If selling or entering into a lease for a property with a pool, a pool safety certificate must be obtained from a licensed pool safety inspector.
How do I find a pool safety inspector to inspect my pool?
You can search for a Pool Safety Inspector HERE.
The main role of pool safety inspectors is to inspect pools to determine whether or not they comply with the pool safety standards. Upon inspection, the inspector must issue a pool safety certificate or nonconformity notice, depending on the outcome of the inspection. The nonconformity notice must state how the pool doesn’t comply and what needs to be done to make it comply. The inspector can also, if agreed with the pool owner, carry out specified minor repairs (such as adjusting or replacing a latch or striker and removing climbable objects).
The costs of pool safety inspections are set by the market and pool owners are urged to shop around to get the best deal. Some inspectors can carry out minor repairs such as adjusting or replacing a latch and removing climbable objects such as vegetation if agreed with the pool owner.
What happens if I get a nonconformity notice?
The owner needs to make the necessary changes to their pool to make it comply. The owner cannot ask a different pool safety
inspector to inspect the pool within a period of three months, without special approval from the Pool Safety Council. The inspector is obliged to notify the local government if the owner fails to arrange a re-inspection within three months. This could trigger a local government inspection.
Spa’s
My spa has a fully lockable, solid cover. Do I still need to have a complying barrier for the spa, and why?
Yes. There is still the potential for the lockable lid to be left open or unlocked. For this reason, a complying pool safety barrier is required for spas and some portable wading pools.
Portable wading pools that hold less than 2000 litres of water, can be filled to no more than a 300 millimetres depth of water and do not have filtration system, are exempt (all three criteria must be met to be exempt).
Does my above ground pool need to have a separate barrier?
You will not need a separate pool safety barrier for an above ground pool if:
- the pool sides are 1.2 metres high and comply with the non-climbable zone requirements of thestandard i.e. keeping the barrier clear of objects a child could climb.
- there are no climbable objects around the barrier that would give a child access e.g. pool supports, tree branches etc
- there is a compliant fence and gate in place around an access point for the above ground pool, even if there are no steps or ladder in place.
Selling and buying
Sellers of properties with a pool must provide a buyer with a swimming pool safety certificate prior to settlement. Alternatively, if the seller does not provide a certificate, the seller must issue the buyer with a notice, Notice of no pool safety certificate – form 36 before entering into the contract of sale and before settlement. This form advises the buyer that they have 90 days from settlement to obtain the certificate from a licensed pool safety inspector. Under this option, the buyer is liable for any costs associated with achieving compliance, unless otherwise negotiated as part of the contract.
If there is still no pool safety certificate in effect before settlement and the seller has already given the Notice of no pool safety certificate – Form 36 to the buyer, then they do not need to give the buyer a new form unless the information required by the form changes between contract and settlement. The seller does however need to give the Notice of no pool safety certificate – Form 36 to the department. For shared pools, the pool owner (e.g. the body corporate) will also require a copy.
For non-shared pools, such as pools for houses, townhouses or units with their own pool or spa, a pool safety certificate is required prior to entering into an accommodation agreement.
For shared pools associated with long term accommodation, such as a body corporate pool in a unit complex, if there is no pool safety certificate in effect, a form 36 must be given to the pool owner (e.g. body corporate), the department and the occupant (e.g. tenant). A pool safety certificate must then be obtained by 30 November 2012.
Do the new pool inspections need to occur each time a property is tenanted?
No. A pool safety certificate is valid for two years for a non-shared pool and one year for a shared pool. A new certificate is not required for sales or leases that occur during the period of validity for a certificate.
Pool owners entering into new or renewed leases, during a pool safety certificate validity period, do not need an additional inspection or a new certificate.
Source : www.dlgp.qld.gov.au
