Swimming Pools Act 1992

This Act may be cited as the Swimming Pools Act 1992.

This Act commences on 1 August 1992 or on such earlier day as may be appointed by proclamation.

In this Act—

area means—

the area of a council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993, or

an area within the Western Division that is not within the area of a council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993, or

Lord Howe Island.

authorised officer means an authorised officer appointed under section 27.

barrier means a fence or a wall, and includes—

any gate or door set in the fence or wall, and

any other structure or thing declared by the regulations to be a barrier for the purposes of this Act.

certificate of compliance means a certificate issued under section 22D.

council means the council of an area within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993.

Department means the department in which this Act is administered.

dividing fence has the same meaning as it has in the Dividing Fences Act 1991.

exercise a function includes perform a duty.

function includes a power, authority and duty.

local authority means—

in relation to premises that are situated within an area within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993—the council of that area, or

in relation to premises that are situated within an area within the Western Division that is not within the area of a council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993—the person appointed under section 3A, or

in relation to premises situated on Lord Howe Island—the Lord Howe Island Board.

moveable dwelling has the same meaning as it has in the Local Government Act 1993.

occupier of premises includes any person who is for the time being in charge of the premises and, if there are 2 or more occupiers of the premises, includes any one of the occupiers.

owner of premises has the same meaning as “owner” has in relation to land in the Local Government Act 1993 and, if there are 2 or more owners of the premises, includes any one of the owners.

public authority means a public authority constituted by or under an Act, a local authority, a Government Department or a statutory body representing the Crown.

Register means the Register of Swimming Pools under section 30A.

relevant occupation certificate in respect of a swimming pool means an occupation certificate issued under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 that is less than 3 years old and that authorises the use of the swimming pool.

residential building means a building (such as a dwelling-house, residential flat building or boarding-house) that is solely or principally used for residential purposes, and includes any structure (such as a garage or shed) that is ancillary to any such building, but does not include—

a building that merely forms part of a complex of buildings (such as a school or recreational centre) that is principally used for non-residential purposes, or

a moveable dwelling, or

tourist and visitor accommodation, or

a shed that is ancillary to a swimming pool and the primary purpose of which is to store equipment that is used in connection with the swimming pool (but not a shed of a kind prescribed by the regulations), or

a building or structure of a kind prescribed by the regulations.

Secretary means the Secretary of the Department.

spa pool includes any excavation, structure or vessel in the nature of a spa pool, flotation tank, tub or the like.

Standard Instrument means the standard local environmental planning instrument prescribed by the Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Order 2006.

swimming pool means an excavation, structure or vessel—

that is capable of being filled with water to a depth greater than 300 millimetres, and

that is solely or principally used, or that is designed, manufactured or adapted to be solely or principally used, for the purpose of swimming, wading, paddling or any other human aquatic activity,

and includes a spa pool, but does not include a spa bath, anything that is situated within a bathroom or anything declared by the regulations not to be a swimming pool for the purposes of this Act.

tourist and visitor accommodation has the same meaning as in the Standard Instrument.

Western Division means that part of the State that is the Western Division within the meaning of the Crown Land Management Act 2016.

For the avoidance of doubt, a swimming pool is situated on premises on which another building is located if the swimming pool is ancillary to that other building, regardless of whether the swimming pool is on a separate lot, such as on common property under a strata scheme.

Diagrams included in Schedule 1 form part of this Act.

Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.

The Minister may appoint a person to be the local authority for the purposes of this Act for land within the Western Division that is not the area of a council.

The Minister may revoke an appointment under this section at any time or for any reason.

A person appointed under this section (except a person who is an employee of a government sector agency within the meaning of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013) is entitled to be paid the remuneration (including travelling and subsistence allowances) that the Minister may from time to time determine in respect of the person.

This Act applies to swimming pools (both outdoor and indoor) that are situated, or proposed to be constructed or installed, on premises on which a residential building, a moveable dwelling or tourist and visitor accommodation is located, but does not apply to swimming pools that are situated, or proposed to be constructed or installed, on any premises occupied by the Crown or by a public authority.

Each local authority is required—

to take such steps as are appropriate to ensure that it is notified of the existence of all swimming pools to which this Act applies that are within its area, and

to promote awareness within its area of the requirements of this Act in relation to swimming pools, and

to investigate complaints about breaches of this Act in accordance with section 29A.

This Division applies to outdoor swimming pools that are situated, or proposed to be constructed or installed, on premises on which a residential building is located.

The owner of the premises on which a swimming pool is situated must ensure that the swimming pool is at all times surrounded by a child-resistant barrier—

that separates the swimming pool from any residential building situated on the premises and from any place (whether public or private) adjoining the premises, and

that is designed, constructed, installed and maintained in accordance with the standards prescribed by the regulations.

Maximum penalty—50 penalty units.

The diagrams in Part 1 of Schedule 1 illustrate the provisions of this section.

Note.

Section 7 should be read in conjunction with the other provisions of this Part, in particular sections 8, 9, 10, 18, 19 and 22.

This section applies to the following swimming pools—

swimming pools the construction or installation of which commenced before 1 August 1990,

swimming pools the construction or installation of which commenced before 1 July 2010 and that are situated on premises having an area of less than 230 square metres.

Note.

230 square metres is the smallest area on which a dwelling-house may currently be erected.

The child-resistant barrier surrounding the swimming pool is not required to separate the swimming pool from any residential building situated on the premises so long as the means of access to the swimming pool from the building are at all times restricted in accordance with the standards prescribed by the regulations.

The diagrams in Part 2 of Schedule 1 illustrate the provisions of this section.

This section ceases to apply in respect of a swimming pool if a barrier is erected on the premises (between the swimming pool and a residential building) as a barrier to direct access to the swimming pool from any residential building situated on the premises.

This section applies to swimming pools the construction or installation of which commenced before 1 July 2010.

A swimming pool that is situated on premises having an area of 2 hectares or more is not required to be surrounded by a child-resistant barrier so long as the means of access to the swimming pool from any residential building situated on the premises are at all times restricted in accordance with the standards prescribed by the regulations.

The diagram in Part 3 of Schedule 1 illustrates the provisions of this section.

A reference in this section to a residential building does not include a reference to a structure (such as a garage or shed) that is ancillary to the building if the structure is not itself used for residential purposes.

This section ceases to apply in respect of a swimming pool if a barrier is erected on the premises (between the swimming pool and a residential building) as a barrier to direct access to the swimming pool from any residential building situated on the premises.

This section applies to swimming pools the construction or installation of which commenced before 1 July 2010.

A swimming pool that is situated on premises having frontage to any large body of water (such as a permanently flowing creek, a river, a canal, a pond, a lake, a reservoir, an estuary, the sea or any other body of water, whether natural or artificial) is not required to be surrounded by a child-resistant barrier so long as the means of access to the swimming pool from any residential building situated on the premises are at all times restricted in accordance with the standards prescribed by the regulations.

The diagram in Part 4 of Schedule 1 illustrates the provisions of this section.

A reference in this section to a residential building does not include a reference to a structure (such as a garage or shed) that is ancillary to the building if the structure is not itself used for residential purposes.

This section ceases to apply in respect of a swimming pool if a barrier is erected on the premises (between the swimming pool and a residential building) as a barrier to direct access to the swimming pool from any residential building situated on the premises.

This Division applies to outdoor swimming pools that are situated, or proposed to be constructed or installed, on premises on which a moveable dwelling or tourist and visitor accommodation is located.