Pool Safety Certificate QLD: A Buyer’s Guide to Form 36, the 90-Day Rule and Shared Pools
By Tim AllenBuyer’s Agent and Director, IPS Buyer’s Agents
Do you need a pool safety certificate to buy a house in QLD? You don’t need one to sign, but the pool has to be dealt with. If there’s a current pool safety certificate, the seller must give you a copy before settlement. If there isn’t, the seller must give you a Form 36, a notice of no pool safety certificate, before you sign, and for a pool that isn’t shared you must then get a certificate within 90 days of settlement.[1][2][3] That 90-day job, and any fence work it takes, falls to you as the new owner. This guide explains both documents, shared pools in units and townhouses, buying a home with a pool to rent out, and how to check a pool before you commit.
Key takeaways
- With a current certificate, the seller gives you a copy before settlement. Without one, the seller gives you a Form 36 before you sign and lodges it with the QBCC before settlement.[1][2][4]
- Buy without a certificate and you have 90 days from settlement to get one for a non-shared pool. A nonconformity notice doesn’t extend that.[3][5]
- For a shared pool in a unit or townhouse complex, the pool owner, usually the body corporate, has the 90 days.[1][6]
- Buying to rent it out? You can’t sign a lease for a home with a non-shared pool until a certificate is in effect.[7]
- Search the QBCC pool register before you offer. It’s free, and it shows whether a certificate is in effect.[8][9]
What a pool safety certificate is, and what counts as a pool
Queensland law treats any structure that can hold 300 mm or more of water and is used mainly for swimming, wading or paddling as a swimming pool. That includes spas and blow-up wading pools, at houses, unit complexes and caravan parks alike.[10] Brisbane City Council adds that a lockable hard cover isn’t a suitable barrier for a spa in Queensland.[11]
A pool safety certificate confirms the pool complied with the pool safety standard when a pool safety inspector checked it. Only an inspector licensed by the QBCC can issue one, and it lasts 2 years for a non-shared pool or 1 year for a shared pool.[5] For a recently built pool, a building certifier’s final inspection certificate (Form 17) or certificate of occupancy (Form 11) can take its place, and a Form 17 can also cover a new or altered fence that a certifier inspected.[5] Every regulated pool must also be on the QBCC’s pool register, which records each one in Queensland and any certificate issued for it.[8]
A certificate shows the pool passed on the day it was inspected, nothing more. Pool owners, including bodies corporate, must keep the barrier compliant at all times, and council can fine an owner whose barrier fails even when a certificate is in place.[1] Councils can also enter properties to inspect pools and cancel certificates for non-compliant pools.[12]
What the seller must give you: a certificate or a Form 36
The seller’s duties come from the Building Act and the Building Regulation, and they run on two clocks:
- Before you sign. If no pool safety certificate is in effect, the owner must give you a notice in the QBCC’s approved form, the Form 36, before entering into the contract, with a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units.[2] At an auction, the owner or their agent must give prospective buyers the Form 36 before a contract is entered into.[1]
- Before settlement. The seller must give you a copy of the current certificate or, if there isn’t one, give the notice to you and to the QBCC, and for a shared pool to the pool owner as well. The maximum penalty is 165 penalty units.[4]
A penalty unit is worth $172.70 from 1 July 2026,[13] so 165 penalty units comes to $28,495.50. The seller disclosure statement must also say whether there’s a pool for the lot, including one on a scheme’s common property, and come with either a pool compliance certificate or the notice of no certificate.[14] So you should know where the pool stands before you sign, whether you buy at auction, through an agent or privately.
| The seller gives you | What it means |
|---|---|
| A current certificate[1] | A copy before settlement. Check its date: a certificate for a non-shared pool lasts 2 years. |
| A Form 36, non-shared pool[3] | No certificate is in effect. You must get one within 90 days of settlement, and any work needed to pass is yours to arrange. |
| A Form 36, shared pool[6][1] | The pool owner, usually the body corporate, must get a certificate within 90 days of settlement and give you a copy. |
| Nothing, though there’s a pool[4][3] | The seller is in breach, but your 90-day duty still applies after settlement. Talk to your solicitor before you sign. |
If no certificate is in effect for a non-shared pool at settlement, you must make sure there is one within 90 days after the day of settlement. The only extension in the Act covers days you’re a party to a QCAT proceeding about the pool barrier, and the duty applies even if the seller didn’t give the notices they should have. The maximum penalty is 165 penalty units.[3]
Ninety days can be tight if the fence needs work. If an inspector isn’t satisfied the pool complies, they issue a Form 26 nonconformity notice setting out what doesn’t comply and what to fix, unless they re-inspect within 2 days and the pool now passes, or you agree they’ll carry out minor repairs within 20 business days. You must then have the same inspector re-inspect within 3 months, and you can’t ask a different inspector for a certificate in that time. A nonconformity notice doesn’t extend your 90 days.[5]
So book the inspection early, and line up any trades in the first weeks after settlement rather than the last. Settlement day starts the clock.[3]
Investors face a stricter rule. An owner must not enter into an accommodation agreement for premises with a non-shared pool unless a pool safety certificate is in effect, with a maximum penalty of 165 penalty units.[7] The QBCC puts it simply: you can’t lease a home or townhouse with a non-shared pool until a certificate is in effect.[1] So the 90-day window doesn’t help an investor who buys with a Form 36 and wants a tenant from day one: the certificate has to come before the lease.
With a shared pool, the lessor gives the new occupier and the pool owner a copy of the certificate, or lodges a Form 36 if there isn’t one, and the pool owner then has 90 days.[1][6] Tenants have duties too: keep pool gates closed, never prop one open, and tell the landlord if the fence is broken or a gate doesn’t self-close.[10] If you’re renting out in Brisbane, a property manager such as SmartYield can help you line up the certificate before the first lease.
Inspectors check the barrier against the pool safety standard. The QBCC’s own guidance points to these problem areas:
- Height and gaps. A fence must be at least 1200 mm high at every point, measured at right angles to the ground, with no gap over 100 mm at the bottom.[15]
- Climbable objects. Trim plants and branches within 900 mm of the fence, and keep movable objects 900 mm clear on the outside and 300 mm clear on the inside.[10]
- Gates. A pool gate must not open towards the pool, and must self-close and self-latch from any open position. An outside latch must be at least 1500 mm above the ground.[16]
- Windows. A window opening into the pool area must be fixed so it can’t open more than 100 mm. A window lock alone doesn’t comply.[10]
- Glass fences. Look for ledges wider than 10 mm, gaps over 100 mm at stairs, and panels that have dropped as the ground moved.[15]
Many fixes are small. Without building approval you can repair or adjust up to 2.4 m of fence or 2 posts, raise the fence, attach a shield, pave under a gap, fix a gate so it self-closes and self-latches, or fix a window so it can’t open more than 100 mm.[5] Bigger jobs need more care: a licensed contractor for work worth $3,300 or more, a QBCC owner-builder permit to do work estimated at more than $11,000 yourself, and an inspector engaged before you start if you replace the whole barrier.[5]
There is no set fee for a pool safety inspection, and the QBCC suggests getting a few quotes.[5] For the other costs to budget for, see the costs of buying a house in QLD.
- Search the pool register. It’s free, and you need the address or the lot and plan number.[8] Under the Act, a certificate is taken to be in effect if the register shows one.[9]
- Read the disclosure statement. It must say whether there’s a pool and attach a pool compliance certificate or the notice of no certificate.[14] A Form 36 means no certificate is in effect, so treat the pool as unchecked.
- Check the certificate’s date. A non-shared certificate lasts 2 years,[5] and you need one in effect before you lease the home.[7]
- Get the barrier looked at early. Do it before your contract goes unconditional, alongside your building and pest inspection, so you know what the 90-day job involves. Only a QBCC-licensed pool safety inspector can issue the certificate.[5]
- Price it in. Factor the likely work into your offer, or ask your solicitor about a special condition in the contract of sale for the seller to provide a certificate before settlement.
- For a unit or townhouse, ask the body corporate for the shared pool’s current certificate.[1]
- Diary the 90 days from settlement, and book the inspection in the first week.[3]
A buyer’s agent can do this checking with you: search the register before you offer, read the disclosure documents, coordinate the reports and negotiate on what they find. IPS Buyer’s Agents works only for buyers. On the Sunshine Coast, pool compliance is one of the recurring findings in building and pest reports, and for interstate buyers in Noosa we coordinate building, pest and pool reports locally, as our buyer’s agent FAQ explains. See our buyer’s agent services, our Sunshine Coast buyer’s agent page or our Sunshine Coast suburb reports.
A pool safety certificate is about children’s safety first, and for a buyer it’s also about time and money. A current certificate means the pool was checked; a Form 36 hands the job to you, with 90 days from settlement to finish it. Search the register, read the disclosure statement and get the barrier checked before you’re locked in. Our guide to the steps of buying a house in QLD shows where this fits.
This article is general information only, current at November 2026. It is not legal advice and does not consider your circumstances. Pool safety laws and penalty values change, so check the QBCC’s current guidance and get advice from your solicitor or conveyancer before you sign a contract.
If you’re buying a home with a pool, or an investment you plan to lease out, book a time with Tim Allen to talk it through.
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission — Buy, sell or lease a property with a pool (last reviewed 15 May 2025, last published 11 June 2026)
- Building Regulation 2021 (Qld), section 28: notification requirements for sale of regulated premises (reprint current from 14 August 2026, read 11 November 2026)
- Building Act 1975 (Qld), section 246ATJ: requirement to obtain a pool safety certificate for a regulated pool that is not a shared pool (reprint current from 1 February 2026, read 11 November 2026)
- Building Act 1975 (Qld), section 246ATF: offence about sale of regulated premises (reprint current from 1 February 2026, read 11 November 2026)
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission — Inspect and certify a pool (read 11 November 2026)
- Building Act 1975 (Qld), section 246ATK: requirement to obtain a pool safety certificate for a regulated pool that is a shared pool (reprint current from 1 February 2026, read 11 November 2026)
- Building Act 1975 (Qld), section 246ATG: offence about entering into an accommodation agreement for a regulated pool that is not a shared pool (reprint current from 1 February 2026, read 11 November 2026)
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission — Register a pool (last published 16 July 2024)
- Building Act 1975 (Qld), section 246ATE: when a pool safety certificate is taken to be in effect (reprint current from 1 February 2026, read 11 November 2026)
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission — Swimming pool safety laws (read 11 November 2026)
- Brisbane City Council — Pool fence: safety requirements and approvals (read 11 November 2026)
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission — Local council’s role in pool safety (read 11 November 2026)
- Penalties and Sentences Regulation 2025 (Qld), section 4: value of a penalty unit, $172.70 (reprint current from 1 July 2026, read 11 November 2026)
- Property Law Regulation 2024 (Qld), sections 5 and 8 and the dictionary: pool information and pool certificates for the seller disclosure statement (reprint current from 1 September 2026, read 11 November 2026)
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission — Pool fences (last reviewed 12 May 2025)
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission — Gates, latches and hinges (read 11 November 2026)
Who pays to fix the pool fence if the seller gives a Form 36?
For a pool that isn’t shared, the buyer must have a pool safety certificate in effect within 90 days of settlement, so any work the inspector requires falls to you as the new owner. That’s why it pays to have the barrier checked before your contract goes unconditional, then price the work into your offer or ask your solicitor about a condition for the seller to fix it.
How long is a pool safety certificate valid in Queensland?
Two years for a non-shared pool, such as a house’s own backyard pool, and one year for a shared pool in a unit or townhouse complex. A certificate only confirms the pool complied when it was inspected. Owners must keep the barrier compliant at all times, and council can fine an owner even when a certificate is in place.
Can you sell a house in Queensland without a pool safety certificate?
Yes. The seller must give buyers a Form 36, a notice of no pool safety certificate, before the contract is signed, and give it to the buyer and the QBCC before settlement. The buyer then has 90 days after settlement to get a certificate for a non-shared pool. For a shared pool, the pool owner, usually the body corporate, has the 90 days.
Does a spa or blow-up pool need a pool fence in Queensland?
Yes, if it can hold 300 mm or more of water and is used mainly for swimming, wading or paddling. Queensland’s pool laws cover spas and blow-up wading pools, and Brisbane City Council says a lockable hard cover isn’t a suitable barrier for a spa. Fish ponds and purely ornamental water features are excluded.
Can I lease out a house with a pool without a pool safety certificate?
No. For a pool that isn’t shared, an owner must not enter into a lease or other accommodation agreement unless a pool safety certificate is in effect, and the maximum penalty is 165 penalty units. If you buy an investment property with a Form 36, get the certificate before you sign the first lease rather than relying on the 90 days.
How do I check if a property has a pool safety certificate?
Search the QBCC pool register. It’s free, and you need the street address or the lot and plan number. The register records every regulated pool in Queensland and any pool safety certificate or building certificate issued for it, and under the Building Act a certificate is taken to be in effect if the register shows one.