Pool barrier standard to be rewritten

The project to amend Australian Standard AS1926.1 – Swimming pool safety – Safety barriers for swimming pools, has been shelved in favour of a complete rewrite.

The amendment review began in 2017 and changes proposed in the AS1926.1 draft included a number of new requirements that had the potential to impact the swimming pool and spa industry.

However, there were concerns that the new draft may be more complex than necessary, may not achieve the initial proposed objective to reduce the need for interpretation and the potential for ambiguity, and may not provide the greater clarification that was required.

SPASA Australia COO Spiros Dassakis had led the push to revise the standard and to ensure the ambiguities in the draft were addressed.

This included a series of roadshows travelling the country getting feedback on the draft standard, meeting with government and ensuring the industry was informed about the mooted changes in the draft, and their potential to continue the ambiguity in some aspects of barrier enforcement.

He says the consultation of AS1926.1 received the highest number of comments of any standard in the history of Australian Standards.

“Of the total of 3103 comments that Standards Australia received, SPASA Australia can claim responsibility for at least 2650 comments obtained through its advocacy engagement with members and other stakeholders,” he says.

“Due to the overwhelming response received by Standards Australia from all stakeholders from the consultation process, Standards Australia recognises the many, varied and significant issues within the current draft standard.”

In view of the comments received, new data and research outcomes that have emerged since project commencement in 2017, Standards Australia has made the decision to cancel the current AS 1926.1 revision project.

Project scoping for a new program of work for the CS-034 Swimming Pools and Spas technical committee will commence immediately, with a new proposal anticipated to be prepared in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, SPASA Australia is hosting its 3rd biennial Swimming Pool & Spa Certification Forum & ONLINE Network Meeting on Wednesday, 23 September 2020.