The fences and pool gates shall have an effective height perpendicular height of at least 1200mm (1.2meters) at any point along their length, along the outside of the fencing.
The fences and pool gates shall have an effective height perpendicular height of at least 1200mm (1.2meters) at any point along their length, along the outside of the fencing.
Some important factors come into play here, the height along the length of the fence shall be measured perpendicular to the finished ground level.
Have careful consideration when using different types of fencing, also items that are close to the fencing that could reduce the overall height of the safety barrier.
See the photo (left) showing some areas of concern. In the example, the height is reduced in the metal barrier with the curved top due to the vertical gaps being larger that 100mm at the curve.
In this Australian standard, it is required for internal and external barriers.
It’s important to always have closing and self-latching locks on gates and never to have them propped open. Read more about the dangers of propping open pool and spa gates.
The effective fencing height shall be not less than 1.2 meters.
The height is considered effective if a quadrant of radius 1.2 m, located as shown, provides a clear span of 1.2 m to finished ground level, or to any projections from, or objects on, the ground, except for non-climbable objects which are able to be positioned within the 1.2 m radius.
So, two important things to remember here is a height of no less than 1200mm and that a quadrant radius of 1200mm clear span is obtained to the outside of the fencing.
There are a lot of other factors that come into play with the barrier heights like the type of material used. This is just an overview however, to help the pool owner gain some knowledge to assist working with your Pool Safety Inspector to make your pool as safe as possible and obtain the required compliance certificates. In this standard this is required for internal and external barriers.
From this standard, it starts to have different requirements to internal and external barriers. Let’s start on the internal; the effective barrier height shall be not less than 1200mm and shall include a continuous non-climbable zone.
The non-climbable zone (NCZ) may be located anywhere on the vertical face of the barrier. In this zone the distance between any hand and foot hold shall be not less than 900mm, this varies from the previous standards.
Note: the height of the barrier is highlighted red in the diagram. It’s indicated the non-climb zone is a 900mm area that now projects above the barrier as well.
A barrier shall be designed and constructed as a permanent structure so that it will restrict access by young children.
The 2007 standard now calls for the boundary barrier to be 1800mm high. A boundary fence shall be not less than 1800 mm high. The non-climb zone may be located at the top on the inside of the fencing.
As you can see in the diagram, the boundary barrier now shows a 900mm quadrant non-climb zone positioned at the top of the inside of the barrier or fence.
This is the latest standard which requires the height of an internal barrier to be not less than 1200 mm on the outside of the barrier as shown in this diagram.
As you can see a number of changes have occurred with this standard in regards to the non-climb zones, refer to our blog on non-climb zones to help understand the changes.
This includes more information on removing any climbable objects like pot plants around the pool area, and specific requirements for non-climb zones.
The 2012 standard also calls for the boundary barrier to be 1800mm high. Where a boundary fence acts as a barrier to a pool, it shall have a height not less than 1800mm on the inside and non-climb zone 5 formed as a quadrant of 900mm radius down from the top of the inside of the barrier as shown in the yellow highlighted section of the below diagram.
We’ve covered some basics about fencing heights which we hope helps answer your questions about pool safety standards. Please note that a lot of different factors come into play with the requirements for your pool barriers and this information is only a small section of the requirements. You should always request the services of a VBA licensed Pool Safety Inspector to ensure your pool barrier system is as safe as possible and complies with the applicable standards.
Get in touch with Pool Safety Check today and we’ll assist you with this compliance process.
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