If you list property in Victoria, sooner or later a buyer's conveyancer will ask whether the pool has a current Form 23. This article sets out what the law requires, what it does not, and where the certificate fits in a sale, with each rule traced to the regulation or regulator page it comes from. Most of the settlement trouble I see as an inspector comes from one of the four misunderstandings at the end.
Where the rules come from
Victoria's pool and spa rules sit in Part 9A of the Building Regulations 2018, made under the Building Act 1993. Part 9A applies to land where a swimming pool or spa is attached to a house, unit, boarding house or outbuilding and can hold water deeper than 300 mm. The Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC, formerly the VBA) registers the practitioners who inspect barriers; councils keep the register and receive the certificates.
The other piece is the Section 32 vendor statement. Its required contents are set out in section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962, and Consumer Affairs Victoria's guidance for sellers lists what it covers: title, mortgages, covenants, easements, zoning, outgoings and a bushfire-prone declaration. A pool barrier certificate is not on that list. Section 32 does require particulars of any notice or order of a public authority currently affecting the land, and any building permit issued in the past seven years where there is a residence on the land. A council barrier improvement notice, or a permit for recent barrier work, is therefore something a conveyancer will ask about.
What the owner of a pool has to do
Three obligations attach to the land, and all three pass to the buyer at settlement.
- Register the pool or spa with council. Existing pools had to be registered by 1 November 2020; a new pool must be registered within 30 days of its occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection (regulations 147L and 147M).
- Lodge a certificate of pool and spa barrier compliance every four years. The owner must lodge one by the date in the council's most recent notice, and each time the council writes back with the next due date, four years after the previous certificate was lodged (regulation 147V).
- Maintain the barrier and keep the gate shut. The owner must keep the barrier properly maintained, and the occupier must keep any gate or door closed except when someone is passing through (regulations 147F to 147H). An agent running open homes with the pool gate propped open should know that one.
What a Form 23 is, and what it is not
Form 23 is the prescribed form of a certificate of pool and spa barrier compliance. An inspector engaged by the owner must issue one when they have inspected the barrier and are satisfied it complies with the applicable barrier standard (regulation 147Y). On a pass I issue the Form 23 the same day.
A Form 23 certifies that the barrier complied on the date of inspection. It has no validity period. The regulations set only two dates around it: a certificate lodged with council must be dated no more than 30 days before it is lodged (regulation 147V(2)), and the next certificate falls due four years after the previous one was lodged. The BPC puts the owner's side plainly: you must lodge the certificate with your council within 30 days of the date of issue.
Two points follow. The four years is the lodgement cycle, not a life span on the certificate. And the owner lodges the Form 23, not the inspector. I issue it to the owner, the owner lodges it with their council and pays the lodgement fee, and the council confirms the lodgement date and next due date in writing. Keep that confirmation; it is the document the buyer's conveyancer usually wants alongside the certificate.
Is a Form 23 required to sell?
No. Nothing in Part 9A or in section 32 of the Sale of Land Act makes a Form 23 a precondition to signing a contract of sale or to settlement, and there is no offence for advertising a pool property without one.
In practice most agents and buyers' conveyancers ask for a current Form 23 before contracts exchange, and the reason is regulation 147ZL. When the council receives the notice of acquisition after settlement, it records the new owner and writes to them with the applicable barrier standard and the date the next certificate is due. A lodgement deadline the vendor missed does not vanish at settlement. It becomes the purchaser's deadline, and failing to lodge by it is an offence under the regulations. That is why a buyer's conveyancer treats an outstanding council deadline as something to negotiate. Our guide to a pool inspection for a property sale covers the vendor's side, and the Section 32 timeline post works backwards from settlement day.
Who can inspect, and against what standard
The BPC lists four kinds of practitioner who can inspect a barrier and issue the certificate: a registered building surveyor, a registered building inspector, a registered pool inspector, or a municipal building surveyor. I am Ryan Gaw, BPC-registered (formerly the VBA), licence IN-PS 100055.
The standard the barrier is measured against is not simply the current one. Regulation 5(1) defines the applicable barrier standard as the barrier requirements in force at the date of construction, unless building work has since been done on the barrier under a building permit, in which case the requirements at that permit apply. The council determines the construction date when the pool is registered (regulation 147T) and writes to the owner with that date and the applicable barrier standard (regulation 147R). Please have that council letter on hand for the inspection. It tells me which standard your pool is measured against, and the City of Greater Geelong asks owners to show it on the day.
In practice inspectors work from seven construction-date bands, which the BPC's self-assessment checklists group into three: pools installed before 8 April 1991, between 8 April 1991 and 30 April 2010, and from 1 May 2010. A pool built before 8 April 1991 is assessed under Division 2 of Part 9A itself, which names AS 1926.1-1993 as one barrier option. Later pools are assessed against the edition of AS 1926.1 of their era, and AS 1926.1-2012 is the operative standard for pools built from May 2013. These bands are a guide to the framework councils work from, not a self-assessment tool. The council determines which standard applies, and for pools built from August 1997 an alternative compliance solution can also apply, so confirm against the council letter or talk it through with your council or with us.
Some checks are the same in every era: a minimum barrier height of 1200 mm, and no gap under the barrier or opening through it larger than 100 mm. Gates must self-close from any position, self-latch, and swing away from the pool.
Other numbers change with the era. The non-climbable zone, which sits on the outside of the barrier except on a boundary fence where it sits on the pool side, is 900 mm under the 2007 and 2012 editions of AS 1926.1 and 1200 mm under the 1993 edition. The inspection takes about 30 minutes on site. Our pool compliance in Victoria page walks through what is checked.
What happens when a barrier fails
A failed inspection is not the end of the sale, and it does not automatically mean a Form 24. The regulations set out two tracks.
The routine track is regulation 147ZG. If the barrier does not meet the applicable standard, the inspector gives the owner a written notice stating what does not comply, a fix-by date no more than 60 days after the owner receives the notice, and the date and time of the re-inspection. That notice is what I issue as a Non-Conformance Report. The owner fixes the listed items, I re-inspect at no extra charge, and on a pass the Form 23 issues. Where progress has been made but the barrier still falls short, one further notice of up to seven days can follow (regulation 147ZH).
The escalation track is Form 24, the certificate of pool and spa barrier non-compliance. Regulation 147ZF requires an inspector to issue one immediately only in limited circumstances: the barrier cannot be made compliant within 60 days or the owner is unlikely to do it, the non-compliance poses a significant and immediate risk to life or safety, a gate can be opened by a child or cannot fully close, or any part of the barrier is under one metre high. A Form 24 also follows a re-inspection that still fails. Unlike a Form 23, the inspector lodges the Form 24 with council, the council charges the owner a fee, and the municipal building surveyor may serve a barrier improvement notice or a notice or order under the Building Act 1993.
Most fails I see on listed properties are gate hardware, vegetation or garden objects inside the non-climbable zone, and ground level creeping up against the fence. All are fixable inside the notice period if the inspection is booked early.
A timeline that works for a listing
- Listing agreed: book the inspection. Do not wait for the Section 32 to be drafted.
- Inspection day: about 30 minutes on site. Please have the council registration letter on hand. On a pass the Form 23 is issued the same day.
- If it fails: Non-Conformance Report, fix-by date of up to 60 days, re-inspection included in the $250 fee.
- Within 30 days of issue: the owner lodges the Form 23 with council and keeps the written confirmation.
- Section 32 and contract: the conveyancer attaches the certificate and confirmation if the vendor has them. Not a statutory requirement, but most buyers' conveyancers ask before exchange.
- After settlement: the council writes to the new owner with the applicable barrier standard and the next lodgement date. The four-year cycle is now theirs.
Four things agents get wrong
1. Treating the Form 23 as a four-year licence
The certificate records compliance on the inspection date. Four years is the interval between lodgements, and a barrier certified three years ago may not pass today if a gate spring has gone or a hedge has grown into the non-climbable zone. The buyer's guide covers what to look at when the certificate in the Section 32 is not recent.
2. Assuming old pools are exempt
No pool over 300 mm deep is exempt from registration or the certificate cycle. An older pool is assessed against the standard of its era, which is a different thing from being excused. Pre-1991 pools sit under Division 2 of Part 9A, which sets its own gate, door and window requirements.
3. Assuming the inspector lodges it with council
The owner lodges a Form 23. The only certificate an inspector lodges is a Form 24. If a vendor says the inspector handled it, ask for the council's confirmation letter.
4. Assuming a portable spa doesn't count
Part 9A applies to anything capable of holding water deeper than 300 mm, which the BPC says includes above-ground, indoor, relocatable and inflatable pools and hot tubs. A relocatable pool or spa erected for three or more consecutive days must be registered by the fourth day (regulation 147N).
Booking
Local Pool Inspections charges a flat $250 for the inspection, the Form 23 on a pass, and a free re-inspection if needed, across Greater Geelong, the Bellarine, the Surf Coast, Wyndham, Melton and Moorabool. Our inspection cost page sets out what that covers. Call 0402 860 499 or book online.
Primary sources
- Building Regulations 2018 (Vic), Part 9A and regulation 5(1)
- BPC: Pool and spa inspections and compliance
- BPC: Pool safety barriers
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Conveyancing and contracts for sellers; Sale of Land Act 1962, sections 32 to 32E
- City of Greater Geelong: Arrange a pool or spa barrier inspection
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a property settle without a pool compliance certificate in Victoria?
Yes. A Form 23 is not a statutory precondition to signing a contract or to settlement. In practice most buyers' conveyancers ask for a current one before contracts exchange, because the registration and four-yearly certificate obligations pass to the new owner and the council writes to them after settlement with the next lodgement date.
How long is a Form 23 valid for?
It has no validity period. A Form 23 certifies that the barrier complied on the date of inspection. The owner must lodge it with council within 30 days of issue, and the next certificate is due four years after the previous one was lodged.
Does the Section 32 have to include the pool certificate?
No. The required contents of a Section 32 statement are set out in the Sale of Land Act 1962 and do not include a barrier compliance certificate. The statement does have to disclose notices and orders of a public authority affecting the land, so a council barrier improvement notice is a matter for the conveyancer.
What happens if the pool fails inspection before a sale?
The owner receives a written Non-Conformance Report listing what does not comply, a fix-by date of up to 60 days, and a re-inspection appointment. A Form 24 is only issued immediately in limited cases, such as a significant and immediate risk to life or a barrier that cannot be made compliant within 60 days. Re-inspection with Local Pool Inspections is free.
Who lodges the Form 23 with council?
The owner does, within 30 days of the date of issue, and pays the council's lodgement fee at that time. The inspector issues the certificate to the owner but does not lodge it. The only certificate an inspector lodges with council is a Form 24.
Pool safety services we provide
Related Reading
- Form 23 Certificate Victoria: Everything You Need to Know
- Pool Compliance in Victoria
- Same-Day Pool Safety Certificates
- Victorian Pool Safety Regulations 2026: Buyer’s Guide
- How to Pass Your Pool Inspection First Time