Mornington Peninsula Council braces for $2 million bill for compulsory pool register
The Mornington Peninsula Shire has the most backyard pools of any municipality in Victoria — at least 17,000. And with the upcoming rollout of a mandatory pool register, the area’s pool owners could bear the brunt of the cost.
South East
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The Mornington Peninsula is bracing for the introduction of a mandatory register for backyard pools which will cost the council more than $2 million to roll out.
The region has the most backyard pools in Victoria — at least 17,000 — and is facing an “expensive nightmare”.
Under new laws introduced by the state government in 2018, pool and spa owners must also comply with an inspection regimen to ensure fences are up to scratch.
Mornington Peninsula Mayor David Gill said the council supported the scheme but was concerned about how it would cover the cost.
“No one is disputing the importance of ensuring that the community, especially children, are protected around water,” Cr Gill said.
“But setting up and managing the register and the ongoing compliance will be an expensive nightmare.
“Ultimately it will be community that bears the cost.”
A council report found that it would cost $2,080,000 to resource, research and manage the initial registration and certificate lodgement for the first two years of the program.
It would then cost $360,000 a year to manage the certification system.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DEWLP) has suggested a $37 registration fee and a $20 charge to lodge a compliance certificate.
Mornington Peninsula Shire’s statutory building unit recommended charging more than double — $100 to register and $45 to lodge a certificate of compliance — to make the scheme “cost neutral”.
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“We believe it is necessary and justified to set fees to meet full cost recovery,” the report says.
“Pool owners, not other ratepayers, should bear the cost of ensuring pool safety.”
Councillors approved the report containing the fee increase recommendation at a meeting on Tuesday night.
Owners of backyard pools and spas that fail to comply with fencing standards have 20 business days to fix the problem or face a $385 charge.
A 2018 survey by the Victorian Municipal Building Surveyors Group found the number of inadequate pool barriers could be as high as 90 per cent.
It is expected to cost the state’s 220,000 pool owners up to $155 million to comply with the regulations which include a pool fence at least 1.2m high or a boundary fence with a minimum height of 1.8m.
The tough new rules are scheduled to come into play on December 1 with all backyard pools and spas to be registered by April 14, 2020.
Suggested due dates for compliance certificate are staggered depending on the age of the pool or spa with all expected to be compliant by October 29, 2021.