Swimming pools are fantastic, wouldn’t you agree? Especially, if the weather is hot or you’ve had a hard day at work, you’d find it hard to disagree that, there is no better way to relax the mind, body and soul, unless you’re up for doing a few laps, that is. Regardless of how fantastic, they are, they must, nevertheless adhere to certain safety criteria set out by your local Sydney government authority. Some people will already be aware, but most are not, if you are in the ‘aware’ group then you should already have regular checks in place, shouldn’t you? If you are in the ‘not’ group you’ll need to know the following;
Reason?
Legislation is in place, mostly for safety reasons and in response to past incidents, that contains a series of requirements meant to keep you, your visitors, and maybe your neighbours safe. It would be easy to assume that our pools are safe, especially if there’s never been an accident on your property. However, previous occurrences have proven that with a little additional care, possible future accidents may be prevented when it comes to dogs, children, and, of course, you the owner.
All pools?
Yes, to that one, the regulations apply to any swimming pool, whether for residential or commercial property, and to anything that is regarded to be a pool or spa. You will also require a Sydney pool fence certificate and, the local government may levy a fine if your pool or accompanying safety elements fail to satisfy the standards.
But I’ve never had an inspection
In such a scenario, congratulations; you’ve struck gold. Your local government may conduct an inspection at any time, without prior warning. The inspector will check for things like probable trip risks while getting into or out of the pool, overgrown vegetation, or plants that may represent an obstruction danger of any type. The fences and equipment within the fencing must also be inspected to verify that the fence is the proper height and that the equipment will not cause future injury.
When do they come?
Unfortunately for those people that have had inspections and been fined, the answer is, at any time, they don’t need to make an appointment or warn you. There have been cases whereby a disgruntled passer-by, or even a neighbour has made a call which has landed the owner in a bit of a sticky one.
Help yourself
Check your local authority’s website for the full details and, arrange an independent inspection asap.
