From the 1st of December, owners of pools will soon have to be registered with their local councils, as new regulations make pool and spa registration mandatory across Victoria. However, for those planning on using your backyard for a pop-up pool to escape the heat, you may be surprised to learn that these may have to be registered with the council as well.
Under the new regulations, owners of pools will be required to register with their local council within 30 days of receiving an occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection. Owners of existing pools have a leeway period until the 14th of April, at which point failure to register incurs a penalty of $1652.20 (as of the 4/11/2019).
Regular inspections, as frequently as once every three years, will be enforced to ensure safety standards remain up to code. In addition, a certificate of compliance must be issued when the pool is first registered with the council, and another certificate is required to be lodged when the property is sold or leased to paying tenants.
Where home owners may be caught off guard, is when their pools are temporary installations. This includes any pool that is removable, including ‘kiddie pools’ that are more than 30cm deep (pools with depth less that 30cm are exempt). For these kinds of ‘removeable’ pools, should they be in use for more than three consecutive days, they will also need to be registered with the council. Failure to register incurs the same penalty of $1652.20.
The maximum fee payable to register a pool or spa with the council is $51.24. To lodge a certificate of compliance incurs a maximum fee of $30.66.
You can learn more about the impending regulations by visiting the Victorian Building Authority website, or by contacting your local council.
