Standards Australia has recently published a new Australian Standard on Inflatable Devices (AS 3533.4.1 – 2005 Amusement rides and devices Part 4.1: Specific requirements – Land-borne inflatable devices).

This standard includes design and operational requirements for inflatable devices.

Under the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety legislation, inflatable devices (such as jumping castles used for commercial purposes as amusement device in Queensland) are subject to the requirements of: plant design registration and plant item registration.

For more information about the process of meeting these 2 requirements, please visit the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland website at www.whs.qld.gov.au The relevant forms can be downloaded from the website.

There is a provision in the legislation to exempt amusement devices (such as jumping castles) which were manufactured prior to July 2004 as a class 1 device (under AS 3533.1-1977) from plant design registration.

While the exemption applies to plant design registration, it is still necessary to register each and every item of these inflatable devices before they can be operated commercially as amusement devices.

If you require further clarification on these requirements, please contact the Technology Services Unit of Workplace Health and Safety Queensland on +61 07 3872 0586.