Swimming Pool Safety – Fences & Gates

Pools & spas are great fun and very tempting for curious children. This is why every pool & spa must be registered with the local council, have a certified barrier and every child must be supervised.
Any private pool or spa owners are required to have already registered their pools with their local council. Once registration is complete, the council will inform the pool owner of the date by which they must organise their first inspection and certification of their barrier.
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.
We cannot undertake inspections or provide specific instead you will need to engage a registered barrier inspector to carry out an inspection and issue the compliance certificate. Contact us or come in-store for a list of local regiseterd barrier inspectors.
See the links at the bottom of the page for the SPASA Victoria and the VBA for requirements on registering your pool or spa and further information on arranging an inspection and compliance certificate.
In general, pool and spa fences and barriers are required by legislation for any swimming pool or spa capable of containing in excess of 300mm (30cm) in depth and must be maintained for the life of the pool or spa, this includes keeping the area around the safety barrier, free from climbable objects or plants that can be used to gain access to the pool area.
Barriers are required for:
- In-ground pools and spas
- Above-ground pools and spas, including relocatable and inflatable pools that are capable of holding more than 300 mm (30 cm) depth of water and require assembly on site.
- Indoor pools and spas
- Bathing and wading pools that are capable of containing more than 300 mm (30 cm) depth of water.
The key elements of the relevant Australian Standards are designed to restrict access by unsupervised young children, especially those under 5 years of age, to the swimming pool area.
It only takes a few minutes for pool owners to check that their pool fences and gates, including latches and hinges, are in good working order. This simple routine done regularly could save the life of a child.
We have provided the self-assessment checklist from the Victorian Building Authority below. *This does NOT replace the need for a certified barrier inspection.
- https://www.spasavic.com.au/pool-spa-safety-campaign/changes-to-pool-and-spa-barrier-legislation
- https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/consumers/swimming-pools
- Checklist 1 (for pools and spas installed before 8 April 1991) (PDF, 674.37 KB)
- Checklist 2 (for pools and spas installed between 8 April 1991 and 30 April 2010) (PDF, 595.22 KB)
- Checklist 3 (for pools and spas installed from 1 May 2010) (PDF, 3341.21 KB)


