The main role of a Pool Safety Inspector is to determine whether a pool fence is safe and meets the mandatory Queensland swimming pool safety standards. All Queensland homeowners with backyard pools are now required to have a complying pool fence.
From 30 November, all Queensland swimming pools will be required to meet the swimming pool-barrier standard, which has been phased in over the past five years which was designed to increase pool safety and simplify pool safety laws, which previously included 11 different safety standards.
Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in Queensland for children under five, and effective fencing and associated safety measures, along with supervision and learning to swim can save lives. The new standard covers such things as the height and strength of barriers, mandatory non-climbable areas, gate-latching requirements and preventing direct access from a building into a pool area.
Queensland homeowners with non-shared, residential pools must ensure their pool fence complies with the latest pool fence standards by 1st December 2015. Pool Safety Certificates issued on non-shared pools or spas in Brisbane are valid for 2 years from date of issue.