New mechanical rides entering Australia need to have the following documents supplied with them:

1. A complete manual

2. On Manufacturer’s letterhead and signed by a senior company officer:

• The date on which the design was completed. • The Standard [EN, DIN or ASTM] to which the ride was designed.

• The date of construction. • What NDT, if any, the manufacturer/designer requires.

• What load tests were conducted on the completed ride.

3. If the ride includes air receivers then it may be better to have Australian designed receivers fitted when it arrives, as some overseas designs are not acceptable in Australia. Talk to your engineer about this.

4. If there is a TUV Certificate available, that makes the whole design registration process, in Australia, much easier.

5. For a second hand ride, all of the above is needed, plus I would recommend that a complete NDT examination of critical components be done before purchasing.

6. For a second hand ride, I would also recommend that, before you commit to the purchase, you arrange to have a third party inspection, in the country of origin, by a qualified ride inspector. That inspector provides you with a copy of his report, which would include the NDT from point 5, and you then discuss that report with your local engineer. [Why? There have been instances of rides purchased in good faith from overseas, which have turned out to require considerable work prior to being registerable in Australia. Call it cheap insurance.]

7. All of this information should be sent ahead of the ride so that the documents may be examined and the process of design registration completed BEFORE the ride arrives.

The paperwork takes as long as, or longer than, the sea journey from US or Europe, due to time constraints of engineers and the Regulator’s time to process applications.