The Importance of Pool Safety Laws in Queensland:

On the 3rd October 2023 a young Marcus Anthony Hall drowned in a neighbours pool as a result from a unfenced pool and no supervision while the mother was sleeping inside. Authorities were called when the mother noticed 2-Year-old Marcus had been missing and found him at the bottom of the neighbour’s pool while this is an overseas incident it reflects back to pool safety not being met. Under Oregon city law it is compulsory that all private pools need to be fenced much like here in Australia. Even more shocking was that it was a above ground pool that had a small ladder attached which gave the toddler easy access.

This is a friendly reminder of why here in Australia we such strict pool safety guidelines to prevent incidents like this. Can you imagine what could have happened if there had been a fence around that pool. Current standards in Australia require pools to fences all around the pool with a self-closing latch for the gate. These can include:

• Fences

• Post and panels

• Gate units

• Gate and door sets

• Retaining Walls

• Side of buildings

• Balusters of balconies (railings)

Fences:

All fences in Australia must have a height minimum of 1200mm high measures from the ground up to less than 100 mm from the bottom to the ground.  Also be aware that steps or sloping grounds do make a difference so take that into consideration when measuring the height of the fence and still reaches the minimum standard of 1200mm high at all points of the fence.

Railing and Posts:

These must have a gap of no more than 900mm from top the bottom with the gaps between each bar to be about 100mm in length

Glass Panels:

These have to be reinforced glass. They can’t be chipped or have fracture within the glass. The glass panels should be the standard of 1200mm. With a measurement of  900mm tall with only a 100mm gap at the bottom. Stairs should be measured from the top of the stairs to the bottom on a vertical angle form top to bottom and stairs should have no gaps larger than 100mm between the stairs and glass panels. Also glass panels can not be wobbly or can easily be dislodged be force.

Any temporary fences can only be used for 3 months.

Remove any items in your pool area that are climbable to safe distance where children or people can’t climb over furniture or pot plants to get in and out of the pool area. All items should be a distance of 300mm on the inside and 900mm outside of the pool area.

Any patios or pergola areas must have full view of the pool and can’t be blocked off by shades or blinds that would obscure the view of the pool.

A weatherproof CPR safety board demonstrating safety instruction with emergency “000” contact number must be visible to everyone using the pool. 

A pool safety certificate be obtained through a pool inspector which can be obtained via QBCC (Queensland Building and Construction Commission) government agency to ensure in meets Australian Safety guidelines and standard. General charges are around $200 - $300 for smaller properties while larger will costs about $400 - $500.

Most Safety inspectors can do minor repairs but most of the time people are given a timeframe to rectify the problem before their next visit which could be 2 days or 3 months if it’s a longer process like reinstalling a fence. N.B Another pool certificate can’t be obtained through a different inspector it has to be the same person.

Pool safety certificates lats up to 2 years for private homes while it is requires to updated every year for shared pools. Pool safety certificated are needed when selling, leasing or buying property

All pool fences should be checked regularly and maintained for safety I am positive that all people would agree that fences and barriers to protect kids and people from drowning. We all want to avoid the tragic incidents such Marcus Anthony Hall who could have been saved if a fence was installed around that pool. A simple reminder of how to stay safe during the summer months and all year round. As pools are always good to have on those sweltering hot summer months.

Easements - What Are They?

What is an easement?

An excellent question for everyone who are keen to do some property development on their land or make a few minor adjustments to their property.

To begin we first need to know what an easement and its main purpose, Firstly, it is a set of rights that allows people to use the land for a specific purpose such as access to drainage, sewage or supply of water or gas. Now you maybe thinking why is this important to me? Ok let me explain because easements can determine what you use your property for or what developments you have planned for the property such as building a granny flat or adding a patio to the back of the house. We need to make sure that your easements are benefiting the land and not burdening the land in legal terms.

What is the benefit of an easement?

The next question is what is the difference between burdening the land and benefiting the land?  When we are benefiting the land, it is using parts of the land that will allow it to be used for a specific purpose without disrupting its daily usage. However, it becomes a burden to the land when doing these developments disrupts their daily usage which can cause major damage to the property. This is a simplified explanation of the way easements work in property law.

There are different types of easements that describe the type of the services they provide such as

• Statutory easements maybe essential for services like telephone lines, water, gas, drainage or sewerage.

• A right of carriage way easement allows for individuals to access their property when sharing the same land. This ensures neither landowner’s properties are inaccessible and locked from each other.

• Easement of light and air prevent landowners from building walls or structures that could block sunlight or air flow from their or their neighbour’s property.

• Public easements refer to easements on public land such as parks and community service.

• Private easements refer to an agreement between two property owners.

All landowners must let people buying their house of any easements of the property.

Removing easements from the property requires both the landowner and a guarantee from the buyer that they will only do what they have planned to do. This prevents unauthorised work from being done without the landowner’s knowledge. The letter and the work that will be done on the property will need to be lodged with titles office.

How do I find easements?

Easements can be found on property searches, surveys, which can be found on council or property records. Although easements can be distinguished if the demands are unreasonable or are not valid for the property

As a final note these are things you may need to know if you are buying or selling property as these minor things can stop or allow you to do renovations or make necessary changes to your land or property.