The Pool Price

Pool compliance checker

Three questions, then the list of what you have to do, what it is called in your state, and what the law gives you time for.

Last checked

Tell us about the pool

Where is it?
What stage is it at?
What are you doing with the property?

Showing every obligation.

  • Required

    The barrier has to pass on height, gaps and clear space

    at least 1200 mm↗

    Height, the gap underneath, the space between uprights and the zone kept clear each side are what gets measured. Queensland publishes the clearest set of numbers, and the other states work to the same Australian Standard.

    NSW, VIC, QLD, WA

  • Required

    The gate has to close and latch on its own

    self-close and self-latch from any open position↗

    From any position, without anyone touching it, including when it is resting against the latch.

    NSW, VIC, QLD, WA

  • Required

    Register the pool on the NSW Swimming Pool Register

    must be registered↗

    The registration certificate is what a buyer or tenant is given alongside the pool certificate.

    NSW

  • Worth knowing

    Spas and blow-up pools count as pools

    deeper than 30 cm↗

    Depth decides it, not whether the thing is permanent. A portable pool past that depth needs the same fence.

    NSW

  • Required

    Put up a resuscitation sign that can actually be read

    readable from 3 m↗

    Faded signs are written up. It is the cheapest thing on this list to get right.

    NSW

  • Worth knowing

    A compliance certificate runs out

    3 years↗

    A council or a private certifier issues it after inspecting the barrier.

    NSW

  • Worth knowing

    A council inspection is capped by regulation

    $150↗

    That is the cap for the first inspection after you become the owner. Later ones are capped lower. Private certifiers set their own price.

    NSW

  • Required

    Attach the pool paperwork to the contract

    a registration certificate plus a compliance, occupation or non-compliance certificate↗

    A brand new pool can use its occupation certificate instead, if it is recent enough.

    NSW

  • Worth knowing

    Selling on a non-compliance certificate hands the buyer a clock

    90 days from settlement↗

    It is legal, and it is a price negotiation. It does not apply where the pool is a significant risk to public safety.

    NSW

  • Required

    A non-compliance certificate is no good for a tenancy

    cannot be used to rent↗

    Fix the barrier and get a valid certificate before the tenancy agreement is signed.

    NSW

  • Required

    Register the pool or spa with your council

    must be registered with council↗

    Registration is what puts your barrier certificate on a schedule the council tracks.

    VIC

  • Worth knowing

    Inflatables are in scope if they hold enough water

    more than 30 cm of water↗

    Most relocatable pools and spas are caught, not just the ones dug into the ground.

    VIC

  • Worth knowing

    A relocatable pool left up has its own registration deadline

    on or before the fourth day↗

    Three consecutive days is the trigger. The landowner registers it, even when a renter put it up.

    VIC

  • Required

    Lodge a barrier compliance certificate on a repeating cycle

    every 4 years↗

    An inspector checks the barrier and issues the certificate; you lodge it with the council.

    VIC

  • Worth knowing

    Ask for the certificate by its form number

    Form 23↗

    Saying the form number saves a conversation when you book an inspector.

    VIC

  • Worth knowing

    The council writes back with your next due date

    the date your next certificate is due↗

    Keep that letter. It is the only reminder you are likely to get.

    VIC

  • Worth knowing

    A failed barrier starts a repair clock

    60 days↗

    Miss it and the inspector issues a non-compliance certificate, which puts the municipal building surveyor in charge of what happens next.

    VIC

  • Worth knowing

    Council fees are local, not statewide

    set by your council↗

    The regulator points owners at their own council for registration and lodgement amounts.

    VIC

  • Required

    Hand the renter the compliance certificate when they ask

    on request↗

    Renters can also look your pool up on the council register themselves.

    VIC

  • Worth knowing

    A broken pool gate is an urgent repair

    an urgent repair↗

    Urgent means you cannot wait for the next routine maintenance visit.

    VIC

  • Required

    Be on the pool safety register, and expect council to check

    can fine you↗

    Councils are authorised to check compliance, and there are fines for an unregistered pool.

    QLD

  • Required

    Get a pool safety certificate

    2 years↗

    That is the life of a certificate for a pool only your household uses.

    QLD

  • Worth knowing

    A shared pool runs on a shorter cycle

    1 year↗

    Units, townhouses and anything the body corporate looks after.

    QLD

  • Required

    No certificate, no tenancy agreement

    a current certificate before the lease is signed↗

    For a non-shared pool the certificate has to be in effect before the agreement is entered into.

    QLD

  • Required

    Give the buyer the certificate before settlement

    before settlement↗

    If you already hold a current one, this is a copy job, not an inspection job.

    QLD

  • Worth knowing

    Selling without one means lodging a notice first

    Form 36↗

    The notice goes to the QBCC and to the buyer. At auction the buyer gets it before the contract.

    QLD

  • Worth knowing

    The buyer inherits a deadline

    within 90 days of settlement↗

    Worth saying out loud during negotiation, because it becomes their cost and their time.

    QLD

  • Worth knowing

    Your local government comes to you

    at least every 4 years↗

    WA runs on council inspections rather than owner-lodged certificates, so the appointment usually finds you.

    WA

  • Required

    A new barrier is inspected soon after it is finished

    within 30 days↗

    That applies to temporary barriers during construction too, so do not leave the site open.

    WA

  • Worth knowing

    We found no WA certificate scheme for sales or leases we could source

    Rather than guess, we have left it out. Ask your local government what it expects before a settlement or a new tenancy, and treat the barrier itself as the thing that has to be right.

    WA

How to read the list

Anything marked required is a legal obligation in that state, taken from the regulator's own page. The rest is context: what a thing is called, who sets the fee, what happens if the barrier fails. Both kinds carry a link to the source, because the wording matters if you end up arguing with a certifier.

Two habits save people money. Book the inspection before you list the property, not after the contract is drafted, because a failed barrier is a repair job with a queue in front of it. And ask the inspector what they will check before they arrive, so the pot plants and the wobbly gate are already dealt with.

What the checker does not cover

Local rules on top of state law, strata and body corporate arrangements beyond the basics, and pools in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory. We would rather show four states we can source than eight we cannot.