
Falls Prevention
While many falls cause only minor injuries, some falls are serious enough to require admission to hospital. Children will always experience bumps and bruises, but it is the more serious preventable injuries that are best avoided through community understanding of safety issues.
Common causes of serious fall injuries in and around the home include:
Furniture and Nursery Products
Children may get injured as a result of ‘clambering’ on furniture. These include change tables, high chairs, baby walkers, nursery cots, prams and baths. For more information refer to the following information sheets:
- Change Table Safety
- High Chair Safety
- Baby Walker Safety
- Cot Safety
- Pram and Stroller Safety
- Preventing Falls in the Home
For more child safety information on products and recalls visit:
- Product Safety Australia - productsafety.gov.au
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission - accc.gov.au
Window safety
A new law started on 13 March 2018 says that all strata buildings must ensure windows above ground floor do not open more than 12.5 cm. The property owner is responsible for providing window safety devices for rooms above the ground floor.
Falls are the most common cause of injury in every age group. Falls from windows and balconies can be especially serious. Do not rely on fly screens to prevent a child from falling through a window and keep windows locked to a maximum opening of 12.5 cm to keep children safe from falls.
For more tips on window safety click here or visit NSW Fair Trading.
(Image source NSW Fair Trading)
Windows and Balconies
Children are experiencing falls from a variety of different types of dwellings ranging from apartment buildings, townhouses or duplex type accommodation and free standing homes. For more information go to:
- NSW Health has produced a number of resources titled Kids Don't Fly which are available in several languages. Click here for more information.
- To obtain a Kidsafe NSW window safety ruler, contact Kidsafe NSW at
- The Children’s Hospital Westmead Outcomes Report from the Working Party for the Prevention of Children Falling from Residential Buildings.
- To learn more about How Window locks save lives and How to install window locks

NSW Fair Trading has two great YouTube videos on child window safety, presented by DIY guru and TV personality Rob Palmer. These bite-sized videos deliver a simple yet vital message – window locks could save your child’s life and can be easy and cheap to install!
- Watch Window locks save lives and How to install window locks on YouTube today.
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These videos are essential viewing for all parents and grandparents. They provide:
- simple tips on how to prevent falls from windows and balconies in your home
- easy step-by-step instruction on how to install window locks, and more.
Remember, don’t be fooled by fly screens – they are not strong enough to stop your child falling out of an open window. Toddlers aged between 2 and 4 are most at risk of window falls because they’re top heavy and are too young to judge potential danger.
To view the Deck and Balcony Safety booklet produced by NSW Fair Trading, click here.
Stairs
Stairs are a common functional feature that provides access to a space that otherwise could be inaccessible. Open tread stairs can provide a child access to fall or become trapped within the riser gap from one stair to the next. For more information refer to the following information sheet:
Falls in the Backyard 
Falls from play equipment and trampolines make up most of the injuries in backyards. For more information refer to the following information sheets:
For more information on trampolines visit:
- Product Safety Australia - productsafetyaustralia.com.au
Falls on and around Roads and Driveways
Popular wheeled toys, for example, tricycles, bicycles, skateboards, in-line skates, roller blades and scooters can all cause serious injuries to children. For more information refer to the following information sheets:
For further information visit the following websites:
- Safety in the Home
- Safety in the Backyard
- Falls Prevention
- Burns and Scalds Prevention
- Fire Safety
- Safe Sleeping
- Poisoning Prevention
- Family Day Care
- Safety on Farms
- Kids and Animals
- Kidsafe House and Playground
- About Us
- The Team
- Kidsafe NSW Council
- Partners and Sponsors
- Linking to Kidsafe NSW
- Accredited Training
- Presentations
- Webinars
- Course Dates and Enrolments
- Terms and Conditions
- SeatMeSafely
- GrowMeSafely
- Information Sheets
- Newsletters
- Safety Product Orders
- Publication Orders
- Downloadable Resources
- Indigenous Resources
- Resources in Other Languages
- Growing Kids Active Kids