Key takeaways
- An inflatable 3 metres or taller at its highest standing point must be registered with your state work safety regulator.
- Under 9 metres, your inspector doesn’t have to be an engineer, but they do need proven training or experience with inflatables.
- The seller registers the design. The owner registers the device, checks it daily and books the annual inspection.
- A full inflatable inspection takes about half a day, covering the device, the logbook and the operators.
If you own a jumping castle, hire one out or book one for an event, the question we’re always asked is whether the inflatable amusement device needs to be registered, and who’s allowed to inspect it.
In this blog, we’ll cover when an inflatable needs registering, who’s responsible for it, who can inspect it and what an inspection involves. It matters because when inflatables aren’t set up and checked properly, people get hurt. In December 2021, six children died at a Tasmanian school when a gust of wind lifted a bouncy castle into the air.
Does your inflatable amusement device need to be registered?
If a land-borne or water-borne inflatable is held up by continuously blown air and has a platform height of 3 metres or more, it has to be registered.
Platform height is measured with nobody on the device, from the surface supporting it to the highest point designed to hold a person. Not the top of the arch, and not the top of the walls.
There are two separate registrations. One for the design, which comes with a design registration number, and one for your individual device, renewed on a cycle.
| Platform height | What applies |
|---|---|
| Under 3 metres | No registration. Daily checks, maintenance and an annual inspection are still required. |
| 3 metres or more | Design registration and item registration both required before the device is used. |
| 9 metres or more | The annual inspection must be done by a professional engineer. |
Victoria and South Australia run slightly different rules, so check with your state regulator. The registration process itself is set out in AS 3533 and design registration.
Who is responsible? The seller, the owner or the person hiring it
- The seller. The manufacturer, importer or supplier registers the design and hands over the design registration number and manual.
- The owner. Usually the hire company. It registers the device, keeps the logbook, does the daily checks and books the annual inspection, including while the device is out on hire.
- The person hiring it in. A school, council or event organiser should ask to see the current registration, annual inspection certificate and public liability insurance before booking. If an unregistered device is used at an event you run, you and the operator can both face action from the regulator.
Who can inspect an inflatable, and when do you need an RPEQ?
Most amusement devices have to be inspected by a professional engineer. Inflatables under 9 metres are the exception, and the annual inspection can be done by a competent person instead. From 9 metres, the inspector has to be a professional engineer, which in Queensland means an RPEQ.
What does competent actually mean?
There’s no licence or card for it. A competent person can show
- training, a qualification or real experience in inspecting inflatables, not just setting them up
- that they know what to check, what a defect looks like and what to do when something fails
- an electrical qualification, or a qualified person working with them, if the inspection covers the blowers and wiring
How often does an inflatable have to be inspected?
There are three checks. The first two are yours, the third is the inspector’s.
| When | Who does it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Every time it’s set up | You or your operator | Before anyone gets on, check it’s properly pegged or weighted down, fully inflated and clear of hazards. |
| Before first use each day | You or your operator | A quick walk around to check nothing has changed since yesterday. |
| Once a year | A competent inspector | A full inspection of the device, your records and your operators. |
Write every check in the logbook. If it isn’t written down, as far as an auditor’s concerned, it didn’t happen.
What happens during an inflatable amusement device inspection?
- The physical inspection. The inspector checks the inflatable itself, from the seams, fabric and netting to the blowers and anchor points. They also check how it’s anchored and where it sits, including the ground, anything overhead and how you monitor wind.
- The logbook review. The inspector goes through your records. Daily checks, maintenance, electrical tests on the blowers, operator training and any repairs. Water-borne devices add supervision and emergency procedures, and water slides add water quality.
- Functional testing. The device is run with your operators on it, so the inspector can see they know what they’re doing.
Inflatable amusement device FAQs
Questions we get from owners and hirers that the sections above don’t cover.
What wind speed do you have to stop at?
Evacuate the device, then deflate it, when gusts go over the manufacturer’s limit or 40 km/h, whichever is lower. Someone has to be watching the wind for the whole time the inflatable is up, because gusts arrive faster than a forecast changes. Write the readings in the logbook.
What do I get at the end of an inflatable inspection?
A written report. It lists anything that has to be fixed before the device is used again, and anything that can wait. Once the device passes, you get a statement that it is safe to operate for the next 12 months. Keep both with the logbook. Schools, councils and event organisers will ask to see the statement before they book you.
I bought a second-hand jumping castle. What do I need before I hire it out?
The design registration number and the manual from the seller, if the device is 3 metres or taller. Then register the device in your name and have it inspected before its first hire. If the seller cannot give you the design registration number, ask before you pay, because you cannot register the device without it.
Where do I find the design registration number?
It comes from the manufacturer, importer or supplier with the device, usually on the compliance plate and in the manual. It is separate from the item registration number your state regulator issues to you. A hire company should be able to show you both on request.
Getting your inflatable inspections right
DRA Safety’s engineers are RPEQ registered, so they cover both sides of the 9 metre line, and the firm carries $10 million in professional indemnity underwritten by Lloyd’s.
An inspection should be able to say that the inflatable amusement device was safe for the last 12 months and will be for the next 12. That means showing your maintenance records, who did the maintenance and that your operators are trained, not just walking around the device.
A DRA inflatable inspection takes about half a day. Find out more about our amusement device inspection service, or send through your logbooks and device details and we’ll tell you what your inspection needs to cover.