Daylight savings Victoria: Pool and spa owners urged to comply with safety and fence regulations
An urgent warning has been issued to all pool owners ahead of Daylight Savings, following 12 drowning deaths last summer, as the deadline for new pool regulations looms.
Outer East
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A Victorian pool safety authority has issued an urgent warning to the community ahead of the fast approaching summer season.
Kidsafe Victoria is imploring pool owners, who have not yet registered their pools or spas, to prevent any toddler drownings by making sure their fences are safe and comply with regulations.
There are only five weeks until the State Government deadline to have your pool or spa officially logged with the council by November 1.
The safety organisation has launched its ‘Safe Barriers, Save Lives’ campaign to raise awareness ahead of daylight savings on October 4.
Kidsafe Victoria general manager Jason Chambers said according to the Royal Life Saving Society report on drownings nationally, 12 children, aged from newborn to four years old, drowned in the 2019-2020 season.
Mr Chambers said swimming pools were the leading location where those drownings happened and accounted for 50 per cent of all toddler drowning deaths.
He said drowning continued to be one of the leading causes of accidental death for Australian children under five years of age.
“It is vital that all homeowners constantly check the safety of their pool and spa barriers in the lead up to the warmer months – a time when there is an increased use of backyard swimming pools and spas,” Mr Chambers said.
“Doing so could save a life.”
He said one of the most common dangers leading to drownings in backyard swimming pools involved gates or doors, including those that had become faulty or non-compliant and those that had been propped open for convenience, allowing children unsupervised access to the water area.
“Toddlers are attracted to water, however they don’t yet understand the dangers that it can pose,” Mr Chambers said.
“They can drown quickly and silently – a split second is all it takes for them to gain unsupervised access to the water area and find themselves in trouble.”
A Victorian Coroner recently urged the community to register their pools immediately, after finding the death of a Cairnlea toddler in October 2018 could have been prevented by tougher pool and spa laws.
The new laws mean after registering, pool and spa owners have to organise and pay for safety barriers to be inspected and certified within one to three years, depending on the age of the pool.
Pools built on or before June 30, 1994 must be compliant by 2021, those built between July 1, 1994 to April 30, 2010 have two years by 2022, and more modern pool built between May 1, 2010 to October 31, 2020 have three years to 2023.
The barrier must be inspected every four years and the certification lodged with the council.
Leader launched its Make Pools Safe campaign in December 2016, calling for an overhaul to the outdated and confusing pool laws following the drowning death of a Croydon South boy in his unfenced backyard pool four years ago.
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