The Victorian Building Authority has launched new webpages dedicated to informing consumers about their rights and obligations. All members, particularly builders, are encouraged to review this advice.

The move comes after the building regulator conducted a consumer survey at the last SPASA Pool & Spa Expo in January this year, which indicated that consumers need to be better informed about the legal requirements for the construction of swimming pools and spas.

The VBA’s Director – Technical & Regulation, Jarrod Edwards, said the survey results showed that there was a lot of uncertainty amongst consumers about their responsibilities before, during and after the construction.

“More than a quarter of the consumers surveyed did not know that swimming pools and spas in Victoria over 30cm in depth required a safety barrier by law,” Mr Edwards said.

“Around one third did not realise that they needed a building permit, and more than three quarters did not know about the ongoing maintenance obligations for swimming pools and spas.

“The majority of respondents were also not aware that temporary or inflatable pools deeper than 30cm required a safety barrier.”

Mr Edwards said that if the VBA checklist was provided to homeowners at the start of a swimming pool or spa project then a lot of confusion could be avoided.

“At the expo we learned that the majority of homeowners obtain information about swimming pool and spa regulations from their builder, building surveyor or supplier,” Mr Edwards said.

“If every SPASA member were to provide the checklist to their clients before any work was carried out then the whole process would run more smoothly for both parties.

“The checklist can be used by builders to guide homeowners through each stage of the process, and ensure that no safety or legal repercussions result from non-compliant building works.”

To view the checklist visit the Swimming pools, spas and their safety barriers page in the Consumer Resources section of the VBA website, or type ‘swimming pool checklist’ into the search function.