Funtopia Maribyrnong fined $60,000 following WorkSafe Victoria prosecution over child’s rope ladder fall

Indoor play centre Funtopia Maribyrnong has been fined for breaching safety laws plea after an incident where an eight-year-old girl fell from a rope ladder.

Operator Entertainment Velocity Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act during a hearing last month and returned to the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday where a $60,000 fine was imposed.

Entertainment Velocity admitted it contravened safety laws following the incident where the child fell 7 metres when a self-belay device failed in March.

Media reports indicated that she hit the ground feet first and was found not moving on the matting.

The company pleaded guilty to two safety act breaches.

The Court was told the girl suffered two compression fractures in her spine and remained in pain months after the incident.

She told the Court in a letter the injury had changed her life as she was forced to quit gymnastics and swimming.

In her letter she wrote “sometimes it hurts and does not stop for a while.”

The Court was told the play centre was originally operated by Funtopia but had changed hands and Entertainment Velocity became a franchisee of the chain in 2019.

WorkSafe Victoria Prosecutor Tristan Joseph said the self-belay safety device was found to be “extremely degraded” during an expert assessment after the incident.

Joseph advised “it was degraded to such a degree it just completely failed.

“That there wasn't an incident earlier should be attributed to good fortune.”

Stephen Russell, for Entertainment Velocity, told the Court that all the devices were immediately replaced after the accident and the company had now committed to spending $180,000 on new “state of the art” devices.

At an earlier Court hearing, he said his client had relied heavily on Funtopia to provide information on safety and maintenance but accepted responsibility for the breaches.

Russell noted “there were checks and balances. We weren't on notice our system was inadequate at that stage.”

Handing down the fine and recording a conviction, Magistrate Louise Wildberger found this was a serious departure from safety practices, stating “there is no doubt this would have been an incredibly traumatic experience.”

Magistrate Wildberger said the company had failed to rigorously check and maintain equipment 'that was at the centre of the activity Entertainment Velocity provided'.

In a statement, Funtopia expressed its “sincerest condolences” to all affected by the incident and said it had cooperated with WorkSafe.

Operations Manager Wayne Kong-Gardiner, explained “safety is of paramount importance to Funtopia, and all franchisees are rigorously trained to conduct their operations safely.

“However, the conduct admitted by the franchisee falls significantly below our standards.

“Given the guilty plea, the franchise code gives the franchisor options, including termination.

“The franchisor is obtaining legal advice to find solutions that will not be disruptive to our patrons.”

At last month’s hearing Joseph had advised “the central issue in this case is Entertainment Velocity was very reactive in the way it responded to known risks.

“It’s a facility that deals with play facilities predominantly used by children … children can’t be relied upon to perform their own safety checks and assess whether these are functioning properly.”

Image: Climbing feature at Funtopia Maribyrnong. Credit: Funtopia Maribyrnong/Facebook.