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Why your backyard pool could be breaking the law

Getty

Getty

Owners of portable pools could be unwittingly breaking the law due to little-known legislation enforcing the installation of safety fences.

A staple of the Australian summer, they also present a danger if not secured properly and may even risk being illegal if they don’t fit a tight list of regulations.

Legislation differs between each state, but all mandate fencing around any pool that holds more than 300mm of water – including inflatable or portable pools, which were often thought of as the ‘cheaper’ way to keep cool.

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A high degree of non-compliance and ongoing deaths forced one state government to order an independent review.

New South Wales Minister for Local Government Paul Toole was recently handed the final report of an investigation, by former NSW Treasury secretary Michael Lambert, into swimming pool barrier regulations.

In a statement to The New Daily, a spokesperson for Mr Toole said any child drowning was “one too many”.

swimming pool

Fences must be at least 1.2m high in most Australian states. Photo: Getty

“[The Lambert report] is currently being considered and the Government will announce its response when this work is completed,” he said of the unpublished report.

“The review is informing the Government in developing better regulations that will encourage greater compliance.”

Pool safety was highlighted again last week when a three-year-old boy drowned in an above-ground pool in Riverwood, Sydney about 5.30pm on January 10.

Just an hour later, in an unrelated incident, a two-year-old boy was hospitalised after he was pulled from a pool in Sydney’s Camden South.

Annual figures showed swimming pools were the location of 54 per cent of drownings in children under five.

‘Major deficiency’ in portable pool reporting

Compliance was particularly an issue for inflatable or portable pools, easily available from many toy retailers, with many people unaware they fell under the same legislation as permanent structures.

A discussion paper from September 2015, related to NSW’s Lambert report, outlined a “major deficiency” in reporting of them.

“Portable pools are in general purchased because they are cheap and can be easily relocated. It is inconsistent with those factors to spend a multiple of the cost of the portable pool on fencing,” the report stated.

Click the owl    to find out more on pool fencing requirements in your state

Although onerous for Australians looking for a cheap way to cool down, the regulations had “existed for some time”, according to one pool certifier.

“People are a little bit confused with what they should and shouldn’t be doing, there is nowhere for consumers to go to get the information,” Swimming Pool and Spa Association NSW/ACT president Rob Guthrie told The New Daily.

swimming pool

The best way to prevent a drowning death was to supervise children in, or near, the water at all times. Photo: Getty

“I don’t think they are informed and the powers that be have made enough effort to inform people it is like road safety, drink driving all of those things people need to be reminded, they need to be told.”

He added that streamlining of legislation across Australia, rather than differences between each state, would also make it easier to educate people.

‘Fencing not the only defence’

Although a fence could prevent little wanderers accidentally finding their way to the pool, installation of one did not mean parents should become complacent.

Supervision, remaining close and equipping youngsters with water safety skills were the best ways to avoid an accident.

“Potentially they [portable pools] can cause as big a tragedy as an in-ground pool,” Mr Guthrie said.

“But a fence of course is not the silver bullet; it is not the last line of defence.

“Supervision is what it is all about, children under 5 have to be monitored all the time and should be in arms length of an adult – the fence doesn’t change that.”

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