- 27 November 2024
Stay up to speed with building regulations and safety standards.
As the months get warmer, more Aussie families will be making moves to have pools installed for summer.
For installers, each state has its own regulations for swimming pool and safety barrier requirements which affect building definitions, compliance options and inspection frameworks among other things.
Before your next install, here’s a refresher on the latest regulations that may affect your state’s requirements either today or in the future, as well as some consumer safety points it’s worthwhile being familiar with.
Updated definitions
- Spa baths have in some cases been clarified as not being subject to barrier provisions, while spa pools are more clearly included as being subject to pool safety provisions.
- Door concession provisions may now simply require National Disability Services (NDS) confirmation of a person’s ability to operate a compliant gate/door.
- Authorised persons may now include contractors operating on behalf of a permit authority for barrier inspections (provided they have appropriate identification)
- “Building work that does not require a Building Permit” may now include fences, including those acting as a pool barrier.
Clarified requirements
- Barriers and fencing to structures may now only be required when a structure is complete.
- Practitioners and supervisors are reminded that incomplete pool or pond structures can still present a falls risk and should be considered as part of wider WHS obligations
- “Double ups” of fencing or barriers for a site that’s already secured may not be required.
Boundary barrier compliance
- Some regulations may now include new options to utilise the non-pool side of a safety fence or other barrier, including there being no obligation for neighbouring properties or public spaces to preserve the barrier function.
Inspection and re-inspections
- Requirements for new inspections may be triggered for those within the initial four-year window, to be completed within 30 days. Builders also may no longer have to issue an inspection certificate on completion of works
Owner safety responsibilities
Occupiers and owners take responsibility for aspects of ensuring their pool is compliant with their state’s safety requirements. As an installer, it’s worth checking these to know where your responsibilities end and theirs begin.
Owners responsibilities may include:
- Ensuring the safety barrier is compliant at all times.
- Continually maintaining the barrier and gate, ensuring the gate is self-closing and self-latching when released from any open position.
- Checking the pool fence is always securely fixed in place, with enough height and extending close enough to the ground to comply with their state’s regulations.
- Ensuring there are no climbable objects that may allow a young child to cross the fence or reach the pool gate latch.
- Where necessary windows and doors in the safety barrier are installed, ensuring all are child-resistant.
