Pool and spa inspections and compliance

It is mandatory for owners of land where a swimming pool or spa is located to register their pool or spa with the relevant council.

Owners are also required to have their safety barriers inspected and to lodge a certificate of barrier compliance with council. If a safety barrier is not compliant, it is the owner’s responsibility to make the barrier compliant.

The laws apply to swimming pools and spas that are capable of holding more than 30cm of water. This includes permanent pools, above-ground pools, indoor pools, hot tubs, bathing or wading pools and relocatable pools, including inflatable pools.

Barrier inspections

Once your swimming pool or spa is registered, you need to arrange an inspection of the safety barrier to determine if it complies with the applicable barrier standard.

An inspection of your pool or spa barrier must be carried out by one of the following:

• a registered building surveyor
• a registered building inspector
• a registered pool inspector
• a municipal building surveyor.

You can search for a registered building practitioner authorised to carry out inspections and certification.

Certificate of barrier compliance

If the inspector determines that your safety barrier complies with the applicable barrier standard, they will issue a certificate of barrier compliance. As the owner of the land with the pool or spa, you must lodge this certificate with your council within 30 days of the date of issue of the certificate. Contact the relevant council for more information.

When the council receives the certificate, they will send you written confirmation of:

• the date the certificate was lodged
• the date by which the next certificate is required to be lodged (four years after the previous certificate).

You will need to pay a fee to the council when you lodge the certificate.

Non-compliant barriers

If the inspector determines your safety barrier is not compliant, they can either:

• immediately issue a certificate of barrier non-compliance
• issue a written notice specifying:
  • what you must do to make the barrier compliant
  • your deadline for making the barrier compliant (within a maximum of 60 days)
  • the date and time they intend to reinspect the barrier.

After re-inspection, if the inspector determines the pool barrier is compliant, they will issue a certificate of barrier compliance, which you must then lodge with council.

If the barrier remains non-compliant but the inspector is satisfied you have made progress towards making it compliant, they may give you seven more days to rectify the barrier. Otherwise, they will issue a certificate of barrier non-compliance.

If an inspector issues a certificate of barrier non-compliance, they will lodge it with the council and provide you with a copy. The council will notify you and you will have to pay a fee by the due date specified in the notice.

What happens next

When the council receives the certificate of barrier non-compliance, the municipal building surveyor will issue either:

• a barrier improvement notice
• a notice or order under the Building Act 1993 (if the municipal building surveyor considers this appropriate, depending on the nature of the non-compliance).

Barrier improvement notices

The municipal building surveyor may issue a barrier improvement notice after council receives a certificate of barrier non-compliance. A barrier improvement notice is usually issued for minor non-compliances. The notice will specify what you must fix to make the barrier compliant, and when you need to do this by.

Fees and penalties

There is no set fee for a safety barrier inspection. We recommend obtaining quotes from at least two practitioners before you proceed with the inspection.

Fees are applicable for lodging a certificate of barrier compliance and a certificate of barrier non-compliance with council. If you fail to lodge a certificate or comply with a barrier improvement noticed by the date specified, you may incur penalties.

Owners of pools or spas with barriers that require multiple inspections before being certified as compliant will likely face higher costs than those whose barrier is certified as compliant after the first inspection.

Frequently asked questions

Certificates of pool and spa compliance

Non-compliant swimming pool barriers

Barrier improvement notices

Alterations to a registered pool or spa