Every pool safety inspector legally operating in Victoria must hold a current registration with the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC, formerly the VBA). The licence carries an IN-PS prefix and a six-figure number. Local Pool Inspections holds IN-PS 100055. A Form 23 issued by an inspector without current registration isn’t a valid certificate, and conveyancers are checking more often than they used to. Below: how to verify one, what the number actually tells you, and why it bites at sale or renewal.
What IN-PS Registration Means
The BPC is Victoria’s regulator for the building industry. It took over from the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2025, absorbing the VBA’s registration functions — which is why you’ll still see “VBA-registered” on certificates and inspector profiles, including ours. Existing registrations carried across automatically and remain valid to their expiry, so the wording is accurate even though the regulator’s name has changed.
Under the Building Act 1993 (Vic), pool safety inspectors sit in their own practitioner category, separate from building surveyors and inspectors. Registration isn’t a formality. It requires an approved course in pool and spa barrier inspection from a registered training organisation, documented inspection experience, and professional indemnity insurance that has to stay current or the registration doesn’t. IN-PS stands for “Inspector — Pool Safety,” which is the practitioner class itself.
The practical point for a pool owner: the registration is the thing that makes the certificate count. The inspection itself might be done perfectly well. Without current registration behind it, the paperwork has no legal standing. If you’re not sure what the certificate itself should contain, our complete guide to the Form 23 certificate walks through every field.
Why a Non-Registered Form 23 Doesn’t Work
A Form 23 issued by someone without current registration runs into trouble at every step that matters:
- It can’t be lodged with council. The Pool and Spa Register accepts certificates only from registered inspectors.
- It won’t satisfy Victoria’s sale and disclosure requirements, so it’s no use in a Section 32.
- It doesn’t meet the four-year re-inspection cycle requirement.
- An insurer can decline to recognise it for a pool-related liability claim.
- It can be unwound after the fact if the inspector’s registration turns out to have lapsed or been suspended on the day they signed.
If your current Form 23 was signed by an inspector whose registration wasn’t active at the time, you may not have a valid certificate at all. Don’t assume it’s fine. Ring your council before you rely on it.
How to Verify Your Inspector in 60 Seconds
Victoria maintains a free public practitioner register, still hosted on the VBA-era site at vba.vic.gov.au while the BPC transition completes. To check any pool safety inspector:
- Open the Practitioner Search.
- Search by IN-PS number, business name, or surname.
- Confirm the status reads “Current,” not “Suspended” or “Expired.”
- Check the expiry date sits in the future.
That’s the whole check. If you can’t find the inspector’s record, or the status reads anything other than “Current,” don’t book them. One minute now beats a stalled settlement later.
Local Pool Inspections — IN-PS 100055
For reference: Local Pool Inspections holds registration IN-PS 100055. Search “Local Pool Inspections” or “100055” on the Practitioner Search and the current status comes up for you to read yourself. We’d rather you checked than took our word for it. That’s the whole point of a public register, and frankly it’s the first thing I’d want to see if I were hiring an inspector for my own pool.
What the IN-PS Number Actually Tells You
Less than people assume. A lower number means the inspector registered earlier in the regime; a higher one, more recently. That’s roughly the whole story the number tells.
What it does not tell you is quality. IN-PS 100055 is no “better” than IN-PS 102500, and a newer registration isn’t an inferior one. The number’s real job is authenticity. It lets you confirm, on the public register, that the person inspecting your barrier is who they say they are and is cleared to sign the certificate. Anyone who hands you a number that won’t verify is the one to worry about, not the one whose number happens to be high.
Where Registration Problems Hide
Suspended registrations
The regulator can suspend a registration for unpaid fees, an insurance lapse, a complaint investigation, or competency concerns. While the suspension stands, that inspector cannot legally issue a certificate, full stop.
Expired registrations
Registration renews annually, and the gap is where people get caught. An inspector whose registration has lapsed but hasn’t yet been formally actioned is no longer authorised to inspect, even if the public record is slow to catch up. Work done in that window is questionable, which is exactly why you check the expiry date and not just the word “Current.”
Insurance lapses
Professional indemnity insurance is a condition of registration, not an optional extra. An inspector whose cover has lapsed can still read as “Current” for a short stretch while the system catches up, but they aren’t entitled to inspect during it. This is the one most owners never think to ask about.
What If Your Existing Form 23 Was Signed by a Now-Unregistered Inspector?
The key question is their status on the day they signed, not today:
- Search the Practitioner Search for the inspector named on your certificate.
- Check their registration status at the date of issue — the regulator can provide historical registration data on request.
- If they were registered at the time, your certificate stands for its full 4-year term regardless of what’s happened to them since.
- If they weren’t registered at the time, the certificate doesn’t hold — book a fresh inspection with a currently-registered inspector. Our guide on what happens after a failed inspection covers the re-inspection path.
Why This Matters More in 2026
Three things have tightened up:
- Conveyancer scrutiny. Section 32 reviewers now routinely check inspector registration as part of due diligence. A certificate from an unregistered inspector can trigger a request for re-inspection before settlement, which is exactly the kind of delay you don’t want with a contract running. See our Section 32 timeline guide for how the paperwork fits the sale, and the pre-settlement inspection timeline if you’re already under contract.
- Insurance underwriting. Home insurers increasingly want evidence of a valid Form 23 from a registered inspector before honouring a pool-related claim.
- Council enforcement. Enforcement in 2026 is tougher, and councils are checking the registration status behind the certificates already on their registers. Buyers should also read the 2026 buyer’s guide to Victorian pool safety regulations before committing.
What to Ask Before Booking
- “What’s your IN-PS number?” A registered inspector rattles it off without hesitation.
- “Are you currently registered?” The answer should be yes, and you should be able to verify it on the public register.
- “How long have you held the registration?” Useful context, not a quality test.
- “Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?” Standard, and tied to the registration.
- “Can you show me a sample Form 23 before you arrive?” Legitimate inspectors have no problem with this.
It’s not the answers that matter so much as the hesitation. An inspector who gets cagey about a number that sits on a public register has told you something. If you’d like to verify ours first and then book, get in touch and check IN-PS 100055 while you’re at it. Our breakdown of what the $250 covers sets out exactly what you’re paying for.
FAQ
How do I check if a pool inspector is registered in Victoria?
Use the free public Practitioner Search at vba.vic.gov.au, now administered by the Building and Plumbing Commission. Search by IN-PS number, business name, or surname, and confirm the status reads “Current” with an expiry date in the future. The check takes about a minute.
Is a Form 23 from a non-registered inspector valid?
No. If the inspector wasn’t holding current registration when they signed it, councils won’t accept the certificate on the Pool and Spa Register and it won’t satisfy sale or renewal requirements. What matters is their registration status on the date of issue.
What does the IN-PS prefix mean?
IN-PS stands for “Inspector — Pool Safety,” the practitioner classification for registered pool safety inspectors in Victoria. It’s followed by a six-figure registration number — Local Pool Inspections holds IN-PS 100055.
Has the VBA been replaced by the BPC?
Yes. The Building and Plumbing Commission took over from the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2025. Existing inspector registrations transferred across automatically and stay valid to their expiry, which is why “VBA-registered” still appears on current certificates and remains accurate.
Does a lower IN-PS number mean a better inspector?
No. A lower number generally means the inspector registered earlier in the regime; it says nothing about quality. The number’s purpose is to let you confirm authenticity on the public register, not to rank inspectors.
Registered inspector (IN-PS 100055) — $250 all-inclusive Form 23
Verify our registration on the public Practitioner Search, then book. Renewal and pre-sale inspections across Greater Geelong, Bellarine, Moorabool and Wyndham. Free re-inspection if remediation is needed.
Call 0402 860 499 or book online.