What’s with
the new requirements?
And why are they important?
National Drowning Report 2023
281 people lost their lives in 2022/2023 in Australian Waterways. Sadly, 6% of these lives lost where children between 0-4 years old. 25% being directly related to incidents occurring in swimming pools.
These statistics are a stark reminder of the need for pool safety measures to be in place and maintained, along with strict and constant supervision of young children around water.
Building Regulations 2018 (Part 9A)
in December 2019, the Building Regulations where amended to include the new, Part 9A - Safety requirements for, registration of, and certification of barriers for, swimming pools and spas. In short, the new regulations set out requirements that all pool/spa owners must register their pool or spa with their relevant council, and subsequently have it inspected and certified by an appropriately registered building practitioner.
Why is it important to me?
In 2022 I became a father. At the time of writing this, my daughter is 18 months old and is exploring the world like never before - often via running on her tippy-toes. Quickly and quietly out of sight.
Like many pool and spa owners, I would often agree that some rules/regulations around barrier compliance seemed, at times, excessive when taking into consideration children that could barely walk. Now seeing the sheer tenacity a child can have to get into somewhere they shouldn’t be, the regulations couldn’t be more necessary.