Pool Compliance Certificates (Form 23) in Victoria
A Form 23 is your certificate of pool and spa barrier compliance in Victoria. Here is when you need one, and how I get yours sorted fast.
- From $270 +GST
- Form 23 within 48 hours
- Qualified inspector (IN-PS 100069)
In plain English
What a Form 23 certificate is
A pool compliance certificate, the Form 23, proves your pool or spa barrier meets the Victorian safety rules. You need a current one every four years, and again when you sell. Once your barrier passes inspection, I issue it within 48 hours.
The full name is the Form 23 Certificate of Pool and Spa Barrier Compliance. It is the document your council, your conveyancer and your buyer all actually care about, and it is issued only after a registered inspector has assessed your barrier and found it compliant.
- From $270 +GST
- includes the compliant inspection + Form 23
Three obligations
Register, certify, lodge
They are separate duties, they happen in this order, and people most often come unstuck at the third one.
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Register the pool
Your pool or spa has to be registered with your council. This sits with you as the owner, and if it has never been done it is the step everything else waits on.
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Get it inspected
A registered inspector assesses the barrier. Pass, and your Form 23 is issued within 48 hours.
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Lodge the certificate
Lodge it with your council within 30 days of the date of issue. This is the step that costs people money when it is missed.
The 30 day trap
Lodge it late and the council cannot accept it at all. Not a late fee, a whole new inspection.
- 30 days
- To lodge, from date of issue
- 4 years
- How long a Form 23 lasts
- 24 hrs
- From pass to certificate
When you need one
Four times a certificate comes up
Most people meet the Form 23 for the first time because of a council letter or a looming settlement. These are the moments it matters.
- Every four years Your certificate is valid for four years from the date of issue. A new one is due at the end of each cycle.
- When you sell Barrier compliance comes up at point of sale, and a buyer's conveyancer will ask for a current certificate.
- When the council writes to you A reminder means yours is due. The obligation sits with you whether the letter arrives or not.
- After a new pool or spa A newly installed pool or spa needs registering and certifying once the barrier is finished.
If you are selling
Get it done before the campaign, not during it
Selling changes the timing rather than the rules. In Victoria a current Form 23 is required for the Section 32, the vendor's statement, so it has to be in place for the sale of contract. The mistake is leaving the inspection until the campaign is already running. A barrier problem found mid-settlement is the same cheap fix it always was, but now it has a deadline attached and everyone is stressed about it.
Four years also passes quickly, and gates in particular do not stay compliant on their own. Hinges sag, springs tire, and a gate that latched perfectly at the last inspection often will not at the next one.
If your barrier does not pass first time, nothing is lost. You get a clear report with photos showing exactly what needs attention and where, then a re-inspection from $100 +GST once it is sorted. Most of what I find is adjustment work rather than new fencing.
Good to know