Pool Barrier Safety Inspections

Absolutely, but this is very easy to do, and is the first step in the process to gaining pool certification. In 2013, the NSW Swimming Pool Register was created, and it was subsequently deemed compulsory for all pools and spas to be registered under the Swimming Pool Amendment Act 2012 No 77.

To register your pool, go to https://www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au/pooldb/pgOwnerLanding and follow the prompts. This is a self-assessment entry, and you will be asked a few details about your pool.

If you are having trouble registering your pool, we shall be able to do this for you once you have booked your inspection.

This is a government issued certificate that verifies that your pool has been inspected by a certified, licensed and insured inspector and has been deemed to be safe and compliant as per government mandated safety regulations.

Please note: inspections are 'point in time' inspections - just because the barriers were compliant when the inspection took place does not mean that they are compliant at a later date. It is the pool owner's responsibility to maintain the barriers to be compliant at all times.

These are issued if your pool has been inspected and deemed not to satisfy the requirements for the awarding of a Certificate of Compliance. ‘Dolphin Pool Safety Inspections’ will notify you of this with a detailed report indicating what needs to be rectified/modified in order to pass compliance. A Certificate of Non-compliance is valid for up to 12 months if the property is for sale. However, if the issues of non-compliance are not resolved within 6 weeks of inspection, ALL certifiers are required by law to notify their local council of this and send them a copy of the report. If the pool has been deemed as ‘posing a significant risk to public safety’ as the non-compliance issues are serious, then council must be notified immediately. They will most likely issue a Direction to remediate all issues of non-compliance. You can sell your house with a Certificate of Non-compliance, and in this case the purchaser must resolve all issues and obtain a Certificate of Compliance within 90 days of settlement. However, if the pool is deemed to 'pose a significant risk to public safety', then the 90 day grace period is waived.

To assess your pool the certifier needs to know how old your pool is. The date of construction determines which Australian Standard is used to assess the pool’s barriers for compliance purposes.

The three Australian Standards to be used, depending on the age of the pool or its barriers date of modification, are:

• AS1926-1986 (pools built between 01.08.1990-31.08.2008);

• AS1926.1-2007 (built between 01.09.2008-30.04.2013) and

• AS1926.1-2012 (built from 01.05.2013 onwards).

However, if the pool’s barriers have been substantially altered or rebuilt, if it is evident that the barriers have not been continuously compliant since construction, or if the barriers are not compliant on inspection, then the pool will no longer be assessed under the Australian Standard in force when it was constructed, but under the current Australian Standard.

Please note: the compliance requirements under AS1926-1986, particularly concerning objects/trees etc. on the inside of the pool barrier, are 'easier' to achieve than the later Australian Standards. However, in order to do so you must have written documentation (e.g. certificate of completion, notification from your local council etc.) stating that the pool and its barriers were completed before 01.09.2008.

For compliance purposes, the definition of a pool is ‘any structure containing water to a depth greater than 300mm and used primarily for swimming, wading, paddling or the like, including a bathing or wading pool, or spa pool’ (AS1926.1-2012 Cl. 1.3.22). This includes above-ground pools, spas and wading pools, but does not include fish ponds that are not normally used for swimming. Paddling pools, and smaller above ground pools, if they can potentially be filled to 300mm in depth, are legislated to have a compliant pool barrier.

That’s easy. Go to https://www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au/ and click on the blue box to the right called ‘LookUp Pool’. Follow the prompts by inserting the address and it will show whether your pool has been registered, and if it has a current Certificate of Compliance or Non-compliance.

N.B.: Newer houses, may still have a current Occupation Certificate. The pool would have had to have been assessed as compliant when constructed, and the O.C. is proof of this. These act in the same way as a Certificate of Compliance but are not recorded on the Swimming Pool Register. O.C.'s are valid for 3 years, and if a new certificate is required then it is a Certificate of Compliance that is required.

The first thing you need to do, if the pool is not registered, is to register the pool. Remember, it is the pool that is being registered and not the pool’s owner/s. If you sell or buy a property with a pool which has a Certificate of Compliance, this remains valid until its date of expiration. (If you are selling your house, you may choose not to put your email details etc. on the register as you will soon no longer be the owner.)

• Yes - if you are leasing or renting your house 

• Short Term Holiday Accommodation (STRA), such as those on AirBnb, Stayz etc. is not required to have a compliant pool barrier under the Swimming Pools Act 1992. However, please do check your insurance policy as those companies that insure STRA usually require a current Certificate of Compliance. Insurance is also a requirement of the Department of Fair Trading for all STRA.

• Yes, if you are selling your house

• It is also recommended to have a pool barrier consultation if you are buying a property, even if there is a current Certificate of Compliance in place, as issues may have arisen since the Certificate of Compliance was issued. Inspections are 'point in time' inspections, and what was compliant when the inspection was undertaken may not be compliant now. Or, and we have noted this more commonly than one would expect, a previous inspection has 'missed' issues of non-compliance, and at a next inspection YOU shall be responsible for rectifying these.

Since 29 April, 2016, when selling your house, you need to have one of the following attached to your Contract of Sale:

• A current Certificate of Compliance

• A current Occupation Certificate

• A current Certificate of Non-compliance (N.B.  if the barriers were deemed to 'pose a significant risk to public safety', and/or council has issued a Direction, then such Certificates of Non-compliance are NOT valid to be attached to a Contract of Sale.

No. Every local council has been mandated to carry out their mandatory swimming pool inspections on all visitor and tourist accommodation, as well as all multi-occupancy residences of more than two dwellings.

As such, this ensures that pools and spas in common areas of apartment blocks are ALWAYS compliant. These inspections MUST take place at least every three years. However, unfortunately, we have seen instances where this is not the case. It is always best to check that the pool concerned is compliant by using the Lookup Pool facility on the Swimming Pool Register website. If there are any concerns or issues, it is suggested to check with the Body Corporate to find out further details.

Yes. A property cannot be let without a current Certificate of Compliance. You run the risk of serious fines if you do rent your house out without this. Unlike when a property is for sale, a Certificate of Non-compliance is not sufficient. As well, if a terrible accident were to occur, it is most likely that your insurance would not cover you as you would have no proof that your pool’s barriers were compliant. It is up to the owner to monitor the date of expiry of the Certificate of Compliance, and ensure that they order the inspection for the follow up inspection in a timely manner.

No, this is not a legislated requirement under the Swimming Pools Act 1992 as such STRA are not deemed to be 'tourist and visitor' accommodation, but a 'dwelling', and so, for pool barrier compliance purposes, are considered to be like any other residence. However, MOST insurance companies require such a certificate for your insurance coverage to be accepted. If you let your house without this, and a dreadful accident were to occur, it is doubtful that your insurance would cover this accident as there is no proof that the pool barriers were safe and compliant. 

As well, if you were going to stay at a holiday house, would you not want the pool’s barriers to be safe and compliant? It is very often families with children who stay at holiday rental properties, and you may lose bookings if potential guests do a search on the Swimming Pool Register and learn that your pool is not in possession of a Certificate of Compliance.

For holiday apartments with a pool and/or spa on the common property, check the ‘LookUp Pool’ facility to check the pool is compliant. As an apartment owner, you do not have to organise inspections as it is up to the Body Corporate to ensure this is happening.

If you do find that there is no current Certificate of Compliance for the pool in your apartment block, then please do address the matter with the Body Corporate, and contact us so that we may carry out this inspection for you.

No, legally you do not. However, just take a minute to think about this. You get an inspection on the house itself, a pest inspection, and a pool inspection (pump, structure etc.), so why would you not check to see whether the pool barriers are still compliant?

Why? The certificate could have been issued up to 3 years ago, and fixed barriers (fences etc.) may have been changed since then, and working mechanisms (gate closure), may no longer be compliant. Trees/shrubs may have grown into Non-Climb Zones (NCZs), making the barriers no longer compliant. And, unfortunately, issues of non-compliance may have been 'missed' on the occasion of the previous inspection. Is it not better to get the pool barriers checked so that the onus to make any rectifications may be placed on the vendor rather than the purchaser?

Pool barrier compliance inspections are ‘point in time’ inspections. This means that on the day of the inspection the barriers were compliant, but there is NO guarantee that they were compliant the next day, or are compliant today.

We rely on people’s desire to have a safe pool area to ensure that their pool’s barriers remain safe and compliant, but not everyone is as conscientious as you or I may be…….

For the price of an inspection and a detailed report of any issues of non-compliance, as well as suggestions as to how these may be rectified, you may save yourself thousands of dollars in repairs or alterations. And, unfortunately, we also recommend this as we have seen far too many instances of local pools having previously been issued a Certificate of Compliance, when, in fact, the barriers actually were not compliant.

The number of homeowners who have an inspection in order to sell their house, expecting everything to be compliant, only to find out that there are multiple issues, is staggering. When you are ready to put your house on the market, this is the last thing that you want to learn. However, we work with the pool owners to find solutions to all issues.

We do recommend, however, that you not leave organising a pool barrier safety inspection to the last minute when planning to sell your property. If repairs/alterations need to be carried out, these can sometimes take time.

AND, we also say to these owners, 'Wouldn't you like to know that if you were buying a house with a pool, that ALL issues of non-compliance had been addressed, and that you would have no worries in that regard for the future?', and the answer is always, 'Yes'.

It is up to you – but, potentially yes, if you have documentation and photos from the time of the previous inspection. We also do consultations, and can do a detailed report of your pool now – and how it was before if you have dated photos – and note what was/was not, is/is not compliant, and where errors were made in assessing them as such, referencing each item to the Swimming Pools Act 1992, the relevant Swimming Pool Regulation, and/or the appropriate Australian Standard.

It is then up to you, with the comparative information provided, to decide whether or not you wish to take the matter further. At least you will be fully aware of the situation and will not be ‘flying blind’.

BUT, please note, the onus of proving that your pool actually was as you think it was is on you. Having a copy of your past report/s is most useful in this case.

Yes, we do consultations. If you would like to know whether the pool barriers that you are installing meet certification requirements we can advise you on that as well.

Have we seen pool barriers that have been installed/updated by pool owners who 'googled' what meets requirements, only to learn that they have made some major (expensive) errors? Yes, and too often. For pool barriers, simplified online checklists, even official ones, are just that - simplified checklists, and some of the more detailed, specific requirements are not mentioned. So, is it not better to be safe than sorry?

However, it is to be noted that once a pool barrier safety inspector has consulted on a pool's barriers, they are legally not permitted to carry out an inspection on the same pool. This conflicts with the NSW Code of Conduct, as it would be like setting an exam and then sitting the exam as well. In this case, we will be able to indicate other local inspectors, and the choice will be totally yours.

Again, go to https://www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au/ and click on the blue box to the right called ‘LookUp Pool’. Follow the prompts by inserting the address and it will show whether your pool has been registered, and if it has a current Certificate of Compliance or Non-compliance.

If it does not have a Certificate of Compliance, this is against legislation, so contact the agent, owner, or even the Department of Fair Trading. And then immediately request that we carry out an inspection on the pool, so that a Certificate of Compliance may be issued.

Remember that new houses, registered within the last three years, may have a current Occupation Certificate, which is valid for pool barrier certification purposes. Unfortunately, these are not noted on the Swimming Pool Register, but should have been attached to your lease agreement .

If the pool does have a Certificate of Compliance, and the issues are those of maintenance, e.g. the gate does not self-close/lock, do contact the owner or agent to have these immediately addressed.

First thing is, you contact us. Either phone us on 0401 276 770 or email us (info@inspectmypool.com.au) and we shall give you a call.  We then organise a mutually suitable time for the inspection.

Following this, we email you a contract. It is legislated in NSW that no inspection may take place without a completed and signed contract having been received, and payment made.

If you have any questions, and people usually do, we are happy to have a chat and try to answer them to give you the greatest chance of passing inspection first time. 

The inspection is then carried out. Within 3 days, and usually within 24 hours, you will receive your Certificate of Compliance, or if not compliant, a Certificate of Non-compliance. You will also receive a report of the inspection. The latter is very detailed and in plain English. We identify issues, show them in photos, reference where in the legislation this is identified, and make possible suggestions as to how to fix the issue.

Usually about an hour, but some ‘more complicated’ pool barriers can take up to 2 hours to assess on site...and often we 'chat' for quite some time with owners, explaining compliance issues where they have questions.

We are free to do inspections 7 days a week, in daylight hours.

No, we often get key/entry instructions and do inspections when the owner is not there (just warn us about any dogs that may be in the back yard, please).

We can usually do an inspection within 24 hours, weather permitting, and sometimes even the same day.

We must have a completed and signed contract before we can step foot on the property, so as soon as we receive this we are able to carry out the inspection. Payment, or evidence of payment, needs to have been received prior to the inspection.