Pool fence rules in NSW

If you own a pool or a spa in NSW, it has to be listed on the NSW Swimming Pool Register. That is a state government list. Registering is free and you do it yourself.

Most people who ring us about this have just bought the house and found out the hard way. The register is public, so you can look up your own address in a couple of minutes.

Registering is not the same as passing. The register only records that the pool exists. A certificate of compliance is the separate bit of paper that says someone inspected the barrier and it was up to standard.

A pool barrier has one job. It has to stop a small child getting to the water on their own, without an adult doing anything.

Pools built at NSW homes after 1 August 1990 need a child-resistant barrier at least 1.2 metres high. Where that barrier doubles as a boundary fence, it goes up to 1.8 metres.

There also has to be clear space around it that a child cannot climb. Under the current Australian standard, that non-climbable zone is at least 900 millimetres.

That last one is what catches people out. The fence passes inspection, then a pot plant goes in beside it, or a bench, or a box over the pool pump. None of those were there on the day it passed.

Since 29 April 2016 you cannot sell or lease a NSW property with a pool without the paperwork sorted first.

For a sale, the contract has to carry a valid certificate of compliance, or a recent occupation certificate, or a certificate of non-compliance. A certificate of compliance lasts three years from the day it is issued.

For a lease, the landlord has to hand the tenant a copy before they move in.

If you are looking at a place to buy, this is worth checking early rather than late. We have written separately about what to look at before you sign.

Fence panels rarely go wrong. Gates do.

Hinges drop over time. Latches wear. The gate stops swinging shut on its own, and eventually somebody props it open because it has become annoying.

The 2024 version of the Australian standard put more weight on exactly this — latches and hinges, and whether they keep working over years rather than just on inspection day.

If you want one thing to check this weekend, it is this. Open the gate to about halfway and let go. It should swing shut and latch on its own, every time, without being pushed.

Home pools are the most common place for toddlers to drown in Australia. Royal Life Saving puts swimming pools at about two thirds of drowning deaths in children under five.

When researchers look at how a child got in, the same things come up. A gate that had fallen into disrepair. A gate propped open. A supervising adult who turned away for a minute to answer the door.

For every child under five who drowns, more than seven others survive a non-fatal drowning. Many of those are left with lasting injury.

That is the reason for the 900 millimetres and the self-closing gate. The rules are written for the minute nobody is watching.

Your council is the one who inspects and the one who issues the certificate. They are also the right people to ask about anything specific to your place.

We are pool servicing people, not lawyers, and nothing here is legal advice. What we can do is tell you what we can see when we are on site — a gate that does not latch, a climbable gap, a barrier that has moved.

If you want that looked at properly, that is a pool inspection.