NSW property owners now have an extra year to obtain a Swimming Pool Certificate of Compliance befor...

1. NSW pool compliance deadline extended - Pools
NSW property owners now have an extra year to obtain a Swimming Pool Certificate of Compliance
before properties are sold or leased, the NSW Government has announced.
The new deadline is 29 April 2016, following a second extension in response to a worryingly high
failure rate of initial pool safety inspections - estimated at more than 90% - and a lack of qualified
pool certifiers available to conduct timely inspections.
"We have listened to stakeholder requests for more time and examined the evidence from certifiers,"
said Minister for Local Government Paul Toole.
Michael Ilinisky, operations manager of the Royal Life Saving Society of NSW, said the Society
welcomed the move, as it would give the community sufficient time to ensure compliance. He told
CHOICE he was confident that the Related site new deadline would not be extended again beyond
April 2016.
"We'd strongly encourage pool owners to undertake an inspection sooner rather than later if
contemplating a sale or lease," he said. Certified inspectors can be found via the NSW Swimming
Pool Register website.
To speed up the compliance process, more certification courses are being held to boost the number
of council and private certifiers across NSW. There are currently 530 inspectors who can certify
swimming pool barriers, according to the NSW Building Professionals Board. This still hasn't been
enough to keep up with demand.
"Whilst the need to extend is unfortunate, we are making progress [on safety]," said Ilinsky, citing a
reduction in drowning figures over the last few years. "In NSW, drowning fatalities among children
under five in swimming pools have reduced from a high of 11 fatalities in 2003/4 to 4 deaths in
2013/4."
According to the Society, the home pool failure rates are largely due to faulty self-closing and self-
latching gates, as well as the absence of a resuscitation chart.
A simple way to check the self-closing mechanism of your gate is to open it 10 centimetres and
release it gently. "The gate should latch, otherwise immediate action should be taken," said Ilinisky.
Royal Life Saving has developed resources to help communities and councils understand key pool

2. safety issues. It encourages everyone to ensure their pool barrier meets the safety standards to
which they were built and to arrange regular inspections. For more information, including laws in
other states, contact your local council or see the Royal Life Saving website.
https://www.choice.com.au/outdoor/pools/fences-and-safety/articles/nsw-pool-compliance-dea-
line-extended