Drowning is the most common cause of preventable death for children under five years of age in Victoria. To reduce this incidence of drowning, government legislation requires all pools and spas to have safety barriers installed.
Please note: If you don’t comply with the regulations you risk the lives of family and friends.
The Victorian Government has introduced new safety laws for owners of existing and proposed swimming pools and spas. The new laws include:
- Mandatory registration of swimming pools and spas including relocatable pools and spas erected for 3 or more consecutive days
- Establishment of a swimming pool and spa register that council maintains
- A new compliance regime to improve swimming pool and spa safety, and
- Requirement to lodge a certificate of pool and spa barrier compliance with your local council every 4 years.
Read the Pool and spa regulation fact sheet (PDF 124KB) for more information.
Frequently asked questions can be found on the Victorian Building Authority website under registration requirements and Inspections and compliance.
Swimming Pool & Spa online applications
- Register a swimming pool or spa application. (This form is currently unavailable due to maintenance)
- Lodge a Certificate of Swimming Pool or Spa Barrier Compliance - Form 23
Safety laws
Existing swimming pool or spa
Existing swimming pool or spa
If you have an existing swimming pool or spa including a relocatable pool or spa erected for 3 or more consecutive days, you are required to install pool or spa barriers and register your swimming pool or spa with Council.
Ensure that you have complying pool or spa barriers in place. Assessment on the compliance of the pool barriers must be undertaken by a Registered Building Inspector or Building Surveyor.
We have a program for inspecting these properties to ensure the barriers have been installed correctly. If any issues are identified then in collaboration with the property owner the barriers are rectified, re-inspected and a compliance certificate is issued.
New swimming pool or spa
New swimming pool or spa
You must obtain a valid building permit before any work commences. Carefully plan the location of the pool to ensure that effective barriers can be installed and obtain a Building Surveyor final certificate prior to the pool or spa being filled with water.
Further details on the requirements for new pool barriers can be found on the Victorian Building Authority website.
New pools and spas must be registered within 30 days from when you receive a certificate of final inspection/occupancy permit as referenced on your building permit.
After you've applied to register your pool or spa, Council will place it on their register. We must give notice in writing to you with information including:
- the date of construction of the swimming pool or spa,
- the applicable barrier standard and
- the date of the next pool or spa barrier compliance certificate is required to be lodged with the council.
This step-by-step guide (PDF 123.5 KB) explains the requirements.
Removal of swimming pool or spa
Removal of swimming pool or spa
If you demonstrate to the satisfaction of Council that:
- a swimming pool or spa no longer exists
- is no longer capable of containing water to a depth of greater than 300mm
We will remove the swimming pool from its register and provide you with a notice stating:
- the information about the swimming pool or spa has been removed from the register
- you no longer need to lodge further certificates of pool or spa barrier compliance