Removing or filling in a swimming pool in Queensland

QBCC says a pool must lawfully be decommissioned, which may require building approval, so check your local council before you start. A decommissioned pool, including a portable spa, must not be able to hold more than 300 millimetres of water. Once it is done you email QBCC at poolsafety@qbcc.qld.gov.au to ask for the pool to be taken off the register. The steps in between depend on your council.Source: QBCC, Register a pool (page reviewed 25 Sep 2021, published 16 Jul 2024) and Guide to pool safety for homeowners (March 2024), with fact sheets from Scenic Rim Regional Council (25 Feb 2022) and Logan City Council (form, no date shown), all read 5 Nov 2026.

Two councils, two processes

We found no single state-wide process, so here are two councils side by side, as their own documents describe them. Other councils are different. Read yours before you start.

Scenic Rim Regional Council

• Document: Fact sheet dated 25 February 2022
• Before work: An application through a private building certifier, and a building approval before any work on site. The documents include a DA Form 2 and a site plan.
• Water: After approval, a suitably licensed liquid waste contractor empties the water. It must not go to the stormwater, the sewer or offsite.
• Shell and fill: An above-ground pool or spa shell is removed. An in-ground shell is removed and replaced with clean compacted fill.
• Finish: The owner tells the certifier to book an inspection. If it is done properly the certifier issues a Final Inspection Certificate, and the owner emails it to QBCC.

Logan City Council

• Document: Notification of Swimming Pool or Spa Removal form (no date shown)
• Before work: The form we read does not set out a step before work.
• Water: The form does not cover it.
• Shell and fill: The owner declares the pool or spa is completely removed, that it was backfilled with compacted clean non-toxic sand, dirt or gravel and that permanent drainage was provided to the base of the excavation.
• Finish: The owner sends in the form. A council building officer inspects the site to confirm the removal.

Scenic Rim also says a portable pool's water must be emptied by a licensed liquid waste contractor and must not go to the stormwater, the sewer or offsite, and that demolition or removal work should be done by a suitably qualified, licensed person. Check any contractor on QBCC's search.

Taking the pool off the QBCC register

QBCC says that for a regulated pool you make a written request by email to poolsafety@qbcc.qld.gov.au, and you get a confirmation email once the record is removed. QBCC's guide for homeowners says the same thing in one line: once you have decommissioned your pool, email QBCC and ask for it to be removed from the register. QBCC's pages do not mention filling in a pool or council confirmation, so follow your council's own steps first. Registering a pool covers the register itself.

What we could not confirm

We did not find a Queensland Government or QBCC statement of one rule for every council, or a rule that says whether council approval is needed to drain a pool. If you are unsure, ask your council. Do not rely on this page for your own approval.

If you decide to keep the pool

Then the usual rules apply. Pool owner responsibilities sets them out, and the self-check below shows what to look at before an inspector visits.

How this page was made: the PoolPreCert team read each page listed under Sources on 5 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.