If the inspector determines that your safety barrier is not compliant, they can either:

  • immediately issue a certificate of barrier non-compliance; or
  • issue you a written notice specifying:
    • the matters which must be addressed to bring the pool barrier into compliance;
    • the period in which the barrier must be made compliant (within a maximum of 60 days); and
    • the date and time they intend to reinspect the barrier.

After re-inspection, if the inspector determines that the pool barrier is compliant, they will issue a certificate of barrier compliance, which you must then lodge with council.

If the barrier remains non-compliant, but the inspector is satisfied that progress has been made towards bringing the barrier into compliance, they may allow you an additional seven days to rectify the barrier. Otherwise they will issue a certificate of barrier non-compliance.

If an inspector issues a certificate of barrier non-compliance, they will lodge it with the relevant council and provide you with a copy. The council will notify you and you will have to pay a fee by the due date specified in the notice.

What happens next

When the council receives the certificate of barrier non-compliance, the municipal building surveyor will issue either:

  • a barrier improvement notice, or

a notice or order under the Building Act 1993 (if the municipal building surveyor considers that this is appropriate, depending on the nature of the non-compliance).