A building certifier's pool checklist

For a new pool, QBCC says the building certifier who approved it must inspect and certify the pool fence before the pool is filled to 300 mm or more, issue a Form 17 or a Form 11 if satisfied, and give QBCC a copy. The Building Act sets the same point as a duty on the owner and the builder: a building certifier must have given a certificate in the approved form before the pool is filled to 300 mm. This checklist follows the order of the job. A licensed pool safety inspector, not the certifier, deals with existing pools.Source: QBCC, Build a pool (page reviewed 30 Aug 2021, published 27 Jun 2022) and Inspect and certify a pool (30 Aug 2021), and the Building Act 1975 sections cited below, read 6 Nov 2026. The Form 17 PDF itself returned a 403 error to us and was not read.

1. Approval

• A building development application for a regulated pool must also be for the barriers, including any fencing, for the pool (Building Act, section 28).
• QBCC says a pool owner or builder must put up a warning sign before construction starts, within 1.5 m of the road frontage and visible from the road, saying a swimming pool is under construction and there is a danger to young children. QBCC says it must sit at least 300 mm above ground level and be in bold text at least 50 mm high. Section 233 of the Act sets the duty.

2. During construction: the temporary fence

• QBCC says a pool under construction need not meet the pool safety standard until it is about to be filled to 300 mm or more, and that a temporary fence is often sensible while the pool is empty.
• QBCC says a temporary fence can be relied on instead of a permanent fence for up to 3 months only if the building certifier who approved the pool application has inspected and approved it, and that the certifier should issue a Form 16 (inspection certificate, aspect certificate or QBCC licensee aspect certificate).
• QBCC says longer than 3 months needs the certifier's further written approval.

3. Before the pool is filled

• A permanent fence must be built before the certifier can give the final inspection certificate (QBCC).
• The Act says the owner, or the person contracted to build the pool, must unless there is a reasonable excuse make sure that before the pool is filled to 300 mm or more a building certifier has provided a certificate in the approved form stating the pool is a complying pool (section 234).
• The standard itself is in QBCC's pages on measuring a pool fence, the non-climbable zone and gates and latches.

4. The certificate: Form 17 or Form 11

• QBCC says the certifier must inspect and certify the pool fence before the pool is filled to 300 mm or more and, if approved, must issue either a Form 17, final inspection certificate for pools and barriers, or a Form 11, certificate of occupancy for a building with a regulated pool.
• The Form 17 PDF returned a 403 error to us on 6 Nov 2026, so this page does not describe its fields. Use the current form from the Queensland Government.

5. Tell QBCC

• QBCC says the certifier must provide a copy of the Form 17 or Form 11 to QBCC.
• The Act says a building certifier who gives a final inspection certificate for building work that is or includes the construction of, or an alteration to, a regulated pool, or a certificate of occupancy for a building with one, must give the QBCC commissioner details of it within 5 business days, in the way the commissioner approves (section 246AP).
• QBCC's Register a pool page (reviewed 25 Sep 2021, published 16 Jul 2024) says the certifier who issues the final certificate (Form 17 or Form 11) must provide details to QBCC, which then enters them in the pool register. See registering a pool for the owner's side.

6. What the owner can do with it

• The Act says a final inspection certificate, or a certificate of occupancy, may be used instead of a pool safety certificate for the pool for 1 year after it is given if the pool is shared and 2 years after it is given otherwise (section 246AN). QBCC says the certificate must confirm that the pool meets the standard and be lodged by the building certifier.
• QBCC says a replaced or altered fence that a certifier inspected can use a Form 17 in the same way, and that a certifier is only needed if the fence needed development approval. Otherwise a pool safety inspector can check it.
• After that period, the owner needs a licensed pool safety inspector for a certificate when the property is sold or leased. See who signs off a new pool.

Where PoolPreCert fits

PoolPreCert has a short page of building certifiers who registered themselves. A person checks each licence number on QBCC's public search before the listing shows, with the date of the check, and listings are in alphabetical order with no ratings, reviews or fees. We hold no list of certifiers from QBCC, and many certifiers are not on our page. See building certifiers on PoolPreCert. Nothing on this page is a certificate, and a licensed pool safety inspector decides about the barrier of an existing pool.

How this page was made: the PoolPreCert team read each page listed under Sources on 6 November 2026 and wrote this in plain words. The dates beside each source are the dates those pages show. PoolPreCert is not part of QBCC or the Queensland Government, and only a licensed pool safety inspector decides whether a pool meets the standard.