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Fine tripled after court appeal reveals lack of supervision and safety measures at Bounce Australia play centre, where a boy sustained serious injuries from a four-metre fall.
A $40,000 fine has been imposed on an indoor trampolining company after a child fell four metres from a climbing wall, tripling the original penalty following an appeal.
In March 2024, Bounce Australia Pty Ltd was initially fined $12,500 without conviction in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to two charges of failing to ensure the safety of non-employees.
However, on Tuesday, 17 September, the County Court set aside the original sentence and ordered the company to pay a $40,000 fine without conviction, more than triple the previous amount. Bounce Australia was also ordered to cover $5,557 in costs.
The incident, which occurred in May 2022, involved an 11-year-old boy and two friends using the climbing wall at Bounce’s indoor play centre in Grovedale. Each climbing wall was equipped with an auto-belay system, which used a cable attached to a friction device at the top of the wall. A carabiner at the bottom of the cable was meant to be clipped to the climber’s harness, allowing for a controlled descent.
Participants were required to unlock the carabiner, attach it to their harness, release the mat onto the floor, and reattach it to the mat afterwards for the next climber.
After successfully completing two climbs, the boy and a friend moved to a wall where they could race each other. In his excitement, the boy failed to notice that the auto-belay was still retracted at the top of the wall. Mistakenly believing he was already clipped in, he raced to the top, pressed the timer button, and pushed off the wall. Instead of being lowered by the auto-belay, he fell four metres to the ground. The boy was taken to hospital and was diagnosed with a fractured sternum and soft tissue injuries to his back.
WorkSafe’s investigation revealed that Bounce lacked adequate systems to ensure customers in the climbing area were supervised and properly informed about safety rules.
The court identified several safety measures Bounce could have implemented, such as:
– Maintaining a supervision ratio of one employee to every 15 customers;
– Ensuring employees in the climbing area were not also responsible for fitting harnesses;
– Restricting entry to unaccompanied children under 12;
– Providing a documented activity plan outlining supervision requirements;
– Directing customers to watch a safety video about the belay system and testing their understanding of it;
– Requiring children under 12 to be accompanied by a parent or guardian for the safety briefing.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety, Sam Jenkin, commented on the incident, saying, “What had been a fun day out turned into an absolute nightmare for this boy and his family, who should have been able to rely on Bounce to ensure there was proper supervision and instruction for the activities on offer.”
He added, “Ensuring patrons are appropriately supervised, briefing customers on how to safely use equipment, and ensuring children are accompanied by a parent or guardian are simple steps duty holders should take to ensure they manage the inherent risks involved in indoor adventure activities.”
