Swimming pool and spa barriers
New safety laws for owners of pools and spas
On 1 December 2019, new laws to improve swimming pool and spa safety came into effect in Victoria. They introduce new registration, inspection and certification requirements for property owners.
As part of the changes, owners are required to register their pool and spa with Council. Owners are also required to have their pool safety barrier / fence inspected every four years or if they are selling a property or leasing a property that has a pool or spa capable of holding more than 300mm of water
The requirements to provide a safety barrier / fence applies to all pools and spas with the exception of a relocatable pool that are only capable of holding a depth of water less than 300mm.
Registering your pool or spa
If you are the owner of land on which a pool or spa capable of holding more than 300mm of water is located, you must register your pool and spa with Council. A link to the application form to register your pool or spa is included below. The date by which an application to register your pool much be lodged with Council has been extended to 1st November 2020. A penalty infringement notice / fine may be issued if you do not register your pool and / or spa with Council by this date. The application form will need to be e-mailed to loddon@loddon.vic.gov.au. Once your application to register your pool and / or spa is received by Council an invoice for the fees payable will be e-mailed to you.
Lodgement of pool barrier compliance certificate
To lodge your Certificate of Barrier Compliance online; please click the button below.
Please note a payment is required within the online lodgement.
Start online lodgement
Inspection requirements
The date by which your pool and / or spa is required to be inspected will depend on when the pool or spa had a certificate of final inspection issued, if any. The date by which the owners must have their pool and / or spa safety barrier / fence inspected and the relevant standard to which the pool safety barrier / fence must be constructed will be specified in the certificate of registration issued by Council.
Additional information
Further information including self-assessment check sheets to help check the level of compliance of your safety barrier / fence are available on the Victorian Building Authority.
VBA Swimming pools, spa and their safety barriers
Information sheet - Swimming Pool(PDF, 67KB)