Lane Cove Council Compliance Officer Alleges Lane Cove Council has failed to Implement a Pool Safety Inspection Programme

A Lane Cove Council Compliance Officer has made allegations that the Lane Cove Council has failed to implement a Pool Safety Inspection Programme.

The Swimming Pool Act 1992 requires Councils to develop and adopt a program for the inspection of swimming pools in its area. To fulfil its legal obligations, a Council must inspect swimming pools per this programme.

Councils were given six months to implement a Mandatory Pool Safety Inspection Programme after the amendments to the Swimming Pool Act 1992 came into force in April 2016.

In April 2016, the Lane Cove Council resolved to adopt the following enforcement procedures but did not resolve to adopt a Mandatory Pool Safety Inspection Programme.

The Council resolved:

• If a pool barrier is found to be defective, an emergency order will be served on the owner;
• If after 90 days the pool barrier remains unsatisfactory, a penalty infringement notice will be issued; and
• If necessary, further legal action will be taken to enforce compliance.

ITC has searched council meeting agendas and has not been able to verify the existence of a Lane Cove Council Pool Safety Inspection Programme.

The Lane Cove Council compliance officer alleges he initially raised concerns about the lack of a Mandatory Pool Safety Inspection Programme with the Council’s General Manager, but when he was unsatisfied with the response he received, he made a report under the Public Information Disclosure Act and sent the report to the media and the Mayor.

What is the Council’s Role in Pool Safety?

When the amendments to the Swimming Pool Act were debated in 2016, the then Minister for Local Government, in his second reading speech, stressed the importance of the Council’s role in swimming pool safety:

“To reinforce the registration and self-assessment process, councils will be required to develop locally tailored risk-based inspection programs in consultation with its communities. With an estimated 340,000 pools in New South Wales, it is not practical to inspect all pool barriers in a reasonable time frame. Councils are best placed to decide which pools should be inspected and how often. Guidance on how to do this will be provided to the councils. Such inspections will come at a cost to councils and ratepayers so the councils will be provided with the option of recovering the cost of these inspections from pool owners with a capped maximum fee.”

Have Other Councils Implemented a Swimming Pool Safety Inspection Programme?

Lane Cove Council’s neighbouring councils have adopted Swimming Pool Safety Inspection Programmes and make reference to random inspections and increased education.

What Community Awareness Steps Has Lane Cove Council Taken to Promote Pool Safety for Home Pools?

In December 2021, the Lane Cove Council published the following on their Facebook page.

In October 2022, a pool safety and drowning prevention awareness programme was promoted.  ITC understands that the workshop was cancelled due to only a small number of attendees.

ITC has been unable to find any other safety messages about home swimming pools on Council’s Facebook page.

Lane Cove Council’s Comments on the Allegations

ITC asked the Lane Cove Council to comment on the allegations made by the Lane Cove Council compliance officer and to provide details of their Pool Safety Inspection Programme.  A Lane Cove Council Spokesperson provided the following comment:

“We’re undertaking investigations into the allegations and therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment while those investigations are ongoing.

In relation to the number of swimming pool inspections made over the past three years, please find below the details which are publicly available in our Annual Reports:”

When we noted the above and asked for a copy of Lane Cove Council’s Pool Safety Inspection Programme.  We did not receive a copy.  The Lane Cove Council will not confirm or deny if they have a Pool Safety Inspection Programme.

It will be interesting to find out the results of the council’s investigations and if a Pool Safety Inspection Programme will be presented to Lane Cove Councillors for adoption.