Pool Compliance Certification
Every year drownings occur in pools across Australia and is a leading cause of preventable death in children under 5 years of age.
To prevent this, pool owners have a responsibility to ensure their pool is secure and meets standards that have been in place across all states for some time. To further improve the adherence to these standards NSW and Queensland have also introduced pool safety compliance requirements.
From 29 April 2016 in NSW and 30 November 2015 in Queensland all properties with a swimming pool or spa pool cannot be sold or leased without a valid certificate of compliance or relevant occupation certificate. As a result, if you are selling a property you must provide a Swimming Pool Certificate of Compliance before settlement or a notice of No Pool Safety Certificate in which event the new purchaser has 90 days to rectify the issues and obtain a compliance certificate.
For shared pools, the owners’ corporation (or body corporate) is responsible for organising the compliance certificate on behalf of residents who will also require this certificate before selling or leasing their property.
What needs to be certified?
The law applies to any excavation, structure or vessel - including swimming pools and spa pools - that are:
- capable of being filled with water to a depth greater than 30cm, and
- used, designed, manufactured or adapted for swimming, wading, paddling or any other human aquatic activity.
What is the process for certification?
All pools must first be listed on the state’s swimming pool register before a compliance inspection should be organised.
A private certifier will visit the property and check that the pool/spa and surrounds including all gates & latches, pool barrier, property boundary fencing and landscaping meet the required Australian Standards and relevant state pool standards.
If the pool complies they will issue a certificate of safety compliance. If not, a “Notice of Non-Conformity” will be issued along with a report outlining the issues and actions that need to be taken to make the pool compliant.
Once this has been completed the pool should be re-inspected by the same certifier.
Please note – property sellers have the option to pass on a non-conforming pool whereas leaseholders must ensure it is compliant before allowing tenants access.
Pool owners are liable to significant penalties and on the spot fines from their local council for non-compliance with pool safety requirements.
