We are currently experiencing a heat wave throughout Brisbane, and it is appealing to have an inflatable pool to play in over the hot Christmas break. However, drowning is a leading cause of death in Queensland for children aged one to four years. This is why pool safety laws have been introduced.
The legislation states that spas or pools that are capable of being filled with 300 millimetres or more of water, have a volume of 2000 litres or more and a filtration system, are covered by these laws. A portable pool generally can be filled with 300 millimetres of water – this is only 30 centimetres which is fairly shallow. If you are unsure of how deep this is, grab a standard ruler used at school (can you borrow your child’s?) and you will see this is not very deep at all. It is fairly safe to assume that any inflatable pool would have the potential of being filled to that depth, and is therefore subject to the pool safety legislation.
So what does this mean?
Effectively it means you would have to get a pool safety certificate issued by a licensed pool safety inspector, and this means you would need to meet the requirements for your pool to be passed. This includes many factors – fencing, gates, climbable objects in or near the pool area and fence, signage – it can be overwhelming so I have a link here from Queensland Building and Construction Commission: does your pool comply
If you don’t comply with pool safety standards, local governments can issue on the spot fines and the maximum penalty a court can impose is $22,019.
In summary, it is expensive to make a pool compliant with the legislation. We therefore do not recommend going ahead with it, and therefore we do not allow the use of portable pools in the properties we manage. If we become aware that you are breaching the pool legislation, this is also a significant breach of your tenancy agreement and would result in us issuing an RTA Form 11 Notice to Remedy Breach, and if not remedied we would take further action that could result in the end of your tenancy.
Therefore we recommend you visit one of the many pools located throughout Brisbane – we have the beautiful beach and pool at Southbank, or you can head out near our office and visit the Manly pool or the Wynnum wading pool. Drop into our office to say hello while you are out enjoying the beautiful bayside!