Thanks!!! It was a cloudy day and I pulled the shade down then went down to our very nice neighbours 2 doors doors down and it does provide privacy (it is very deceiving and you need to see from a distant). But in saying that I will have to do the test when we have the sun from our side of the screen???? I will also do the test at night (we have a water feature with led strip light in front of the screen so we have no light behind the screen. Thanks for your comments, I will post my results (and a image). The external blind was installed just so we could sit on our back deck in the sun and have a cup of tea and read the newspaper in privacy

It is unfortunate that Ficus Hillii hybrids are being pushed by landscapers. The root system of all ornamental figs is bad. The Flash variety is just a smaller version of Ficus microcarpa which is a massive tree. They ALL have roots that cause severe structural damage to homes, pools, driveways, walls etc. As a very experienced garden designer, I have seen too many instances of considerable structural problems caused by this plant family. Beware.

I have the same issue. Here are a few plants that I'm considering: Indian Mast, Pinnacle Syzygium, Pencil Pine, Spartan Conifer, Skyrocket Juniper, Lilly Pilly, Pittosporum and Ficus Hillii. I've probably gotten a few of the names wrong! At the moment, I haven't made a decision as I'm still trying to figure out what will work best for the climate (Brisbane, Queensland), position (some would be in direct sunlight for most of the day, but others would be shaded by houses for most of the day and I'd prefer to have the same variety throughout the yard), soil, etc. I am planning on walking around the neighbourhood to sticky beak at what other people have done in similar situations so that I have better idea of what will grow well and last.

I would keep the glass in and put stick on privacy film over it. You will get a neat result, you can get a huge range of patterns and colours (start your search on eBay for examples) and you won't lose your wind protection in Winter. Handy when having a BBQ in Summer too.