WorkSafe warns play centres after serious climbing wall falls

Members of the public, including children, were injured in the seven incidents involving artificial climbing structures. WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said inspectors were checking that centres across Victoria were taking all reasonable steps to protect customers.

“It’s extremely worrying that we continue to see people, including young children, being put in danger and getting injured on artificial climbing structures at play centres,” Mr Jenkin said. He said employers providing this high-risk activity had no excuse for failing to put robust safety systems and controls in place.

WorkSafe conducted comprehensive investigations into four incidents, resulting in one formal caution and two successful criminal prosecutions. Investigators identified inadequate supervision as a cause of many of the incidents.

Mr Jenkin said operators must train staff to check harnesses before every climb and roster enough workers to supervise customers effectively. He said sufficient staff actively monitoring climbers could significantly reduce most risks associated with climbing walls at indoor play centres.

In 2022, an 11-year-old boy was injured after falling four metres from the top of an indoor climbing feature. His mother described him reaching the top, hitting the buzzer and launching off without being connected. “We know it could have been a lot worse, but it was still a horribly traumatic experience, seeing my son in hospital and having to tell my husband he’d had a huge fall,” she said.

An updated WorkSafe safety alert highlights staff training and the inspection and maintenance of safety equipment. It also identifies controls operators should consider to ensure climbers are connected to auto belay systems, including interlock devices and barrier mats at the base of climbing structures. The mats provide a visual cue about when it is safe to climb.

Mr Jenkin stressed that these measures could not replace active, effective supervision. “Even with the best safety systems in place, young climbers in a state of excitement could still bypass controls or forget instructions,” he said. With school holidays approaching and families looking for indoor activities in cold weather, he urged operators to take safety steps now.

The injured boy’s mother said she hoped drawing attention to unsupervised climbing would spare other families a similar experience. She said a staff member monitoring the area would have noticed that the rope had retracted and her son was not connected. “Kids are kids – you can't just throw a harness on them, open the gate and leave them to it.”

How Blue Safe can help: Our WHS platform can help businesses organise staff training records and equipment inspections as part of ongoing safety management. We provide tools to support the tracking and review of these activities. See Blue Safe WHS software