Councillor Don Palmer Providing Local Leadership & Working for You

Management of swimming pool safety is on the agenda with the Coroner recently handing down a report regarding the 2010 death of one year old Bryce Ashton Eddleston.


All deaths are tragic. Deaths of young children are devastating, and when it happens in the home and it could have been prevented then ….. I don’t know how I would be if it happened to a member of my family. So it is with swimming pools.

The Coroners report into this one tragic death is available via this link. http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/CoronersFindings/Lists/Coroners%20Findings/Attachments/541/EDDLESTON%20Bryce%20Ashton.pdf Download and read it if you own a swimming pool or are interested in child safety at home.

Legislation over the years has failed to protect some precious young lives and the Government is taking seriously the recommendations of the Coroner. They are seeking input from Councils and the industry into how we might best implement the recommendations.

The trouble is a swimming pool is deemed compliant if it complies with legislation applicable at the time of it’s construction. In the case before the coroner the very environment would have been legal depending on when the pool was built. I see many pools with a similar environment in my travels as a building inspector. I saw one such yesterday and this has prompted this blog post.

The current recommendations aim to scrap this anomaly by drawing a line in the sand and saying all pools should be of the same standard. A phase in period will apply to allow pool owners time to ensure their pool complies, after which regular mandatory inspections will apply.

The proposed changes can be found via this link http://www.sa.gov.au/upload/franchise/Housing,%20property%20and%20land/PLG/2013/Discussion_Paper_Proposals_to_improve_the_legislative_framework_for_swimming_pools.pdf Download it and see what you think. Let me know what you think or make a submission to the government yourself.

Given my unique position of being a Building Inspector and being an elected member of Council (and a member of their DAP (Development Assessment Panel)) I have had the opportunity to contribute to both submissions. Obviously, as things progress, I may report further in this forum and/or on my building inspection website page  http://reliablehomeinspections.com.au/category/news/