THE father of a toddler who slipped through a hole in the fence around the family pool and subsequently died fears a review of NSW's controversial pool rules could result in them being weakened and delayed.
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Local Government Minister Paul Toole has told industry groups that the state's complicated and controversial backyard pool fencing rules — which more than 90 per cent of the state's 380,000 pools fail to meet — will be subject to an independent review by Michael Lambert, the former secretary of NSW Treasury.
"We need to do everything we can to prevent drownings in backyard pools, and we need to get the regulations right," Mr Toole said recently.
But Michael Morris, who runs the Samuel Morris Foundation in memory of his son Samuel, said the NSW government had twice delayed more stringent pool fencing rules, which would make it illegal to sell or lease a property unless it complied with fencing rules.
"I am not sure of the intent of undertaking a further review when they have yet to implement the raft of changes from the last review," Mr Morris said.
In 2006 Samuel was two when he slipped through a gap in the pool's fence fell into the pool and nearly drowned.
Samuel suffered brain damage and was severely disabled. He died last year.
The review, to be completed by December, will make recommendations on a new regulatory and enforcement framework that is simple and promotes a uniform standard.
Pool deaths accounted for 39 out of a total of 266 drownings in the year ended June 30, 2014, the latest report by the Royal Lifesaving Society of Australia shows.
Of those who drowned in pools, 14 were children aged up to four, an 18 per cent reduction on the 10-year average.
Backlogs in inspections, because of the high failure rate, have twice prompted embarrassing last-minute decisions to postpone the introduction of a new rule that would require home owners to get a certificate of compliance before the property was sold or leased.
These new rules have been postponed until April 26, 2016.
Sutherland Shire reported as many as 99 per cent of pools were failing initial inspections, with many failing to comply even after the same property had been inspected three or four times.
The independent review follows years of lobbying by the Swimming Pool and Spa Association of NSW, which claims the current regulations are confusing.
The association's chief executive, Spiros Dassakis, said NSW had the most complicated pool rules in Australia.
Richard Dunn, owner of the Pool Clinic in Georges Hall, has had repeated fights with councils over fencing. He said many pool fencing rules don't make sense.