While many of us enjoy the luxury of relaxing by the pool in all manner of environments, very few realise that the laws surrounding pool safety compliance is a responsibility that needs to be viewed as a very serious matter.
Legislative Changes
As of April 29th 2016, new legislation will come into effect that will give local councils greater powers to penalise property owners with swimming pools that fail to meet the required safety standards.
These newly legislated changes have been proposed for many years, as despite continuing high profile education campaigns, the number of children accidentally drowned in swimming poolseach year continued to remain at unacceptable levels. Local councils were extremely frustrated that safety compliance issues that were clearly identified were sometimes not addressed and their efforts to protect the community were being thwarted due to a lack of enforcement options solidly backed up by legislative powers.
How Do I Respond?
In reality, it is likely that the vast majority of pool owners have already complied with the recommended safety standards and very few people will be inconvenienced by the legislative changes. Companies that install pools are generally responsible and usually protect their businesses against future liability by insuring that all fences, gates and locks comply fully with the recommended standards. The problem is that as the laws continue to change and be upgraded, a swimming pool that used to be compliant may fail to meet the current safety standards.
Arranging an Accredited Inspection
The only way to really tell if a pool is safe and legal is to arrange an inspection by an accredited service well-versed in the nuances of the applicable standards. It is important to choose a professional service that is well-regarded within the industry and that has a solid history of consistently doing good work. Arranging a Pool Safety Inspection service in Sydney NSW is a straight forward matter of making an appointment for the inspection and paperwork to be submitted afterwards. Only an accredited E1 certifier can legally check the compliance of a pool.
The High Cost of Non-Compliance
Depending on the time of construction, many pools may only require very minor changes to be brought into complete compliance, but it is always the responsibility of property owners to ensure their swimming pools continue to remain safe in regards to the state’s current laws. Failure to comply can lead to the imposition of on-the-spot fines of $550 and more serious infringements will incur penalties up to $5500, depending on the circumstances and whether the identified breaches of the new standards continue to remain unaddressed.
Finding a professional service to evaluate your swimming pool may be an obligation, but it needn’t be a burden, especially with accredited and competent services willing to assist in the process at your soonest convenience.
While such changes could be seen as onerous or bothersome, the benefits of the simple process of obtaining a compliance certificate far outweigh ignoring the risks inherent in pools that are patently unsafe. While nobody enjoys the prospect of fines and penalties, the peace of mind that comes from knowing ones swimming pool is safe and poses no risks to young children is a benefit that is priceless.
