Body Corporate & Holiday Accommodation Pool Compliance

What counts as a shared pool in Queensland?

Queensland’s pool safety laws treat a pool as shared if residents of two or more dwellings can use it — for example a residential unit complex, a motel or a caravan park. Anything else is a non-shared pool: a pool only accessible to residents of one dwelling, such as a private house pool or a private spa on a unit balcony.

The laws apply to pools of all sizes that can hold 300mm or more of water, including those at unit complexes, hotels, motels, backpacker accommodation, boarding houses, caravan parks and mobile van parks. That means resort and holiday accommodation pools are covered even when guests never sign a lease.

Who is responsible for a shared pool?

For a shared pool, the pool owner obtains the pool safety certificate — and that owner is usually the body corporate. The body corporate must also share the certificate with individual owners, so lot owners and managers can keep it with their records.

Responsibility for the barrier itself never lapses. The pool owner, body corporate or manager must ensure the pool complies with the pool safety standard at all times, not just on inspection day. Where a property has a manager, that manager is responsible for keeping the pool safe and making sure tenants, residents and owners understand the pool safety laws.

Individual lot owners and occupiers still have their own duties: pool gates and doors giving access to the pool must be kept securely closed when not in use, and nobody may prop a gate open.

Do holiday accommodation and short stays need a certificate?

Yes, in the same way a lease does. The rules apply when an accommodation agreement is entered into — and that includes written, oral and implied agreements, not just a signed booking form. A guest staying at a resort unit or a holiday let with access to a shared pool is covered.

With a current certificate in effect, provide a copy to the new occupier and to the pool owner (usually the body corporate), and display a copy as near as practicable to the entrance of the premises or the access to the pool.

Where there is no current certificate, lodge Form 36 – Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) and give copies to the occupier and the pool owner. The pool owner then has 90 days from the agreement to obtain a certificate.

Can a resort use a pool safety management plan instead?

For Class 3 buildings — hotels, motels, boarding houses, backpackers and resort accommodation — an approved pool safety management plan can be used instead of a pool safety certificate. The plan can also be used as an alternative to constructing a compliant pool fence in some circumstances.

A management plan is not a shortcut: it must be approved by the QBCC, which may charge application and approval fees, and it must be updated annually. Applications are made to the QBCC using Form 38 – Pool Safety Management Plan Application.

If your scheme runs on a management plan rather than a certificate, keep the approved plan current and make sure owners, staff and guests know what it says. If you are not sure whether a plan or a certificate applies to your pool, ask before the next booking season rather than assuming.

How long does a shared pool certificate last, and where must it be displayed?

A pool safety certificate is generally valid for one year for a shared pool, compared with two years for a non-shared pool. A change of lot ownership does not restart that period, so a certificate issued for a previous owner can already be close to expiry.

Shared-pool certificates must be displayed at the main entrance to the premises, or at a gate or door accessing the pool. For larger complexes, check every entrance guests and residents actually use, not just the office door.

For recently built pools or fences, a building certifier’s Form 17 final inspection certificate or Form 11 certificate of classification can be used as a pool safety certificate for one year for a shared pool (two years for a non-shared pool) from its date of issue.

Because the validity period is only a year, most bodies corporates are better off with a fixed annual inspection date — before peak season, and far enough ahead of any sale or new accommodation agreement to allow for repairs.

What happens if a shared pool fails inspection?

The inspector issues a non-conformity notice (Form 26) setting out what does not comply and what must be done. On shared pools the list often covers more than one gate, plus common-area items such as climbable objects, gaps, and CPR signage.

Arrange the work and request a re-inspection with the same inspector within three months. Sunshine Pool Safety includes one free re-inspection within three months of the original inspection. If no re-inspection is requested within that period, the inspector must notify the local government.

You generally cannot engage a different inspector during that three-month period without QBCC’s written approval, so factor the rectification window into committee decisions and contractor quotes. If the body corporate disagrees with a non-conformity notice, it can appeal to the Development Tribunal.

What are the risks of getting it wrong?

Pool safety breaches can be enforced by the QBCC and by local government. QBCC’s home owner guide lists court penalties of over $20,000 for individuals and over $100,000 for corporations, on-the-spot local government fines of over $900 for individuals and over $2,600 for corporations, and QBCC on-the-spot fines of over $2,000 for individuals and over $6,000 for corporations for failure to obtain a certificate when selling or leasing. Similar penalties apply to occupiers, including tenants, who do not keep gates and doors closed, and to anybody who props open a pool gate. Fine amounts are adjusted over time, so treat these as an order of magnitude rather than a current price list.

Beyond fines, an expired certificate or a missing management plan can delay a sale or a new letting arrangement, and an unsafe barrier is a liability exposure for the body corporate and the accommodation operator.

Shared pool compliance checklist

• Search the QBCC pool register to confirm what certificate, if any, is currently recorded for the pool.
• Confirm who the pool owner of record is — body corporate, owner or operator — and who is authorised to book inspections.
• Check the certificate or approved management plan is current: shared pool certificates generally last one year.
• Display the certificate at the main entrance or at a gate or door accessing the pool, and keep copies for owners and occupiers.
• Test every pool gate: self-closing, self-latching, nothing propped open, and no climbable objects or vegetation within 900mm.
• Confirm the CPR sign is displayed and conspicuous near the pool, and that the pool is registered.
• Brief staff, managers and residents on gate discipline and on what to do if a gate or latch is damaged.
• Book the inspection early enough to allow for repairs and a re-inspection before peak season or a new agreement.