Residential Swimming Pool Fences

Are you thinking about getting a Swimming Pool?

It’s not necessarily as easy as taking it home, filling it up and you’re ready to go. There are rules around owning a pool that you need to know before you walk out of the store with it in your trolley.

Building Act and Building Code

New requirements within the Building Code (Clause F) came into force on 1 January 2017 which means pool owners need to ensure that access to a residential pool is restricted, along with compliance measures to help keep Kiwi kids safe.

Does my pool need a barrier/fence?

Any pool that can be filled to a depth of 400mm or more must have a physical barrier like a fence, gate or door, regardless if they are full, or have just a little bit of water in them.

Empty pools will require a barrier if there is a fall of 1m or greater into the pool (refer Building Code F4).

That means your paddling pool that comes out every summer needs to have a proper barrier or fence around it.

So, what sort of barrier do I need?

A barrier can include a fence, gate or even a door.

The most important rule for your barrier is it must be able to restrict access to the pool for unsupervised kids under five years old. If your pool needs to be fenced, it must

• Be at least 1.2m high, surrounding the pool
• have nothing around it that a child could use to climb over it
• have a self-closing and self-latching gate that opens away from the pool area with the latch at least 1.5m off the ground.

Registration

Every pool owner in the District must, by law, register their pool with us. Registration is free if you sign up below.

Inspections

All pools in our District must be on the Council’s Swimming Pool Register (with the exception of pools under 400ml depth that are emptied after each use) and be inspected every three years by either a Council Inspector ($310 fee per inspection for the 2024/25 year) or an Independently Qualified Pool Inspector (which can be found here - fees will vary).

Spa pools

A spa pool doesn’t need to be inspected if

• It has a water surface area less than 5m2
• Unclimbable sides at least 760mm high
• Lockable safety lid capable of supporting 20kg

However, it does still need to be registered. To register your spa with us, please fill out the form below.

Filling your pool

It’s important that our water network isn’t contaminated. To prevent backflow, contact a plumber to install a hose-tap vacuum breaker or a backflow connection.

Emptying your pool at the end of summer

Once you have finished with your pool and want to pack it down again, simply leave the pool full and untouched for 3 – 4 weeks before emptying it.

Please do not empty your pool into the stormwater network as the chemicals used are harmful for the environment. Instead, pools must be emptied into the wastewater network through pool plumbing, a gully trap or a sink, as the water is then treated and returned to the environment.