{"id":802042,"date":"2026-04-14T09:26:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/?p=802042"},"modified":"2026-04-14T09:26:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:26:02","slug":"357-people-drowned-in-australian-waterways-in-2025-more-than-355000-pools-under-scrutiny-as-queensland-safety-laws-tighten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/357-people-drowned-in-australian-waterways-in-2025-more-than-355000-pools-under-scrutiny-as-queensland-safety-laws-tighten_802042.html","title":{"rendered":"357 People drowned in Australian waterways in 2025 More Than 355,000 Pools Under Scrutiny as Queensland Safety Laws Tighten"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"float:right; width:250px; padding:8px 10px 10px 10px;\">\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/upload\/2026\/04\/1776145270.jpg\" style=\"border:none !important;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-29\" title=\"357 People drowned in Australian waterways in 2025 More Than 355,000 Pools Under Scrutiny as Queensland Safety Laws Tighten\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/upload\/2026\/04\/1776145270.jpg\" alt=\"357 People drowned in Australian waterways in 2025 More Than 355,000 Pools Under Scrutiny as Queensland Safety Laws Tighten\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" style=\"padding:0px 0px 10px 10px; border:0 solid !important;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"quotes\">\n<div>Elite Pool Safety Inspections cares about the safety of every child.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>BRISBANE, QLD &#8211; April 14, 2026 &#8211;<\/strong> Thousands of residential pools across Queensland may be at risk of failing safety compliance standards, prompting renewed attention on pool barrier regulations and child safety risks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">New focus on compliance comes as demand increases for certified inspections under guidelines set by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC), which enforces strict pool safety laws designed to prevent unsupervised access by young children.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/upload\/2026\/04\/b70c3defaa92da4743ae49b464e21dd4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Elite Pool Inspections has announced a statewide expansion to help address growing demand, now servicing Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich and Toowoomba.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Queensland is home to more than<strong> 355,000<\/strong><strong> registered swimming pools<\/strong>, making it one of the highest concentrations in Australia. According to QBCC guidelines, pool safety laws exist to reduce the risk of drowning, which remains one of the leading causes of accidental death among children under five.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>357 People drowned in Australian waterways in 2025<\/strong>, according to the <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.royallifesaving.com.au\/__data\/assets\/pdf_file\/0004\/118273\/National-Drowning-Report-2025-V2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Life Saving Society of Australia report<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&ldquo;Many pool owners don&rsquo;t realise their fence may no longer be compliant due to wear and tear, maintenance issues or simple changes like landscaping,&rdquo; said Allan Shaw, owner of Elite Pool Inspections. &ldquo;We regularly see gates that don&rsquo;t self-close, climbable objects near barriers and incorrect fence heights, all of which increase risk.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under Queensland legislation, property owners are required to obtain a valid pool safety certificate when selling or leasing a property with a regulated pool. Non-compliance can result in penalties and delays in property transactions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Industry professionals report that a significant number of pools fail initial inspections due to avoidable issues such as faulty latches, gaps in fencing or non-compliant barriers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Elite Pool Inspections facilitates professional pool safety inspections and certification services, helping homeowners and property managers meet legal requirements efficiently.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&ldquo;With more properties entering the market and increased awareness of compliance obligations, access to licensed inspectors is more important than ever,&rdquo; Allan Shaw said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The company&rsquo;s statewide expansion aims to improve access to inspection services across both regional and metropolitan Queensland, supporting safer pool environments and improved compliance outcomes.<\/p>\n<p><span style='font-size:18px !important;'>Media Contact<\/span><br \/><strong>Company Name:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/companyname\/elitepoolinspections.com.au_178776.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Elite Pool Inspections<\/a><br \/><strong>Contact Person:<\/strong> Allan Shaw<br \/><strong>Email:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/email_contact_us.php?pr=357-people-drowned-in-australian-waterways-in-2025-more-than-355000-pools-under-scrutiny-as-queensland-safety-laws-tighten\" rel=\"nofollow\">Send Email<\/a><br \/><strong>Phone:<\/strong> 0438617917<br \/><strong>City:<\/strong> Brisbane<br \/><strong>State:<\/strong> QLD<br \/><strong>Country:<\/strong> Australia<br \/><strong>Website:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/elitepoolinspections.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/elitepoolinspections.com.au\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/press_stat.php?pr=357-people-drowned-in-australian-waterways-in-2025-more-than-355000-pools-under-scrutiny-as-queensland-safety-laws-tighten\" alt=\"\" width=\"1px\" height=\"1px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elite Pool Safety Inspections cares about the safety of every child. BRISBANE, QLD &#8211; April 14, 2026 &#8211; Thousands of residential pools across Queensland may be at risk of failing safety compliance standards, prompting renewed attention on pool barrier regulations &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/357-people-drowned-in-australian-waterways-in-2025-more-than-355000-pools-under-scrutiny-as-queensland-safety-laws-tighten_802042.html\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[450,437,413],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-802042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Australia","category-Lifestyle","category-Services"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802042\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}