Pool Safety Inspections for Wollongong, Shellharbour, Dapto, Albion Park, Kiama, Nowra, & the Southern Highlands
Pool Safety Inspections are crucial for anyone who owns a pool. In NSW, an average of 11 children under five years of age drown annually, with a further 62 children being admitted to hospital each year for near drowning. Children under five years of age have the highest mortality rate out of any age group, with approximately 70% of drowning deaths occurring in swimming pools.
All pool owners should check their swimming pool regularly throughout the year, especially in the months leading up to summer for a full pool fence inspection.
The Minister for Local Government has given property owners an extra year – until 29 April 2016 – to make pools compliant before selling or leasing properties.
What to expect from a Pool Safety Inspection
• Our pool fencing inspectors will ask you to sign a contract for the work he/she is carrying out by email.
• Our pool safety inspectors will inspect your swimming pool or spa pool barrier.
• If it is compliant, you will be issued with a pool certificate of compliance.
• If the barrier is not compliant, our pool inspectors will discuss with you the areas of non-compliance and re-inspect the barrier at a later date. You will have six weeks to rectify the non-compliance before we are obliged to notify the local council.
• Our pool safety inspectors will charge a fee for each inspection needed to achieve compliance. It is important to note that over 95% of swimming pools require at least three inspections.
Pool Fencing Inspection Requirements
Inadequate pool fencing continues to be a major contributing factor in the rate of drowning among children under 5 years of age.
Please be aware that pool fencing legislation is different in all the states and territories within Australia and the information on this page relates to NSW only.
• Pool fencing laws
• The requirements for child-resistant barriers vary depending on when the pool was built and where the pool is located.
• For pools built before 1 August 1990
• Access to the pool from the house must be restricted at all times. Windows and doors may form part of the barrier, but they must be compliant.
• For pools built after 1 August 1990 but before 1 July 2010
• The pool must be surrounded by a fence that separates the pool from the house. Some exemptions apply to pools on very small properties (less than 230 square metres), large properties (2 hectares or over) and those on waterfront properties.
• For pools built after 1 July 2010
• All new pools must be surrounded by a fence that separates the pool from the house.