Decommissioning A Swimming Pool: Brisbane City Council Rules

Just like when you undertake the construction of a building or pool, the decommissioning of a swimming pool is a process that is subject to the regulations of Brisbane city council.

These regulations can be difficult to understand, and you may be especially unfamiliar with them if your pool was constructed by your home’s previous owner.

In this article, we will cover Brisbane City Council’s regulations for decommissioning a swimming pool so that you can better understand whether or not approval is required for your pool removal project.

What Is Required To Decommission A Swimming Pool?

When decommissioning a swimming pool, the approvals that are required tend to be very specific based on your local council.

Before continuing with the decommissioning process of a swimming pool, you should ensure that you have obtained or are exempt from the requirements for planning approval.

You will also need to apply for building approval to undergo any demolition work, regardless of whether or not planning approval is required in your case.

Planning Approval Specifications

Planning approval for demolition projects is only required if your building site is in a specific zone, neighbourhood plan, or city overlay.

All of the specifics for this can get a bit confusing, so unless you’re already familiar with everything that goes into city planning, we recommend that you enter your address into Brisbane City Council’s City Plan Online tool.

This tool will simply show you whether or not your property lies within any specific neighbourhood plan zones. If it does, you will need planning approval.

If you do not need planning approval, you can skip to the ‘building approval’ section.

If a planning application is required, you should seek out the advice of a specialist consultant who will then generate a report regarding your demolition project. These reports are required when you submit your project to the council for approval.

Building Approval

Building approval is required for demolition projects regardless of whether or not you need planning approval at your specific site. Building approval requires certification from a licensed private building certifier.

This professional will need to review the demolition plans that have been generated by the company you hired to remove your pool and then will produce certification that you can provide to the city council.

Other Approvals

If your pool had a backwash disposal or other drain that fed into Brisbane’s municipal sewerage network, you will also need to apply for plumbing approval to cap off your pool’s connection.

The same will be true if your pool had a unique water source line that was separate from the rest of your property.

Conclusion

Decommissioning a swimming pool in Brisbane is subject to many of the same rules and regulations as having one constructed.

To decommission a pool in Brisbane, you will need to either obtain or be exempt from planning approval, get building approval from a private certifier, and apply for plumbing approval if your pool directly connects to the public water supply or municipal sewer system.

Do you have any questions about decommissioning a swimming pool? Get in touch with us, we’d love to help you out as best we can!