The Swimming Pools Amendment Bill 2012 (NSW) was assented to on 29 October 2012.

This legislation amends the Swimming Pools Act 1992 (NSW) (Act) by including the following new obligations (amongst others):

  • the Director-General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet (Director-General) will be required to establish, keep and administer a swimming pools register (Register)
  • an owner of a swimming pool (to which the Act applies) will need to register their swimming pool on the Register by no later than 28 October 2013. The Regulations will set out the information that a swimming pool owner is required to provide to the Director-General
  • local authorities in New South Wales are required to develop inspection and compliance programs
  • from 28 March 2014, all vendors of properties in New South Wales (to which the Act applies) must attach to any Contract for Sale of Land evidence of registration of the swimming pool and either a certificate of compliance under the Act or a relevant occupation certificate.

We expect that further information regarding the new swimming pool regime will be made available by the Director-General and local councils in the near future.

The new swimming pool regime in New South Wales has implications not only for developers and landlords, but also those who have swimming pools in their backyards (or who are looking to sell or purchase properties with swimming pools).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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