Hornsby Shire Council works on roughly 11,400 pools. It is a big, varied council area, and a great deal of it is bush.
That combination produces a specific set of problems, and they show up in almost every inspection I do in the Shire: a pool cut into a slope, a fence sitting on the edge of a sandstone shelf, a boundary that is bush rather than fence, and a backyard that drops away faster than the fence was designed for.
It also produces a great deal of variety. Cherrybrook and West Pennant Hills look nothing like Berowra Heights, Dangar Island or Galston, yet they are all in the same council area and the same set of rules applies.
Hornsby at a glance
- Hornsby Shire Council administers the Swimming Pools Act 1992 and runs a swimming pool barrier inspection program, adopted on 16 October 2013.
- Council works on approximately 11,400 pools in the Shire, using a combination of mandatory and random inspections.
- Suburbs I inspect include Hornsby, Asquith, Waitara, Normanhurst, Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, West Pennant Hills, Westleigh, Wahroonga, Cherrybrook, Beecroft, Cheltenham, North Epping, Hornsby Heights, Mount Colah, Mount Kuring-gai, Berowra, Berowra Heights, Berowra Waters, Cowan, Brooklyn, Dangar Island, Galston, Arcadia, Berrilee, Fiddletown, Forest Glen, Canoelands and Glenorie.
- Plenty of yards back onto reserve, so fences deal with falling timber, roots and ground that keeps moving.
- Premises with more than two dwellings, and tourist or visitor accommodation, are inspected at least once every three years.
What this area does to a pool fence
Slope is the defining issue. A fence that steps down a slope has to hold its height at every point, and height is measured from outside the pool area. A panel that looks 1200mm at the top of a run can be short at the bottom once a garden bed, a sleeper or a mounding of soil has built up against it.
Rock is the second. Where it sits close to the surface a post cannot be set to depth, which shifts fences over time and leaves ledges a child can use. A rock shelf near a pool needs to be looked at as a climbing surface, not as landscape.
Reserve boundaries come third. Where a yard backs onto bush, fencing has to deal with falling timber and root movement, and a fire rated timber deck is not automatically a compliant barrier.
Fourth, retaining walls and level changes. Steep sites are full of them, and Council requires steps, retaining walls and level changes to sit 500mm clear of the fence, with nothing intruding into the 900mm non-climbable zone.
Who can issue the certificate here
Hornsby Shire Council administers the Act in the Shire, keeps the record of pools, investigates complaints, and inspects under its program. Council states that it carries out inspections within 10 business days of receiving a request.
Council has also published a note on its own pool page that, due to extensive delays resulting from numerous applications, owners may wish to engage the services of a private certifier. You are never obliged to use Council. An accredited certifier issues the same certificate, pulled from the same NSW Swimming Pool Register.
Council also notes that it will follow up on a notice issued by an accredited certifier, which is worth knowing if a pool is genuinely non-compliant and a rectification path needs to be agreed. Book, and you get one certifier the whole way through, running the inspection and the follow up rather than handing you between parties.
What I check in Hornsby
The approval history comes first, because on an older Shire block it decides which requirements apply. A 1980s pool at Thornleigh, a 2015 pool at Cherrybrook and a pool whose fence was rebuilt after a renovation can be assessed against three different positions.
Then the fence as a system, on the slope it actually sits on. Height measured from outside the pool area at every point along the run. Gaps under, between and through panels. Gate swing, self-closing and self-latching, hinge condition after years of lifting. Latch release at 1.5m, and the shield where a tubular gate requires one. The 900mm non-climbable zone, inside and out, including the rocks, sleepers, firewood, garden beds and shedding that tend to accumulate there.
Then the boundary and the surrounding landscape, because in the Shire a boundary is often the whole question. What the full visit covers is on the inspections page, and the numbers are set out in the fence rules guide.
If something does not pass
On Hornsby slopes the common findings are a fence that has dropped on the low side of the run, a gate that no longer self-closes because the post has moved, a gap that has opened under a bottom rail, or a rock or retaining wall inside the non-climbable zone. If something does not pass and it is minor, we work out how to put it right there and then.
You leave with your certificate the same day either way, and if the pool does not pass, the certificate of non-compliance tells you exactly what has to change. Most inspections end with a list of problems. Mine end with a solid understanding of what is required, help right through the process, and the minor issues sorted before I leave site.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Hornsby Shire Council take to inspect?
Council states that it carries out an inspection within 10 business days of receiving a request. Council has also published a note that extensive delays from numerous applications mean owners may wish to engage a private certifier instead, which is one of the reasons owners in the Shire call me.
My block is steep and half of it is bush. Can I use the natural slope or rocks as the barrier?
Sometimes, and only if it genuinely forms an unbroken child resistant barrier with the right non-climbable zone and no way through or over. Bushland, rock shelves and steep embankments often look like a barrier and are not one. This is worth assessing on site rather than assuming either way.
The house next door backs onto my pool and the boundary is a fence. Does that count?
Yes, if it meets the requirements. A boundary fence used as part of the barrier is generally measured at 1800mm from inside the pool area, and the non-climbable zone applies on the pool side. Neighbouring trees, sheds, retaining walls and climbing plants are the usual problems.
Council sent me a notice. Do I have to use Council to fix it?
No. Council follows up on notices issued by an accredited certifier, and you can engage a certifier to inspect and issue the certificate. What matters is that the notice is dealt with inside its timeframe.
I am selling. What exactly do I need before settlement?
A property sold with a pool needs a relevant occupation certificate, a certificate of compliance, or a certificate of non-compliance. A purchaser who takes the property on a certificate of non-compliance has 90 days from settlement to complete the work.
Sources
- Hornsby Shire Council, Swimming pools and barrier inspection program
- Swimming Pools Act 1992 (NSW)
- Swimming Pools Regulation 2018 (NSW)
- NSW Swimming Pool Register, owner checklists
- Standard AS 1926.1-2012, Swimming pool safety: Safety barriers for swimming pools
Last reviewed 12/10/2026. Practical information from a registered certifier, not legal advice.