Media Statement
Tasmania urgently needs new laws to stop more kids from drowning in pools this summer
Australia’s peak body for building surveyors has called on the Tasmanian Government to immediately take steps to protect children from drowning in do-it-yourself backyard pools, calling the current legislation “outdated,” “woefully inadequate” and “Illogical.”
Roland Wierenga, Tasmania Director of the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS), was commenting on the findings of the Coroner’s report released last week into the drowning in November 2020 of four year old Talien Pitt in a pool installed by his family in the yard of their Hobart home.
Coroner Robert Webster called for the State Government to consider implementing legislation similar to NSW legislation which makes it an offence for the owner of premises to install a pool that is not at the same time surrounded by an appropriate barrier or pool safety fence. The Coroner also recommended that local governments conduct more rigorous compliance inspections to ensure home owners were complying with pool fencing requirements.
Mr Wierenga said AIBS supported the Coroner’s recommendations. He warned that without urgent change, more young children could drown in backyard pools this coming summer.
“The Tasmanian Government should move without delay to rectify longstanding loopholes in the existing regulations in the interests of child safety,” he said. “These laws have been in place for decades and we call on the current government to recognise that change is long overdue and to act immediately to fix the problem.
“Under the current legislation, anyone can go to a supermarket or hardware store and buy an above ground pool and they are free to install it without approval or supervision of a competent authority, provided they already have compliant fencing installed at the property.
“However, if the homeowner then needs to install a swimming pool safety fence around that pool, they have to get a licensed designer to provide drawings, a building surveyor to certify the design, any council permits, and only then can the work be done by appropriately licensed persons under the supervision of a building surveyor.
“This is incomprehensibly illogical and with the advent and increasing popularity of cheap do-it-yourself swimming pools, is a danger to public safety.
“Permission should be required to install any swimming pool and a secure fence at the same time.”
Mr Wierenga said that it was not uncommon to see above ground pools at homes without any fencing at all to prevent access to the pool by children from that household or from the street and neighbours.
He said that along with the introduction of new laws, the State Government should also develop and launch a public awareness campaign around pool safety and the reason for the legislative changes.
“It’s vital that people are aware of the risks of having a pool of any type without a child proof fence,” he said. “We don’t want to lose more kids to a tragic event that is largely preventable.
“This is particularly important as we head into the warmer weather.”
Mr Wierenga said that AIBS would seek a meeting with the new Minister for Consumer Affairs as soon as the new appointment was made by the Tasmanian Government.