Does your pool comply with pool safety laws in Brisbane?

In order to ensure your that your pool is a safe area, there are pool safety laws in place set by communities.

Pools safety standards include components such as non-climbable zones around your pool, height and strength of barriers, pool gates and their latching requirements, as well as prevention of direct access from a building into a pool area.

Here is a checklist used by professionals to ensure pools meet safety laws:

Fencing: The minimum height must be 1200mm from ground level with a maximum allowable gap of 100mm from finished ground level to the bottom of any barrier. There must be at least one gap of a minimum 900mm between any horizontal rails on the outside, and the gaps in the vertical members must not exceed 100mm at any point.

If there are no gaps between horizontal rails that are of a minimum 900mm, then the horizontal rails must be inside and the gaps within the vertical rails should not exceed over 10mm. If a fence happens to be less than 1800mm high, then climbable objects must be of a minimum 900mm away from the pool barrier on the outside, where the measure of the verticals is over 10mm apart, 300mm on the inside.

For fences that are at least 1800mm high, the 900mm non-climbable zone can be inside of the fenced area but must be measured from the top of the inside. This makes it useful for a boundary fence, where it could be difficult to create a non-climbable zone outside of the fenced area. You have to ensure that there is nothing a child can jump onto underneath this zone, or you risk reducing the effective height of the fence.

Pool Gates: Pool gates are not allowed to open inwards to the pool area. They need to be self-closing and self-latching from all directions to prevent children from just entering the pool. Latches on the gate must be a minimum of 1500mm in height and should be at least 1400mm above the highest lower horizontal member.

If not, then the latch must be located inside so that it is necessary to reach over the gate or through the fencing. It must also be at 150mm below the gate’s top or the edge of any hand hole opening. If necessary, it should cover a 450mm radius shield without openings greater than 10mm.

Pool gate hinges thicker than 10mm must be at least 900mm apart or the lower hinge must have a non-climbable (at least a sixty degree) safety cap fixed to prevent climbing.

For doors, there must be no direct access through a door from the house or another building to another area. Meanwhile, for windows that open onto the pool area, these must not open more than 100mm or have a security screen fitted.

CPR Sign: A compliant CPR sign must be displayed. This can either be attached to the pool fence or displayed near the pool, making it easily visible to anyone close to the pool.

If these are not followed then local governments have the jurisdiction to investigate your compliance and can issue fines.