Every pool and spa in Victoria will be inspected as often as every three years under sweeping changes to help prevent child drownings.
Homeowners will also be required to register their pool or spa with the local council and declare their safety barriers are compliant.
There are an estimated 158,000 pools in Victoria and many are believed to be unsafe due to wear and tear, landscaping, house alterations, overgrown trees or ground movements.
Minister for Planning Richard Wynne said the dedicated database and inspection regime was needed to ensure high safety standards.
“Too many families have had to endure the heartbreak of losing a child in a drowning tragedy and it has to end,” he said.
Many children have died because of faulty, broken gates and barriers, and a lack of adult supervision.
Victorian laws currently require safety barriers to be a minimum of 1.2 metres high, with barrier gates to be self-closing and self-latching.
The regulatory overhaul is expected to be introduced into parliament this June, with the new register in place before summer.
Kidsafe Victoria has been campaigning for the changes, which it says are vital to reduce the rate of child drowning in home pools and spas.
Statistics show in 29 Australian children aged 0-4 years drowned in 2016/17, with 45 per cent occurring in backyard swimming pools.
Kidsafe Victoria general manager Jason Chambers said while safe barriers were important, nothing replaced adult supervision.
“Children drown quickly and silently,” he said.
“Together with a compliant pool barrier, it is important that children are always actively supervised by an adult when in and around water to help keep them safe. For toddlers, this means an adult being within arm’s reach at all times.”
The state government is working on an education campaign to highlight the dangers of leaving children unsupervised around pools.
It is also pouring in an extra $9.8 million to school swimming lessons over the next two years.
