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What is this about?
The NSW Government has remade the Swimming Pools Regulation 2008. The Swimming Pools Regulation 2018 commenced on 1 September 2018 and is now in effect.

The 2018 Regulation supports the Swimming Pools Act 1992 (the Act) and features changes to further improve the operation and administration of the Act. The Act sets out the responsibilities of pool owners and generally requires that pool access be restricted by a child-resistant barrier to protect young children.

What''s happened so far?
On 1 January 2018, the administrative responsibility for swimming pools transferred from the Office of Local Government to NSW Fair Trading. This transfer was  part of a wider Government program to consolidate regulatory schemes to improve business conditions and streamline access to Government services in NSW.

Stakeholder consultation has been ongoing during the remake of the Swimming Pools Regulation. Submissions in response to the Regulatory Impact Statement closed on Friday, 29 June 2018.

NSW Fair Trading carefully analysed submissions and feedback received as part of the consultation period. A range of comments from stakeholders and members of the public were received and carefully considered.  Where appropriate, feedback was incorporated into the 2018 Regulation.

What are the changes?
Changes to the Regulation have been shaped through consultation with industry, stakeholders and the public. The main changes include:

• increasing the maximum fees that local authorities may charge, by enabling authorities to charge fees for third and subsequent pool inspections, and raising the fee cap for determining exemption applications
• introducing greater flexibility for the way that spa pools can be secured
• imposing a new obligation on occupiers to display a warning notice while a swimming pool is being constructed, and making it an offence to fail to comply with that obligation
• minor changes to warning notices that are already required to be displayed under the Act
• improving public access to applicable Australian Standards, not just AS 1926.1 - 2007
• requiring inspection details for certificates of non-compliance to be entered on the Swimming Pools Register
• enabling compliance with the Building Code of Australia Performance Requirements using deemed-to-satisfy or performance solution pathways
• minor changes to improve clarity and the intent of the Regulation.