The Royal Life Saving Society is contracted by a number of councils around WA to inspect home pool barriers and to determine faults and areas for improvement. Since 2011, our pool inspectors have conducted over 32,000 assessments. If a pool fails an initial inspection, they are given time to make the necessary changes before being inspected again. Pools that fail three consecutive inspections are referred to the council.
Our research
We believe that better informing the public on common reasons for failure would allow for a more proactive approach to barrier improvement prior to inspections. This has great potential for reducing non-fatal and fatal drownings in our state. To achieve this aim, our research involves analysing inspections, determining rates of failure at each stage and clarifying why pools are unable to pass their inspections.
The research found that almost two thirds of pools pass the first inspection without the need for improvements. After the third inspection, only 8% of pools failed to meet compliance, having not made the necessary changes to warrant a pass.
The presence of climbable objects/structures, gates not self-closing or self-latching and inadequate window childproofing were the most common reasons for inspection failure.
The full report can be downloaded below.
