Are removable pool fences legal in Australia?

Can a removable pool fence be my pool barrier?

On what the regulators publish, not as the permanent barrier. Two of them state the test in almost the same words.

Western Australia's Building and Energy, in its Rules for Pools and Spas booklet (July 2024), says a safety barrier must ‘be permanently fixed (unable to be removed without the use of tools)’. The Victorian Building Authority's practice note SP 02 defines a permanent barrier as a ‘barrier or part of a barrier which cannot be removed without the use of tools, as set out by the barrier standard in AS1926.1’.

Call it the no-tools test: if a section of the fence can be lifted out by hand, it is not a permanent barrier under that wording, however well it is made. If a system needs a tool to release each section, it is a different question, and the only person who can answer it for your pool is the certifier, surveyor or inspector who signs it off. Ask them before you buy, not after it is installed.

The quotable version: a pool fence that comes out without a tool is a gate with no latch.

WA makes the same point about spa covers: a lockable hard cover does not satisfy the barrier requirements, because ‘when the cover is off there is no barrier’. The general rules on height, gaps and climbable objects are in pool fence rules by state and what mesh and glass are allowed.

What each state's regulator actually says

We have only stated a position where we read it at the regulator. Where a regulator's page is silent, the table says so.

Queensland. The QBCC's pool fences page says ‘your pool fence must be permanent and well maintained’, and its checklist requires that every part is ‘held in place securely with screws or permanent fixtures’ and that ‘no part of the fence can be bent or moved’. It also sets a minimum height of 1200mm and a maximum gap of 100mm under the fence.

New South Wales. Section 7 of the Swimming Pools Act 1992 requires the owner to ensure the pool ‘is at all times surrounded by a child-resistant barrier’, with a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units. NSW Fair Trading's owner page says portable pools that can hold more than 30cm are subject to the same fencing requirements as permanent pools. Neither page addresses removable panels directly. (The NSW legislation site refused our connection, so we read the Act from an archived copy of the in-force version.)

Victoria. Beyond the practice note's definition, the VBA's consumer page says barriers are required for relocatable and inflatable pools capable of holding more than 30cm. The practice note we read is the August 2024 version, watermarked as under review, so check the current one with your building surveyor. (The VBA site refused direct connections; we read both through the Internet Archive.)

Western Australia. Building and Energy states that all private pools, ‘including spa pools and portable pools’, with water more than 30cm deep must have a barrier, and that this includes temporary pools.

The quotable version: four states, four differently worded rules, and not one of the publications we read treats a fence you can lift out by hand as the permanent barrier. For fines, see pool fence non-compliance penalties.

Temporary pool fences are allowed, with conditions and a clock

Temporary fencing is where a fence that is not permanent does have a lawful role, and each state frames it differently.

• Queensland: a temporary fence for up to 3 months, provided it has been inspected and approved by a building certifier (Form 16) or a pool safety inspector (Form 26). For longer, the certifier or inspector must inspect again and give written permission.
• Western Australia: Building and Energy says the barrier, temporary and long-term, should be organised before construction starts; temporary barriers ‘must comply with the safety barrier requirements’, and the local government inspects whether the barrier is temporary or long-term.
• New South Wales: NSW Fair Trading tells owners building a new pool to install child-resistant temporary fencing around the pool area while it is under construction.
• Victoria: the site-fencing rules for a pool under construction are covered in do I need temporary fencing during a pool build.

The quotable version: in Queensland a temporary pool fence is a 3-month arrangement with a certificate attached, not a permanent answer.

If you are replacing an old fence, the temporary barrier has to go up before the old one comes down; what happens if the pool fails the barrier inspection covers the rectification side.

What does a removable pool fence cost?

People search for the price first, so here is the honest answer: we are not publishing one, for two reasons.

First, the removable mesh fences that come up in a search for this are mostly sold for other markets or sold online as kits, and we could not find an Australian installed price for one sold as a compliant permanent barrier. Second, on the regulator positions above, the fence that counts towards compliance is a permanent one, so a removable fence is an extra cost on top of it, not instead of it.

The cost that matters is therefore the compliant fence. Published per-metre prices for aluminium and frameless glass, and the reasons they disagree, are in pool fence cost in Australia; for glass specifically, see frameless glass pool fencing cost, and glass vs aluminium pool fencing for the trade-off.

The quotable version: the price of a removable pool fence is the price of a permanent one plus whatever the removable one costs.

If what you actually want is an open view of the pool, ask a fencing contractor to price frameless glass or a wider gate against the same metres, and compare pool and fencing quotes on identical scope. You can also browse local businesses in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.

Common questions

Sources

• WA Building and Energy — Rules for Pools and Spas, July 2024
• WA Building and Energy — swimming pool and spa safety barrier requirements
• Victorian Building Authority — practice note SP 02, swimming pool barriers and other requirements (August 2024, under review)
• Victorian Building Authority — pool safety barriers
• QBCC — pool fences
• NSW Swimming Pools Act 1992
• NSW Fair Trading — owning a pool or spa: your obligations

General information only, current at 2026-09-28. Pool rules differ by state and by council, and penalty amounts are updated regularly. Confirm your own obligations with your council or a registered inspector before acting.