General advice

Aquatic Facility/Water Body Construction and Opening

• A person can (as required by law) only commence the construction, alteration or extension of a public aquatic facility if the Executive Director, Public Health (EDPH) has approved proposed works. This requires the occupier of the land or premise for the aquatic facility to make written application to the EDPH using the application form (see above).
• An application is required to be lodged to the Department of Health (DOH) c/o Applied Environmental Health Branch (AEHB) PO Box 8172, Perth Business Centre WA 6849 (please refer to Application Form: To Construct, Alter, or Extend an Aquatic Facility/Water Body 
• Please also note that an aquatic facility can only be operated, if the EDPH has issued a certificate of compliance that covers the facilities construction works.
• Therefore, when construction work have been completed, it is necessary for the occupier/owner’s agent to contact the AEHB on 9388 4911 to organise an inspection.
• Officers from DOH, or occasionally local government (where requested by DOH) will undertake a final inspection to confirm construction compliance.
• Notice of inspection is generally required 2 weeks prior to completion, however in regional areas further than 5 hours drive from Perth, advice should be received a minimum of 6 weeks in advance.

Role of Local Government

• Local governments are encouraged to advise DOH in situations where aquatic facilities may have commenced construction. This will ensure that developers/builders are identified and dealt with appropriately if they commence construction without EDPH approval.
• Local governments are required to collect monthly water samples from every public aquatic facility water body within their district. However, where the EDPH has granted on exemption, particular operators may be delegated this responsibility and trained by local government to collect their own microbiological water samples for their facility. Local governments in this situation will still provide operators with appropriate advice regarding the results of these samples.
• Local governments must also enforce the legislative requirements of public defined aquatic facilities within their municipality. Therefore complaints regarding public aquatic facilities should in the first instance be referred to the Environmental Health section of the respective local government authority.

Queries relating to aspects of swimming pool legislation and Code of Practice

• Any queries relating to the Health legislation and Code of Practice can generally be addressed by officers of the Environmental Health Directorate.
• Please contact during office hours (Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm) on +618 9388 4999, or alternatively send your query to swimmingpools@health.wa.gov.au