leave open. Bathroom, laundry and louvre windows are the easy ones to forget. Council's advice covers all doors and windows.
Bedrooms. Lock each window, and check it still opens from inside.
The kitchen bench. Car theft often starts inside the house: Lake Macquarie City Council says offenders often get in through unlocked doors and windows looking for car keys, and that 7 in 10 cars are stolen with their own keys. Keys go in a drawer, not on the bench.
The garage. Keep the garage door and the internal doors to it closed and locked. Don't leave a garage remote in a car parked outside: thieves try car doors and press the button.
The backyard. Move outdoor furniture away from windows, because thieves use it to climb in. Lock away gardening and handyman tools that could force a door or window, secure the shed, and take the spare key out of its hiding place.
The garden edge. Trim shrubs for a clear line of sight to the street and so they don't hide entry points. Council also suggests motion-activated external lighting.
Inside, last of all. Set lamps on timers and close internal doors, which Hunter police say helps contain a fire.

Making an empty house look lived-in

This is the step all four sources share. Ask a trusted neighbour to watch the house and collect the mail. Sgt Walsh suggests a neighbour parks in your driveway and puts the bins out, with mail redirected for long absences. Suspend home deliveries so parcels don't pile up at the door.

Light does the rest at night. Council suggests leaving lights on, and perhaps a radio or TV. Put them on timers and check your cameras work before you go. Here is where window coverings come back in: Hunter police advise keeping lights away from combustibles such as curtains, so check where each timed lamp sits.

Two more habits cost nothing. Limit holiday posts on social media until you're home. Label valuables, because marked property is harder for offenders to sell, and record serial numbers.

The lived-in look

Neighbour watching the house and collecting mail (Newcastle Weekly)
Neighbour parks in the driveway and puts bins out and back (Region Illawarra)
Mail redirected for long absences (Region Illawarra)
Home deliveries suspended (Clarence Valley Independent)
Lights on timers (Clarence Valley Independent)
Lamps kept away from curtains (Newcastle Weekly)
Cameras tested before leaving (Clarence Valley Independent)
Holiday posts limited on social media (Newcastle Weekly)
Valuables labelled and serial numbers recorded (Council, Newcastle Weekly)

Tick them off as you go.

Your time away on the summer calendar

Your time away on the summer calendar.Source: NSW SES, NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW Government

Term 4 ends on Thursday 17 December 2026, and the Eastern division holidays run to Wednesday 27 January 2027. By our count, that holiday period is 41 days, Friday to Wednesday inclusive (our estimate: 14 days in December plus 27 in January). Western division holidays run a week longer, to Wednesday 3 February 2027.

That count matters for one line in your insurance policy. GIO's FAQ says an extra "unoccupied excess" may apply after more than 60 continuous days unoccupied (checked October 2026). A school-holiday trip sits under that mark by our count, but a holiday house left empty for longer may not, and other insurers set their own terms. Read your own policy before you go.

The calendar holds more than holidays. NSW SES storm season runs September to April, and the bush fire danger period runs 1 October to 31 March, with fire permits required in Lake Macquarie. Both cover the whole summer break, so ask your neighbour to look over the house after a big storm too.

Heat and salt air in a house that stays shut

The Bureau's November to January outlook has daytime temperatures very likely above average across most of Australia, with the chance of unusually high maximums over 70% in parts of NSW. That makes it tempting to leave a window cracked for air. Don't: an open window in an empty home is the exact thing every source on this page warns against.

Shade the hottest glass instead. West-facing windows take the worst of the afternoon sun, as our guide to west-facing windows in daylight saving explains, and Do Plantation Shutters Block Out Heat? covers what coverings can and can't do.

A coastal home closed up for weeks also gives salt air time to work on window and shutter hardware. Our page on salt air and shutter materials covers what to look for when you get back.

If something looks wrong while you're away

Keep these handy

Holidays (Eastern): Friday 18 December 2026 to Wednesday 27 January 2027NSW Government
Western division ends Wednesday 3 February 2027NSW Government
7 in 10 cars stolen with their own keysLake Macquarie City Council
GIO unoccupied excess may apply after more than 60 continuous days; check your own policyGIO FAQ
Police assistance line 131 444 and Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000Region Illawarra

Source: NSW Government, Lake Macquarie City Council, GIO, Region Illawarra

Give your neighbour the numbers before you leave. For suspicious activity, the police assistance line is 131 444, and Crime Stoppers is 1800 333 000. Visible cameras and alarms, Sgt Walsh says, deter thieves and help prosecutions.

Talk to Lake Macquarie Shutters about your street-facing windows

Locks and a lived-in look do the heavy lifting. If you'd also like the rooms facing the street kept private while you're away, and through the rest of a hot summer, talk to Lake Macquarie Shutters about the windows that matter most. You can send us the details through our Book a Free Measure & Quote page, and we'll talk it through with you.