On 1 December 2019, new laws to improve swimming pool and spa safety came into effect in Victoria. It is now 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 their council. If a safety barrier is not compliant, it is the owner’s responsibility to make the barrier compliant.

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.

Relocatable pools that do not consist of multiple components and do not require any assembly are not subject to the barrier requirements. An example of such a product is a small inflatable pool that requires no assembly other than inflation.

Barrier inspections

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

An inspection of your pool or spa barrier can only be carried out by:

• A registered building surveyor
• A registered building inspector
• A municipal building surveyor

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

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 then need to lodge the certificate with your council. You must do this within 30 days of the date of issue of the certificate. Contact your council for more information.

When the council receives the certificate, they will send you a written notice, which confirms:

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

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

Deadlines for inspection and lodgement of certificate of barrier compliance

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

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Pool/spa construction date                           Compliance certificate must be lodged by

On or before 30 June 1994                            1 June 2022

From 1 July 1994 until 30 April 2010            1 June 2023

From 1 May 2010 until 31 October 2020    1 June 2024

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You are required to lodge a certificate of barrier compliance every four years. Check with your council for exact dates.

Pools and spas constructed on or after 1 November 2020

Your first certificate of barrier compliance must be lodged within 30 days of the date of issue of the certificate. This certificate must accompany your application for registration.

Your next certificate of compliance is due four years after registration. Check with your council for exact dates.

Non-compliant barriers

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

• immediately issue a certificate of barrier non-compliance; or
• issue you a written notice specifying:
• the matters which must be addressed to bring the pool barrier into compliance;
• the period in which the barrier must be made compliant (within a maximum of 60 days); and
• the date and time they intend to reinspect the barrier.

After re-inspection, if the inspector determines that 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 that progress has been made towards bringing the barrier into compliance, they may allow you an additional seven 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 relevant 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, or
• a notice or order under the Building Act 1993 (if the municipal building surveyor considers that this is appropriate, depending on the nature of the non-compliance).

Barrier improvement notices

A barrier improvement notice may be issued by a municipal building surveyor after the council receives a certificate of barrier non-compliance. A barrier improvement notice is usually issued for minor non-compliance matters. The notice specifies what you must fix to make the barrier compliant, as well as the period that you must take this action within.

Fees and penalties

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Type of fee or penalty                                                                                                      Amount

Maximum fee for lodging a certificate of barrier compliance with council                   $20.74^

Maximum fee for lodging a certificate of barrier non-compliance with council          $390.78^

Failure to lodge certificate of barrier compliance by date specified                           up to $1,817.40^

Failure to lodge certificate of barrier non-compliance by date specified                   up to $1,817.40^

Failure to comply with barrier improvement notice by date specified                            up to $1,817.40^

• Fees are set by the relevant council and may be rounded to the nearest 10 cents.Please check the council’s website for the fee that applies.

^ These fees and penalties are applicable until 30 June 2022.

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

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

Q. How long is a certificate of barrier compliance valid?

A certificate of barrier compliance is only valid for 30 days after it is issued. It must be lodged with the relevant council within this period.

If the certificate is not lodged within the 30 days, a new inspection must be carried out and a new certificate issued and lodged with the relevant council.

Q. What happens if I don’t lodge a certificate of swimming pool barrier compliance?

It is an offence to not lodge a certificate of barrier compliance.

If you don’t lodge a certificate of pool and spa barrier compliance by the due date, you may face an on-the-spot fine of approximately $330 and a penalty of up to $1,652.20.

Q. How do I lodge the certificate of barrier compliance with my council?

You should contact the council or check their website about their process for lodging a certificate of barrier compliance.

Non-compliant swimming pool barriers

Q. What is a certificate of barrier non-compliance?

A certificate of barrier non-compliance can be issued by a pool and spa inspector if they determine that the barrier is not compliant.

Q. When is a certificate of barrier non-compliance issued immediately?

An inspector must immediately issue a certificate of swimming pool barrier non-compliance if:

• the barrier is not capable of being made compliant or the owner is unlikely to bring the barrier into compliance with the applicable barrier standard within 60 days
• the non-compliance of the barrier poses a significant and immediate risk to life or safety
• the barrier is non-compliant in any of the following ways:
• a door or gate, when closed, is able to be opened by a person who is unable to reach the opening mechanism for that door or gate
• a door or gate forming part of the barrier is unable to be completely closed
• any part of the barrier is less than one metre in height, measured above ground level from the approach side.

Q. Who lodges the certificate of barrier non-compliance?

The inspector will lodge the certificate with the relevant council and provide you with a copy.

Q. Is there a fee payable if a certificate of barrier non-compliance is lodged?

Yes – after the inspector lodges the certificate of barrier non-compliance with the council, the council will notify you of the fee and the due date for payment (not less than 28 days). The maximum fee that can be charged is $385.10. Please check the council’s website for the applicable fee in your municipality.

If you do not pay the fee by the due date, you may face an on-the-spot fine of approximately $330 and a penalty of up to $1,652.20.

Barrier improvement notices

Q. How long do I have to comply with the barrier improvement notice?

The barrier improvement notice will specify a date by which you must rectify the barrier and lodge the certificate of barrier compliance with your council.

This means that you will need to have the swimming pool barrier re-inspected before the specified date.

Q. What happens if I don’t comply with the barrier improvement notice within the specified period?

If you do not comply with the barrier improvement notice within the time specified, you may face an on-the-spot fine of approximately $330 and a penalty of up to $1,652.20 if the certificate of swimming pool barrier compliance is not lodged as required.

In addition, the municipal building surveyor may then issue other notices or orders under the Building Act 1993.

Alterations to a registered pool or spa

Q. What happens if I make alterations/changes to a pool barrier after I’ve registered my pool or spa?

After registering your pool or spa, if building work is carried out on the barrier that requires a building permit, the relevant building surveyor must inspect the barrier and determine if it complies with the applicable barrier standard.

If the relevant building surveyor determines that the barrier complies with the applicable barrier standard, they will issue a certificate of barrier compliance and provide the certificate to you. You must then lodge the certificate with your council within 14 days.

If the barrier does not comply with the applicable barrier standard, the relevant building surveyor will require the work to be brought into compliance.

Q. What happens if I don’t lodge a certificate of barrier compliance after an alteration/change?

If you fail to lodge a certificate of barrier compliance within 14 days of receiving the certificate, you may face an on-the-spot fine of approximately $330 and a penalty of up to $1,652.20.

Penalty units are indexed and increase on 1 July each year, in accordance with the Monetary Units Act 2004. From 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, one penalty unit is $165.22.

Q. What happens after I lodge the certificate with council following alterations/changes?

After receiving the certificate following alterations, the council will register the applicable barrier standard and give you a notice in writing of the following:

• that they have received the certificate
• the date by which the next certificate must be lodged
• confirmation that the applicable barrier standard has been updated (if applicable) and details of the barrier standard that now applies.