Standards Australia has released a revised Australian/New Zealand Standard for the design and performance of bunk beds.
The revised standard sets out safety requirements, including materials, construction, design and performance requirements, that are aimed to reduce the likelihood of deaths or injuries to children falling from bunk beds or from other bed-related hazards. The Standard also includes methods for testing a range of design features including fall-through and entrapment hazards, stability, stress and fatigue and the ability to withstand repeated impact.
In addition to the risk of falling, bunk beds and other elevated beds can pose entrapment and strangulation risks for children, often leading to serious injury or death.
Accordingly, the revised standard for bunk beds:
- increases the height of guardrails by 100 mm to better prevent children from rolling out;
- discourages large gaps in guardrails;
- limits the number of access openings on guardrails to four;
- reduces the maximum height above the floor of an upper mattress from 800 mm to 700 mm; and
- recommends sturdier construction.
“Standards Australia’s Children’s Furniture Committee has introduced some important safety improvements in this revision of AS/NZS 4220, including higher guardrails, sturdier construction and handles on access ladders,” said Colin Blair, CEO of Standards Australia.
“With this revision, the aim was to provide manufacturers with clearer information to assist them in designing and manufacturing bunk beds that meet the safety requirements set by regulators. The Standard provides functional, durability, stability and performance criteria to help ensure a greater level of safety and protection,” he said.
Mr Blair says an important stipulation of AS/NZS 4220 was the requirement of warning labels and information recommending bunk beds and other elevated beds not be used by children under the age of nine. Children should also be discouraged from playing in or around bunk beds.
“Studies show the risk of injury or death from a fall from an elevated bed compared with a standard-height bed is 10 times greater for 7-8 year olds, and three times greater for 11-12 year olds.”
Source: Standards Australia