Sporting equipment must meet product safety standards to prevent injuries and ensure safe use.

To help reduce the risk of accidents, especially for children, check your equipment is:

• properly designed (must meet Australian consumer and product safety laws)
• built correctly
• secured tp the ground or walls if need be
• regularly checked and maintained. 

Product Safety Australia provides guides and advice on sporting equipment and the safety standards they need to meet, such as:

• Trampolines
• Moveable soccer goals
• Basketball rings & backboards
• Treadmills
• Exercise bikes
• Bicycle helmets
• Bicycles

Trampolines

There are over 3,000 trampoline-related injuries reported each year in Australia, about 8 a day. They are one of the most reported product-related injuries to children in Australia. Injuries include bone fractures, head and spinal injuries.

A key concern is the growning rate of injuries among children under five and the number of injuries caused by multiple users (double-bouncing). 

The five-step safety checklist

Follow this checklist to keep kids safe on trampolines:

1. One at a time

Make sure there is only one child on the trampoline.

2. Supervise 

Supervise children at all times. Take extra care with youner children as they are more prone to serious injury.

Ensure your children learn basic bounces first before trying more complex moves. Overconfidence can lead to injury. Jumping in the centre of the mat is important to reduce injuries.

Keep toddlers away from the trampoline when it is in use. Make sure they do not go underneath it. Infants have suffered serious injuries from falling off, pinching by springs and being crushed under the trampoline.

Jump on it - Supervise

3. Safety padding

Always use safety padding on the frame.

4. Check condition

Regularly check the:

• mat and net don’t have holes
• springs are intact and securely attached at both ends
• frame is not bent
• leg braces are locked.

Jump on it - Check the padding

5. Hazard free surrounds

Trampoline safety: It's flippin' important! (youtube.com)

Make sure:

• the area around the trampoline is free from hazards. Give it space from walls, fences or garden furniture.

• cover at least a 2.5 metre wide area around the trampoline with a thick layer of soft, impact-absorbing material. For example cover the ground with pine bark and woodchips. Rake this regularly to reduce compacting.

• there is an overhead clearance to avoid objects like clotheslines, trees and wires. A minimum overhead clearance of eight metres from ground level is recommended.