The Pool Price

What fails a pool inspection

Five faults account for most failed barriers, and four of them cost less than the reinspection does. Here is what gets written up, and the rule each one breaks.

Last checked

Most barriers fail on a gate that does not self-latch, something climbable inside the 900 mm↗ zone, a gap under the fence wider than no more than 100 mm↗, a damaged panel, or a missing resuscitation sign. Gates and climbable objects are the two that come up again and again.

An inspection is not an opinion. The inspector walks the fence line with a tape and a checklist, and writes down what does not meet the numbers. That is good news: the same five things fail over and over, and most of them are a Saturday morning of work.

Where pool barriers usually fail A back yard with a pool and a fence, with five faults marked: a gate that does not self-latch, climbable objects such as a pot plant and a barbecue near the fence, a gap under the fence, a loose or damaged panel, and a missing resuscitation sign. 1 2 3 4 5
The five faults in the list below, marked where an inspector finds them. Numbers match the list.

1. The gate does not latch by itself

This is the big one. A gate has to self-close and self-latch from any open position↗, which means from wide open and from a hand's width away, every time, without a nudge. Springs tire. Posts move as the ground dries out and wets again, and a gate that latched perfectly in March catches on the strike plate in September.

Check the rest of the gate while you are there. It must must not open towards the pool↗. The release handle has to sit at least 1500 mm↗. Hinges need to be at least 900 mm apart↗, and a latch reachable from inside the pool area needs a 450 mm-radius shield↗.

What an inspector checks on a pool gate A pool gate seen from outside. The gate swings away from the pool. The latch release handle is at least 1500 mm above the ground. A latch reachable from inside is covered by a shield with a 450 mm radius. The two hinges are at least 900 mm apart, measured from the top of the lower hinge to the top of the upper hinge. Ground level Swings away from the pool Hinges at least 900 mm apart Latch at least 1500 mm up 450 mm shield over a latch reached from inside
Gate faults are the most common reason a barrier fails. Figures are cited in the text and in Sources.

2. Something climbable is inside the zone

The zone is the point of the fence. Queensland requires 900 mm outside the fence↗ and 300 mm inside the fence↗, and the regulator's own list of offenders is domestic and familiar: BBQs, furniture, pot plants, trees and garden beds↗.

The trap is that this one changes without you touching the fence. A shrub grows. A delivery of pavers gets stacked by the gate. Someone drags the outdoor setting across for a birthday. Walk the fence line the week before the inspector comes, not the morning of.

3. There is a gap under the fence

The maximum is no more than 100 mm↗ from finished ground level. Gaps open up on their own: mulch washes out in a storm, a dog digs a run along the fence, turf shrinks back from a footing over a dry summer. Soil, a length of timber or a mesh infill fixes it for very little.

The four measurements behind most failures Bar chart in millimetres: gate latch at least 1500 mm above the ground, fence at least 1200 mm high, non-climbable zone 900 mm, inside clearance 300 mm, and a maximum gap under the fence of 100 mm. Latch height, minimum at least 1500 mm Fence height, minimum at least 1200 mm Non-climbable zone 900 mm Clear space inside the fence 300 mm inside the fence Gap under the fence, maximum no more than 100 mm 0 millimetres
The thresholds an inspector checks with a tape. Bar length is proportional to the figure shown.
See this chart as a table
ItemFigureSource
Latch height, minimum at least 1500 mm QBCC: Gates, latches and hinges
Fence height, minimum at least 1200 mm QBCC: Pool fences
Non-climbable zone 900 mm QBCC: Non-climbable zones
Clear space inside the fence 300 mm inside the fence QBCC: Non-climbable zones
Gap under the fence, maximum no more than 100 mm QBCC: Pool fences

4. A panel is loose, damaged or wrong

Rusted-through pickets, a cracked glass panel, a gate post you can rock with one hand. Glass has its own catch: ledges on the outside face have to be 10 mm or less↗, and a panel showing any sign of fracture is finished, not patchable.

If the barrier is a dividing fence shared with a neighbour, it still has to do the job: at the right height with nothing climbable within 300 mm on the inside↗. That conversation is easier before the inspection than after it.

5. The resuscitation sign is missing or faded

In New South Wales the sign has to be readable from 3 m↗. It is the cheapest item on this page and one of the most commonly written up, usually because the old one has been bleached illegible by a decade of sun.

What happens after a fail?

It depends where you are, and the difference is worth knowing before you book.

  • Victoria: you get 60 days↗ to put it right. An inspector must act immediately↗ where the barrier cannot be fixed or clearly will not be in time, and once a non-compliance certificate is issued the municipal building surveyor decides what happens next.
  • New South Wales: a certificate of non-compliance can still be attached to a contract of sale, and the buyer then has 90 days from settlement↗ to fix the listed defects. It cannot be used to rent↗, so a rental has to be made compliant first.
  • Queensland: councils are authorised to check compliance, and the regulator is blunt that it can fine you↗ for an unregistered or non-compliant pool.

How to pass the first time

Book the inspection early, walk the fence line with the list above a week before, and test the gate the way a child would: open it to every angle you can and let go. If it does not click shut on its own from every one of them, fix that before anything else.

Reinspections cost money and time you may not have if a settlement date is moving towards you. What that looks like in each state is in what a pool inspection costs, and the deadlines that apply to your situation are in the compliance checker.