Djinda Dreaming Huntingdale fined $46,000 after child ‘clotheslined’ by skipping rope tied over slide

A southern suburbs childcare centre will have to pay a massive fine after failing to remove a rope that caught a child around the neck as they used a slide. The incident occurred at Djinda Dreaming’s Huntingdale premises on December 2, 2024. A five-year-old child was using the slide at the centre when a skipping rope tied tightly across the top of the slide connected with their neck. There were six carers at the centre on the day who didn’t see the injury occur. The five-year-old told a carer what happened, and the rope was cut from the slide. Another staff member was told to complete an incident report and tell the child’s aunt, but that did not happen. The child’s aunt contacted the centre after noticing a red mark on the child’s neck. This month, the State Administrative Tribunal ordered Djinda Dreaming to pay the Department of Communities a penalty of $46,100. The majority of the fine ($25,000) stemmed from failing to ensure that all children were adequately supervised, $20,000 for failing to protect children in its care from harm, and $1100 for failing to report the injury. Skipping ropes have now been banned at all Djinda Dreaming centres in WA. Djinda Dreaming operates seven childcare centres in the metro area, including in Leda, South Lake, Morley, Armadale and Huntingdale.