Being around water is part of everyday Australian life, however drowning is one of the major causes of unintentional death for Australian children. In 2017/18, 18 Australian children aged 0-4 years drowned. The majority of these incidents occurred in backyard swimming pools. Pool and spa barriers can be effective in reducing the risk of drowning incidents. Read more from Kidsafe here.
The draft Standard on safety barriers for swimming pools is open for public comment and assists pool owners and pool users to avoid pool related drowning by providing the design, construction and performance specifications of various barrier options, which are intended to restrict entry to the swimming pool area by young children.
Consumers’ Federation of Australia has a representative on the Standards Australia Technical Committee which revised AS/NZS 1926.1 Swimming pool safety – safety barriers for swimming pools. The Standard is open for public comment until 4 November 2019. Make your comments on the Standards Australia website here.
Read more about water safety here. Find out more about the CFA Standards Project and how you can represent consumers on a standards committee here.