FAQs

On the 1^st December 2019, new laws to improve swimming pool and spa safety came into effect in Victoria. These new laws require swimming pool and spa owners to register their pool or spa with the local council and have it inspected by a licensed Inspector. Once found safe a ‘Certificate of Barrier Compliance’ will be issued and needs to be lodged with the local council. A follow up inspection is required every 4 years.

The new laws apply to swimming pools and spas that are capable of holding more than 300 mm (30 cm) of water. This includes permanent pools, above ground pools, indoor pools, hot tubs, bathing or wading pools and some relocatable pools.

Failure to register your swimming pool or spa within the recommended timelines can result in a fine of up to $1,652.

Studies by the Royal Lifesaving Association show that swimming pools are the leading location for drowning deaths among young children in Australia, accounting for 52% of all drowning deaths. Unintentional entry into water, in the forms of accidental falls, accounted for 77% of these drowning deaths.

Tragically, 27 fatal drownings have occurred in Victorian pools since 2000. Coronial findings have reported that in 20 of these cases the safety barrier was non-compliant with the relevant technical standard and that this non-compliance may have played a direct role in the fatal drowning.

Since the introduction of mandatory inspections in Western Australia in 1992, there has been an 80% reduction in the rate of toddler drownings, proving that mandatory barrier inspection legislation works. As a result, the Victorian Coroner recommended strengthening pool safety laws here in Victoria.

The new regulations require all pool and spa owners in Victoria to do the following:

1. Register – Register your swimming pool or spa with the local Council
2. Inspection – Have your swimming pool or spa inspected by a Registered Inspector
3. Compliance – Rectify any issues to ensure compliance and receive your Compliance Certificate
4. Lodge – Submit your Barrier Compliance Certificate to your council

Keep up to date – You will be required to have your pool or spa re-inspected every 4 years.

This depends on the year the pool was constructed. Once you register your pool or spa with council, they will send you a letter to confirm the construction date.

Deadlines for inspection and lodgement of certificate of barrier compliance

Pools and spas constructed (or where construction commenced) before 1 November 2020

• Registration

Registering your pool or spa costs approximately $79 which includes a registration fee of approximately $32 and a mandatory records search fee of approximately $47.

 

Note: The records search fee only applies to pools or spas constructed before the 1^st November 2020.

 

• Lodging a Certificate of Barrier Compliance

The fee for lodging a Certificate of Barrier Compliance with council is approximately $20.

 

• Lodging a Certificate of Barrier Non-Compliance

The fee for lodging a Certificate of Barrier Non-Compliance with council is approximately $385.

 

• Failure to lodge a Certificate (of Barrier Compliance or Non-Compliance) by date specified

The fee for failing to lodge a Certificate of Barrier Compliance or Non-Compliance by the specified date is approximately $1,652

 

• Failure to comply with Barrier Improvement Notice by date specified

The fee for failing to comply with Barrier Improvement Notice by the specified date is approximately $1,652

 

Note, fees are set by the relevant council and may be rounded to the nearest 10 cents. Please check the council’s website for applicable fees.

If a Chordline Barrier Inspector determines that your pool or spa safety barrier is not compliant, they will issue you a written report specifying:

• • the issues that must be addressed to make your pool or spa barrier compliant;
  • that you have a maximum of 60 days to make the compliant; and
  • the date and time they will reinspect the barrier.

After re-inspection, if the Chordline Barrier Inspector determines that the pool or spa barrier is compliant, they will issue a Certificate of Barrier Compliance, which you must then lodge with council.

If the Chordline Barrier Inspector determines that barrier remains non-compliant but is satisfied that progress has been made towards bringing the barrier into compliance, we may allow an additional seven days to rectify the barrier. Otherwise, we will need to issue you a certificate of barrier non-compliance.

We will then lodge this certificate of barrier non-compliance with your local council and provide the owner with a copy. Council will send you a notice and ask you to pay a non-compliance fee by the due date specified in that notice. They will also advise a municipal building surveyor to issue you with a barrier improvement notice. This will specify what you must fix to make the barrier compliant and how long you have to take action.

From the date of your Inspection, you will have a maximum of 60 days to carry out any necessary repairs. Your Chordline Barrier Inspector will arrange to re-inspect within that 60 days timeframe.

Your pool or spa barrier will be non-compliant if:

• a closed door or gate can be opened by a person who is unable to reach the opening mechanism for that door or gate
• a door or gate that forms any part of the barrier is unable to be closed completely

any part of the barrier is less than one metre in height (measured above ground level from the approach side).

Yes. We work with a network of skilled local tradespeople who can assist you in making any required maintenance or pool fencing repairs.

Yes. All Victorian pool and spa owners must comply with the new pool and spa barrier safety legislation, even if young children do not usually reside at that address.

That’s because of the 27 fatal drownings that have occurred in Victorian pools since 2000, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) discovered that at least 12 of those fatalities happened where the child was not a resident of the property; and 1 occurred at a neighbouring property where the child gained access to the pool without the knowledge of the pool owner.

As Mornington Peninsula locals, the Chordline Barrier Inspections team service all of the Mornington Peninsula and South East and Bayside suburbs.