Australian Standards

About the new Safety Standard
The Australian Standard AS4685.1 Playground Equipment was published on 13 Oct 2004 but after a phase-in period became effective from 13 Oct 2005. The standard sets out general safety requirements for play equipment with the objective of minimizing the risk of injury to children at play. Such requirements are specified with the aim of protecting children from hazards that they may not be able to foresee when using play equipment as intended. The new standard is much more stringent than the previous safety standard and provides regulations about the following:

2.2.7.2 head and neck entrapment
2.2.7.3 clothing or hair entrapment
2.2.7.4 whole body entrapment
2.2.7.5 foot or leg entrapment
2.2.7.6 entrapment of fingers
2.2.4.1 maximum free height of fall
2.2.4.2.1 handrails for stepladders and bridges
2.2.4.3.2 guardrails on platform play
2.2.9.2 ladder construction and other
At Teach and Play, we make sure our designs comply with or
EXCEED the safety requirements of AS4685.1s

Safety First Checklist
Teach & Play supply a Safety First Checklist so you can preform your own check on existing play equipment to see if it complies with the new Australian Safety Standards.

Download Safety First Checklist 123kb

New trestle standards

The trestle on the left (as above) FAILS the AS4685.1 Head and Neck Entrapment test 2.2.7.2 because the distance between the horizontal bars is built within a danger zone that may cause a child to become trapped and suffer from asphyxiation, neck, head injury or fright. The Teach and Play trestle on the right PASSES the tests and is SAFE for play.

Do your trestles harbour rust?
	Rusty metal play equipment WILL NOT pass the new Australian Standard AS4685.1 Section 2.1.4 for safe play.

Outdoor timber equipment
	DOES your outdoor play equipment contain timber components that absorb moisture e.g. some MDF [s.2.1.3 (a)], has toxicity e.g. CCA pine treatment [s.2.1.3 (c)] and [s.2.1.6] or will not provide sufficient natural resistance to weathering, e.g. radiata pine [s.2.1.3 (i)].