Swimming pools and spas are popular in residential complexes, offering lifestyle benefits and enhancing property appeal. However, they also present significant safety risks and carry legal obligations that must be proactively managed by the owners corporation or body corporate.
In Australia, swimming pools and spas in residential buildings are regulated by state legislation aimed at preventing drowning and injuries, particularly among children. Non-compliance with these regulations can result in fines, legal liability, and other penalties. Additionally, owners corporations and body corporates may have further responsibilities under Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws for workers engaged on common property.
As a collective, all lot owners within owners corporations or body corporates have legal obligations under specific state laws around swimming pools and spas. This duty includes fulfilling specific building compliance requirements and keeping all components within these common property areas safe and adequately maintained.
Across Australia, residential swimming pools and spas must be registered with the relevant state or territory authority. This helps ensure pools meet safety standards and comply with local laws. It also enables authorities to monitor compliance and enforce inspections. Failure to register can result in fines and may delay property transactions.
Here’s a quick overview of registration obligations by state:
All swimming and spa pools on common property must be registered with the NSW Swimming Pool Register.
All pools must be registered with the QBCC Pool Safety Register. This includes pools on common property managed by a body corporate.
All pools and spas holding water deeper than 30cm must be registered with the local council:
Pools built before 1 November 2020: Must already be registered.
Pools built after 1 November 2020: Must be registered within 30 days of completion.
Owners corporations must arrange timely inspections and address non-compliance to obtain the required pool safety certificates. These documents are often necessary to demonstrate legal compliance and may be needed in property transactions.
Here’s how inspection and certification requirements work in each state:
Learn more: https://www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au/inspection
Learn more: https://www.qbcc.qld.gov.au/home-owner-hub/swimming-pools/inspect-certify-pool
A registered building inspector or surveyor must inspect the pool every four years.
If compliant, a certificate of barrier compliance will be issued.
The owners corporation must submit the certificate of barrier compliance to the local council within 30 days of receipt.
Learn more: https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/consumers/swimming-pools/inspections-and-compliance
Proper signage supports legal compliance and plays a vital role in preventing accidents and promoting safe pool use.
A compliant CPR sign must be clearly displayed in the facility. It is also best practice to place warning signs such as ‘No diving’, ‘No running’, or ‘Children must be supervised’. The owners corporation or body corporate is responsible for ensuring signage is installed correctly and meets the relevant Australian Standards, which vary slightly by state but share common safety objectives.
In Australia, the owners corporation or body corporate is responsible for installing, maintaining, and inspecting pool barriers to ensure compliance and prevent unauthorised access, especially by young children. This is a legal requirement under the Building Code of Australia and Australian Standard AS1926.1-2012, which applies nationwide, with slight variations depending on the state.
Regular maintenance is essential to maintaining pool safety. Owners corporations and committees must routinely inspect pool barriers, gates, and signage to identify and address any issues.
Damaged or non-compliant features such as leaning fences, faulty latches, or missing signage can breach legal obligations. For example, in Victoria, faulty barriers are classified as urgent repairs under tenancy law. In Queensland and New South Wales, local councils have the authority to issue fines or formal directions to rectify non-compliance.
Decorative water features, such as fountains and ponds, are typically exempt from pool safety obligations when not intended for recreational use. However, if they are accessible to children and meet specific depth and usage criteria, they may be reclassified as swimming pools, requiring compliance with relevant safety regulations.
Under WHS laws, key duty holders must manage and eliminate safety hazards for anyone using or managing swimming pools and spas within common property. This includes:
WHS obligations also apply to owners corporations and body corporations that engage with workers, such as cleaners, contractors, tradespeople, and building managers, to work on common property. In these cases, they are legally considered either as a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) or a person with management and control of a workplace (PMCW). Workers and other persons at the workplace also have duties under the WHS Act, such as taking reasonable care of their health and safety.
Any attempts to contractually alter this responsibility would not be valid. However, duty holders can cooperate and coordinate to avoid duplicated efforts and meet all obligations.
For instance, a worker could also be an officer or an independent contractor (a PCBU).
In this case, each person must meet their duty to the required standard, retain responsibility, and consult, coordinate, and cooperate with other duty holders.
It is the duty holder's responsibility to manage risks by eliminating them as far as reasonably possible or, if not feasible, to minimise the risks. The term 'reasonably practicable' refers to doing everything within one's power to ensure safety within the workplace or common property.
As a PCBU, the owners corporation must maintain the health and safety of people entering, using, and managing swimming pool or spa areas on common property. These duties include:
State | Legislation |
NSW | |
QLD | |
VIC |
Failure to comply with swimming pool safety regulations in strata properties can lead to serious legal, financial, and safety consequences. Owners corporations and body corporates are legally responsible for ensuring that pools on common property meet all relevant state and national standards.
Owners corporations and body corporates should maintain a compliance file with registration documents, inspection certificates, maintenance logs, and photographs of safety features. Regular reviews and professional inspections help ensure ongoing compliance and reduce risk.
The first step in the risk management process involves identifying hazards across common property. This means recognising objects or situations that could pose a risk to people’s safety. Below is a summary of typical hazards and best practice tips for detecting them.
Inadequate or damaged barriers can allow unsupervised access by children, posing a serious drowning risk.
The absence of CPR or emergency signage may delay critical response during an incident.
Improper handling or storage of pool chemicals can lead to hazardous exposure or dangerous chemical reactions.
Wet decking and uneven ground increase the risk of slips, trips, and falls.
Unshielded pumps and filtration systems can cause physical injury or chemical exposure.
Inadequate lighting or faulty electrical systems heighten the risk of tripping or electrocution.
Unsanitary water or low visibility can lead to infections or obscure drowning incidents.
Overcrowded pools or insufficient oversight during high-risk use periods increase the likelihood of accidents.
Once hazards are identified, the next step is to evaluate and prioritise the situation based on the severity and likelihood of the risks.
Using the risk assessment matrix in your Community Health & Safety Guide will help identify the likelihood of an incident that may cause harm. Then, the possible severity level will be selected based on the consequences that could result from the risk or hazard. The result from this table will generate a risk score, which may assist in showing how soon the hazard needs to be addressed. Please refer to the risk matrix below for more detailed information on prioritising and actioning incidents.
Consider all individuals who may use or access the pool area, such as residents, tenants, children, visitors, and maintenance staff. Understanding who is at risk helps prioritise safety measures and reduce exposure to potential hazards.
Look for potential dangers such as slippery surfaces, uneven paving, broken tiles, sharp edges, or inadequate fencing. Ensure that pool gates are self-closing and self-latching, and that barriers meet local compliance standards.
Understand when and how the pool is used. Are there peak times? Is supervision provided? Consider implementing rules or a booking system to manage usage and reduce overcrowding. If the pool is accessible after dark, ensure adequate lighting for pathways, pool edging, and signage to prevent accidents.
Review current safety controls to determine their effectiveness. Many common hazards have established mitigation strategies that can be implemented immediately. If existing measures are insufficient, further risk management steps should be considered.
Once risks have been identified and evaluated, the next task is implementing control measures to address the issue. This is important as WHS regulations require duty holders to demonstrate that adequate action has been taken to manage the risk.
The ideal course of action is always to remove the hazard at its source. Simple issues can sometimes be addressed quickly using existing control measures. However, other hazards may demand more time, effort, and planning.
If removing the risk at the source isn’t feasible, the next step should be prioritising and taking action on safety measures based on their effectiveness and reliability in minimising harm using the hierarchy of controls. This framework helps create a structured, best-practice approach to help duty holders manage hazards based on their effectiveness and reliability in minimising harm. Below is an overview of each stage of the hierarchy of controls from most to least effective.
The most effective way to control risks is through elimination, which completely removes the source of the hazard. Some measures can include:
When it’s not feasible to eliminate the source of the hazard, it is best to minimise the impact by substituting or replacing a hazard with something that gives rise to a lesser risk.
Engineering controls are physical measures that can be used to help minimise risk. This can include:
Administrative controls are strategies for implementing rules and procedures to manage hazards and help minimise the risk to others on the property. Some measures can include:
Alongside other safety measures, giving workers the proper safety equipment or PPE can add an extra layer of protection against hazards. Some measures can include:
Schedule routine inspections with qualified professionals and act promptly on any non-compliance.
Keep accurate records of inspections, maintenance, and chemical handling logs.
Review and investigate incidents or near misses and adjust safety control measures as needed.
Involve residents, strata managers, and workers in safety feedback and improvements.
Further guidance on the risk management process and the hierarchy of control measures is available in the Code of Practice provided by Safe Work Australia.
To ensure the safe and responsible use of shared pool facilities, owners corporations or body corporates must implement clear, practical rules that reflect legal obligations and community expectations. These rules can help prevent accidents, promote respectful behaviour, and maintain safety. Below are recommended guidelines that can be adopted and tailored to suit your property’s needs.
By identifying hazards, implementing effective control measures, and regularly reviewing systems, owners corporations and body corporates can help maintain safety and compliance. Following the risk management process and applying a hierarchy of controls helps demonstrate that risks are being reasonably managed in accordance with WHS regulations.
The law in each state hard-codes those controls, and strata committees are the custodians of common property safety. The legal pattern is consistent across NSW, QLD, and VIC: register, inspect on the proper cycle, maintain the barrier, display signage, and document everything.
Each state may have specific legislation and regulations concerning health and safety duties in owner corporations and body corporates. To help navigate these regulations, Safe Work Australia, a national policy body, offers a range of resources and tools to help committees manage hazards and risks. For the latest general WHS updates, guidance, and recommendations, please visit the official Safe Work website at safeworkaustralia.gov.au.
Our Community Health & Safety service is here to help provide schemes with appropriate mechanisms to manage these risks while ensuring the obligations under the regulations are met. Through our resource library, online reporting system, and centralised repository, we are here to help support you in managing your health and safety obligations.
This article is edited by Lauren Shaw Regional General Manager and Licensee-in-Charge on September 2025.
