Swimming pool fencing laws being reviewed

The Department is reviewing the law requiring swimming pools, including spa pools, to be fenced to protect young children from drowning.

It is the first evaluation of the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act 1987 and is to assess whether the Act can be made more effective.

A discussion document was published and sent to stakeholder groups on 31 March, with submissions closing on 30 June 2008.

The evaluation will not question the existence of the Act, because statistics clearly show that while the number of swimming pools has increased, drownings have continued to fall.

The average number of children under six who drown in swimming pools each year has reduced by nearly two thirds since the Act took effect.

Water Safety New Zealand figures show that since 1980 a total of 193 children have drowned in swimming pools; 162, or 84 percent of them, in private pools. In the seven years before the Act was introduced, the annual average was 11.5. In the past seven years it has been four.

While the number of drownings has decreased, the number of private swimming pools has increased by 30 percent - from an estimated 57,600 in 1996 when the first estimate was taken to an estimated 73,700 in 2006.

House design has also changed a lot in the past two decades, with a greater focus on indoor/outdoor flow, which has implications for pool fencing.

Releasing the consultation paper, the Minister for Building and Construction Hon. Shane Jones said it would appear that some of the deaths still occurring could be prevented by proper fencing. Hence the need to look at whether changes to the Act would improve compliance and enforcement.

The submissions and further research will enable the Department to develop proposals for changes to the Act and issue a second consultation paper to test the workability of the proposals.

'This consultation paper is basically a fact-finding, information-gathering exercise to help work out what people think about the Act, how it might be improved etc,' Mr Jones said.

'We want to see what has been learned since the Act was introduced, in order to ensure that it operates as effectively as possible, and that it allows flexibility to reflect modern house design, which often incorporates easy indoor/outdoor flow.'

The evaluation will also seek to:

• assess the current risks posed to young children under the existing provisions of the Act
• improve uniformity in territorial authorities' interpretation and application of the Act
• provide more certainty to pool owners and territorial authorities about their responsibilities and obligations under the Act
• increase public awareness of pool owners' responsibilities under the Act.

Copies of the consultation paper are available or by phoning 0800 242 243.