Amusement and playground equipment

Amendment to the 2023 Amusement and Playground Equipment (Commodities Act) Decree (WAS 2023) in connection with the adjustment of its scope and the updating of regulatory requirements

This decree sets out safety requirements for activity equipment and differentiates between categories of equipment on the basis of safety risks. The amendment to the WAS 2023 aims to achieve the following:

greater safety for consumers using high-risk leisure facilities, such as tree-top adventure courses, zip lines and recreational go-kart tracks (the new ‘active facilities’ category); greater flexibility within the system and less regulation where possible, including by no longer requiring simple playground equipment to undergo mandatory inspection and by abolishing the approval mark; a clearer distinction between playground equipment and sports equipment; a more harmonised and transparent implementation of the work by the designated inspection bodies.
For the sake of completeness, it is noted that Article 13d of the Commodities Act contains a mutual recognition clause.
The mutual recognition principle entails that an EU Member State shall not ban in its own territory the sale of goods that have been legally brought onto the market in another EU Member State on the grounds that the goods do not meet its own national regulations. It is important, however, that the legitimate public interests guaranteed by the national requirements in force are sufficiently protected. The principle of mutual recognition is included in the explanatory memorandum to the draft decree.