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It's a brave Flatchatter who puts aesthetics before children's lives so I'm keeping right out of this discussion about safety nets for balconies.
QUESTION: My company imports and installs internationally accredited safety nets to protect children from falls from windows and balconies.
The problem is that we have been operating for 3 months and not one Strata out of at least 20 have approved the safety nets (nor have they disapproved them). I have clients who have been waiting for about three months for a decision from their Stratas, to install the safety nets .
They are worried about their children's safety and they would like to be able to play in their balconies with their children, as well as keep their windows open. In my view this is very wrong. People should be able to have choices and to make them, not be deprived of all their rights.- via Flat Chat Forum.
ANSWER: You can see what the nets look like by following the links on the Forum, where discussion is already getting pretty heated.
“Of course everyone is concerned about child safety,” says gcelec on the Forum, “but it doesn't follow that you have the right to do anything that increases child safety without taking into account the impact it has on others.”
Parents aren't forced to live in a property that is potentially dangerous to their child, gcelec continues, adding that other owners shouldn't be held to emotional ransom.
But there are voices strongly in favour of the nets.
“Children falling from balconies and windows is a serious problem in Sydney,” says Cathy Sherry, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law, UNSW, quoting a report done for Westmead's Children's Hospital which treats two children a month for falls from buildings.
“As windows and balconies are invariably common property, it is potentially the responsibility of owners corporations, ie every owner, to address the risk,” adds Cathy.
Good idea or 'Nanny Strata' gone mad? See the nets and have your say RIGHT HERE where the discussion has already heated up.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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Hi Jimmy, as you said on ABC radio the other day, our childrens safety is of the utmost importance, but there is also a regard to the appearance of a building. We all want our children to be safe. But we also invest a lot of money and time in buying into well kept and attractive buildings and keeping up the appearance of said buildings. For our own satisfaction and of course to keep the value of our property. If there was perhaps a more attractive alternative that is not such an an eyesore and is not at all intrusive or detracts from the buiding perhaps there would be more interest. There will be so many variances, older buildings with fewer lots may suit the old fashioned security bars and newer buildings with more lots will need some type of less intrusive model but I am sure as this issue is discussed variations will evolve and eventually…solution.
Very prickly subject matter, but there you go.
Cheers CBF
considerate band fair said:
Hi Jimmy, as you said on ABC radio the other day, our childrens safety is of the utmost importance, but there is also a regard to the appearance of a building. We all want our children to be safe. But we also invest a lot of money and time in buying into well kept and attractive buildings and keeping up the appearance of said buildings. For our own satisfaction and of course to keep the value of our property. If there was perhaps a more attractive alternative that is not such an an eyesore and is not at all intrusive or detracts from the buiding perhaps there would be more interest. There will be so many variances, older buildings with fewer lots may suit the old fashioned security bars and newer buildings with more lots will need some type of less intrusive model but I am sure as this issue is discussed variations will evolve and eventually…solution.
Very prickly subject matter, but there you go.
Cheers CBF
I just would like to thank you Jimmy and also CBF. Some other critics on the forum put me down,but what you both said made a lot of sense to me.
“Safety must come first, but aesthetics cannot be ignored” is the lesson I have learned.
To succeed, I had to come up with a better product, less intrusive and easier to install.
At first I intended to develop something, but after some research I found something else, a new product, which unfortunately is not made in Australia, but it is completely transparent, made of a different material.
It is virtually invisible, so I believe it will have a much better chance to be accepted by Stratas. 12
In the newspaper article I read they also had the supplier who has been trying to sell his product. Possibly the same person who has posted in the Forum?
He has made claims about how good the nets are, how much weight they can withstand, and how it “bounces” back!
I believe that any product that sold as a safety measure to stop children or pets being injured, should be tested independently by the Australian Consumers Association, or standards testing organisation.
Retailers and suppliers could be alturistic, but I think the bottom line is how many units they sell, not how safe or effective their product will prove to be.
I have seen demonstrations of so called “security” doors and screens that are no use at all, when someone is determined to get through them.
Any parent bringing up their child or children in an apartment and allowing them onto a balcony or any common property without 100%, absolutely dedicated supervision when they are younger than, say, 7 or 8 is being negligent, in my view.
Even when they are that age, the years and years of warnings such as ‘Don’t go near that window’, ‘Don’t run down the stairs’ or ‘This is a car park, be careful’ are in one ear and out the other.
I don’t think safety nets and OH&S checks are the answer to any perceived problem; constant parental supervision of the littler ones is the only thing that will help.
I laughed at the lawyers in today’s Sydney Morning Herald saying ‘law suits are on their way, don’t you worry about that’. They WOULD say that wouldn’t they! And the OH&S inspectors, safety net importers and Strata Managers and their contractors are rubbing their hands together at the expectation of all the extra income that will be generated.
Having said all that, this is a difficult one. Even one little life saved by a safety net would make it all worthwhile.
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