Registration and Inspection

New laws have been introduced with relation to pool and spa compliance to improve pool safety and reduce incidents of children drowning at home.

Owners of land where there is a pool or spa capable of holding more than 300mm must register their pool or spa with the relevant council. Owners are also required to have their pool safety barriers inspected and submit a compliance certificate to council every 4 years.

Non-compliant barriers will be issued an improvement notice which puts onus on the owner to make the barrier compliant within a specified period.

Barrier Tips

The characteristics of an effective pool barrier ensure it cannot be used as a climbing device, surfaces close to the fence cannot be used for climbing and young children cannot climb under the fence.

Some key tips to achieve this are to –

• Ensure barrier is at least 1200mm high.
• Maintain a gap no larger than 100mm at the bottom of the fence.
• Keep items that can be climbed on such as pot plants and furniture at least 900mm from the barrier.
• Ensure access gates are self-closing and latches effectively when closed.
• Ensure gate latch release is at least 1500mm above ground level.
• Inspect and maintain elements of the barrier regularly to ensure strength and rigidity.

Barrier requirements vary depending on when your pool or spa was installed.

The VBA provide some helpful age specific self-checklists on their webpage –https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/consumers/swimming-pools/pool-safety-barriers

While these checklists and your Venatic Building and Pest Inspection will provide great insight to pool and spa compliance, they are not a substitute for a compliance certificate from a registered building surveyor.

Register your Pool or Spa with your local council

For more information specific to your local government area, check out the links below!

Latrobe City

https://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/Property/Building/Building_Advice_and_Help/Pools_and_Spas

Wellington

https://www.wellington.vic.gov.au/development/swimming-pool-and-spa-registration

South Gippsland

https://www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au/homepage/317/swimming_pool_and_spa_registration

East Gippsland

https://www.eastgippsland.vic.gov.au/building-and-development/pool-and-spa-barriers