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Playground Equipment

Requirements and information to assist schools in the design, installation and maintenance of playground equipment.

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Do you need to comply?

Yes – if your school has playground equipment.

Conditions of compliance

All playground equipment design and installation should conform to the following standards:

  • AS 4685.0:2017
  • AS 4685:2014 (including Parts 1 – 6)
  • AS 1428.1-2009
  • AS 1428.2-1992
  • AS/NZS 1428.4.1:2009
  • AS 4422:2016.
If you have to comply, what do you have to do?

The Victorian Government Department of Education and Training (Vic DET) provides the following advice to Government schools:

Only playground equipment items, which are in accordance with the relevant Australian Standards, may be erected in school grounds.

A full list of approved equipment items would be impractical, but for general guidance, the following have been approved:

  • sandpits
  • slides
  • horizontal and vertical ladders
  • horizontal bars
  • gymnastic combinations
  • jungle gymnasiums
  • climbing nets and frames
  • climbing ropes (fixed)
  • track glides.

The following items of playground equipment are not approved for use in schools:

  • seesaws
  • swings (including log swings)
  • maypoles (including climbing poles)
  • merry-go-rounds
  • roundabouts
  • flying foxes.

All apparatus must be fixed unless specifically designed to be portable (e.g. A frames).

Vic DET also provides advice for Government schools regarding footings, heights and soft-fall conditions.

Suppliers should provide written confirmation that the playground equipment and its installation meet the requirements of the Australian Standards.

All playground equipment should be inspected weekly and repairs and maintenance acted upon in accordance with the school’s maintenance provision. Particular attention needs to be given to the under surfacing beneath and around the playground equipment.

What are the consequences if you don’t comply?

There is the possibility of legal action against the school in the event of an injury.

ISV contacts

Peter Roberts
Director, School Services
Ph. 03 9825 7211
peter.roberts@is.vic.edu.au

Kieren Noonan
Head of Innovation
Ph. 03 9825 7275
kieren.noonan@is.vic.edu.au

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