Swimming pools and spas
New swimming pools in Victoria will require four-sided pool fencing when the Building Code of Australia 2010 comes into effect in May 2010.
Victoria already leads the nation in pool safety by requiring maintenance of a pool safety barrier with heavy penalties of over $5000 applying. These penalties will also apply to the new requirements for safety barriers after the national Building Code comes into effect on 1 May 2010.
Drowning is the most common cause of preventable death for children under five in Victoria. Pool fencing reduces the risk of drowning to about one quarter of that of drowning in an unfenced pool. While pool fencing is demonstrated as being effective, parents or other adults should always supervise young children in a swimming pool.
Presently owners installing a swimming pool and spa are required to:
- Have a suitable child safety barrier for all swimming pools and spas with a depth greater than 30cm (300mm).
- Obtain a building permit for the construction of the pool and barrier.
- Complete the barrier within six months of building work commencing on the swimming pool or spa.
- Engage a registered building practitioner to carry out the work if the value of the work exceeds $5,000 (including labour and materials).
- Maintain the barrier and any self closing self latching gates or doors in good working order. (All gates and doors are to have a self-closing, self-latching device - regardless of when the pool was built).
- Never prop open any gate or door providing access to the swimming pool or spa.
- Non-compliance with the Regulations risks lives, and pool owners could incur a fine of over $5,000.
The responsibility of swimming pool and spa owners to maintain and use safety barriers wisely can help save lives.
Remember when children are near water, adult supervision is essential. There's more you can do to keep pools safe
Maintain gates and fences regularly.
- Ensure all gates and doors providing access to a pool or a spa have self-closing and self-latching devices that work.
- Ensure no tree branches, pool pumps, pot plants or other item which could be used to climb over the barrier are within a 1.2 metre radius of the gate or fence
- Make sure any fences (especially boundary timber paling fences) are still in good repair and non-climbable.
- Ensure all gates and doors that provide access to the swimming pool or spa are closed at all times, except when entering or leaving the area.
Compliance and enforcement
- A new pool and the associated safety barriers are initially the responsibility of the relevant Building Surveyor overseeing the building work.
- Thereafter, the ongoing maintenance and up-keep of pool and spa safety barriers is the responsibility of the owner and occupier of the property.
The Municipal Building Surveyor of your local council has the power to act against owners and occupiers of properties where swimming pool and spas safety barriers do not comply with the regulations or have not been maintained.
Aside from regulations, there is ongoing care and maintenance that you should follow to ensure a safer pool or spa. At the very least, you should:
- Maintain gates and fences regularly.
- Fit correct safety measures to gates, doors and windows such as self-closers, latches, fly screens, catches and bolts.
- Ensure no tree branches, pot plants, or other items that could be used to climb the barrier to access the swimming pool or spa are within a 1.2m radius of the safety barrier.
- Check that any chairs, boxes, pool pumps, or other items that could be used to climb the barrier to access the swimming pool are removed.
- Make sure any fences (especially timber paling fences) are still in good repair and non-climbable.
- Ensure all gates and doors that provide access to the swimming pool or spa are closed at all times, except when entering or leaving the area.
- Make sure that the neighbours' properties backing on to your swimming pool or spa have no potential hazards.
