Ardent Leisure secures Major Amusement Park Licences from regulator

September 20, 2022

The Ardent Leisure Group has revealed that it has been issued with Major Amusement Park Licences (MAP Licences) under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) for its Dreamworld and Whitewater World properties by Queensland’s workplace health and safety regulator, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ).

The granting of the MAP Licences represents the culmination of several years of extensive work by the business, in consultation with WHSQ, demonstrating a robust safety case that provides a holistic framework for the management of health and safety at both Dreamworld and Whitewater World.

The licensing regime for amusement parks in Queensland is a world-first that was instigated by the Queensland Government in 2019 with the objective of achieving world-class best practice safety standards in theme park operations.

The MAP Licences have been granted for a term of three years and six months.

Welcoming the licences, Ardent Leisure Chairman, Dr Gary Weiss AM stated “as Chair of the Board Safety and Risk Review Committee, I am extremely proud of the tireless pursuit of our highly experienced Theme Parks leadership team, supported by passionate staff across the business, to entrench global best practice safety standards in our operations.

“The granting of the licences is an endorsement of the focus and commitment to safety which is an ongoing initiative and it underpins our continued investment in this business.”

Ardent Leisure Theme Parks and Attractions Chief Executive, Greg Yong added “safety for our guests, our team and our animals is our number one priority. I am immensely proud of the entire team who have made significant enhancements to our systems since the safety case was instigated by the Queensland Government.

“We are pleased that these systems have met the standards required for issuance of these licenses and remain steadfast in our commitment to continuous improvement and to be a world leader in safety for our industry.”

25th August 2022 - Ardent Leisure reports rising revenue and Greg Yong’s promotion to group Chief Executive

27th July 2022 - Ardent Leisure allowed to use $2.7 million in koala research funding for new Dreamworld rollercoaster

19th July 2022 - Ardent Leisure in a ‘position to capitalise’ on recovering tourism market

5th July 2022 - Sunshine Coast adventure park zip-line accident investigated by Workplace Health and Safety

29th June 2022 - Shareholders back sale of Ardent Leisure’s US-based Main Event business

7th April 2022 - Ardent Leisure to sell USA-based Main Event division and focus on Australian attractions

28th February 2022 - Ardent Leisure shows doubling of revenue in the first six months of 2021/22 financial year

30th December 2021 - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland issues reminder on key safety controls for landborne inflatables

26th December 2021 - Ardent Leisure drops plans for Dreamworld hotel

2nd September 2021 - Ardent Leisure Chairman says group is well positioned for future growth

1st September 2021 - Ardent Leisure set for seasonal reopening of Gold Coast’s WhiteWater World

15th December 2021 - Dreamworld celebrates 40th anniversary with opening of its new Steel Taipan rollercoaster

18th November 2021 - Risk management the key to way out of attractions industry’s insurance crisis

17th August 2021 - With new Steel Taipan rollercoaster approaching completion Dreamworld retires its BuzzSaw ride

29th January 2021 - Dreamworld welcomes ‘positive’ guest feedback as summer sees rollercoaster relaunch

10th December 2020 - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland investigating Dreamworld safety incidents

30th September 2020 - Ardent Leisure’s Dreamworld fine the biggest in Queensland workplace history

29th October 2016 - Queensland Government to undertake ‘safety blitz’ on theme parks

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