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Councils across Western Australia have picked up their game, and fewer private pools have missed inspection.
Local governments in WA are required to inspect safety barriers around private pools at least every four years.
The inspections are monitors, and the WA ombudsman found in the year ended mid-2015, 8,639 private pools were overdue for review.
The latest report from the building commissioner has seen a drastic improvement, and of the 47,000 pools that needed to be inspected, only 2,545 were missed.
The report also found that about two-thirds of councils were up to date with their pool inspection, up from 46 per cent in 2015.
All private pools and spa deeper than 30cm in WA need a safety barrier to keep children safe, Building and Energy acting executive director Saj Abdoolakhan said.
“While there’s no substitute for close supervision, there is also no doubt that compliant safety barriers help prevent young children from drowning in swimming pools,” he said.
“Non-compliant barriers are known to have contributed to the drowning deaths of young children, which is why regular inspections are so important.”
Although the latest report shows an improvement in overall inspections, there is plenty to do, Mr Abdoolakhan said.
“Owners and occupants of properties with pools must remain vigilant and ensure they comply with all safety measures, which includes allowing access to local government inspectors when required.”
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