A safety certificate (what most people still call a "roadworthy") is required in Queensland whenever you sell a registered vehicle, and the windscreen is part of the inspection. Damaged glass is one of the more common reasons a car gets knocked back — but whether your screen passes comes down to where the damage is and how big it is.
Cracked windscreen roadworthy QLD: the driver's line of sight is the strict zone
Inspectors treat the area the driver looks through — roughly the swept zone in front of the steering wheel — far more strictly than the rest of the glass. Any crack that runs into the driver's direct line of sight will generally fail, because even a thin line causes glare and distortion exactly where you can least afford it. Chips in that zone are judged tightly too.
Length and location everywhere else
Outside the driver's view the rules ease off, but they don't disappear. As a working guide, a crack longer than about 30 mm anywhere on the windscreen — or any damage close to the edge of the glass, where the screen carries the most structural load — is likely to fail an inspection. Multiple chips clustered together can also be enough to knock it back.
Chips are usually more forgiving
A single small stone chip outside the driver's line of sight often passes — but it's a ticking clock. In the Queensland heat a stable chip can run into a full-width crack overnight, and then you've gone from a quick chip repair to a fail and a full replacement. If you're heading for a safety certificate, deal with chips before the inspection, not after.
Don't drive on a badly cracked screen
Beyond the certificate, a windscreen is a structural part of the car — it braces the roof and backs the passenger airbag. A long or spreading crack weakens it, which is why driving with a seriously damaged screen can also draw a defect notice. If in doubt, get it looked at.
Not sure whether yours will pass? Send us a photo and your rego and we'll tell you straight whether it's a repair, a replacement, or good to go.