Canberra's WorkSafe watchdog has warned parents and carers to report any safety concerns at play centres after a boy fell off a rock-climbing structure last weekend.
The child's mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said her nine-year-old fell at least 4.5 metres after he was disconnected from his safety harness at the Flip Out centre near Canberra Airport.
The boy fell from what the centre calls its "clip and climb" structure, which WorkSafe ACT issued a prohibition notice to temporarily close after the incident.
"I saw my son coming towards me with just blood everywhere, coming out all over his face and things," she said.
"He was just by himself coming towards me and then I put my hand over his face, his nose, to try to stem the bleeding and, yeah, it was all quite surreal."
The boy was taken to hospital and, two days later, his mother said he had a stiff neck, breathing difficulties and cuts to his mouth.
"He's at home and we're just continuing to monitor him, but, yeah, he seems to be OK so far," she said.
ACT Work Health and Safety Commissioner Jacqueline Agius did not name the play centre but confirmed that "enquiries" about the fall were underway.
She said the incident was concerning.
"Every accident or incident in any workplace is preventable, it's as simple as that," she told ABC Radio Canberra.
"As long as the controls are in place and the controls are adequate, we shouldn't see these sorts of incidents occur, and we should not be seeing children get injured.
Flip Out says staff provided safety instructions to users of the climbing wall
In a statement, Flip Out Australia director Steve Stone said staff on site had provided "full and complete" instructions to users of the climbing wall, "in line with our approved safety procedures and standards".
But in a response, the boy's mother disputed this version of events.
Mr Stone said the company was "saddened by the event", and had "offered all the assistance we can in the circumstances", including immediate treatment.
"Given that Flip Out has a perfect safety record across all of its arenas Australia-wide for our clip and climb activity since it was introduced as an activity several years ago, we are disappointed that this incident has occurred," he said.
'You can't waive away your statutory rights'
Ms Agius said incidents at indoor play centres were "more common than the ACT community realise[d]".
She said WorkSafe ACT had been conducting inspections in play centres for about 12 months and had seen a "number" of incidents in that time.
"We urge parents and carers to closely inspect these centres and supervise their children and notify us where risks to workers or children are not being taken seriously enough."
Ms Agius said some indoor play centres required parents and carers to sign a waiver, but that waiver did not absolve the centre of its responsibilities for safety.
"As to injuries, the saying is 'you can't waive away your statutory rights'.
"Being a parent myself, I've signed those things, and also being a lawyer I've signed them knowing that they're not worth the paper that they're written on."
Ms Agius said a commonsense approach was the best option for parents when considering whether to let their children use play equipment.
"Trust your gut. If you look at it and you think, 'That just isn't cutting it for me, I feel like that's not something I want my child climbing up,' don't let them go on it," she said.
