Pool safety signs for home pools

States where a home pool must have a CPR sign

New South Wales

Required, under the Swimming Pools Act 1992 and the Swimming Pools Regulation 2018. Clause 10(1) sets out what the sign has to carry: a resuscitation flow chart based on ANZCOR Guideline 8 as published in January 2016, a statement that formal instruction in resuscitation is essential, the name of the publishing body and the date of publication, and three specific lines of text about supervision, keeping the gate closed, and keeping objects clear of the fence.

New South Wales sets no minimum size, no material and no durability standard. Clause 11 asks for one thing only: that the sign is legible from at least 3 metres, and stays legible. A sign put up on or before 31 August 2019 that met the old 2008 regulation still counts, unless the pool is substantially altered or rebuilt.

More detail in our New South Wales sign rules guide.

Queensland

Required, under section 13 of the Building Regulation 2021, for a regulated pool. Queensland is prescriptive about the sign itself. It must be at least 300mm by 300mm, made of durable and weatherproof material, attached to the barrier or displayed near the pool where it is easily visible, and it must carry a prominent emergency statement plus first aid information including CPR to ANZCOR Guideline 8.

The rule is not in QDC MP 3.4. That document is where most articles send you and it contains no reference to signs at all. More detail in our Queensland requirements guide.

South Australia

Required through the South Australian variation to the National Construction Code, and the date your pool was approved decides it. The South Australian Government states the requirement began on 1 May 2016, and Regulation 6(1)(b) of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (Swimming Pool Safety) Regulations 2019 locks it to the Building Code as it applied when the approval was sought. Where it applies, the sign must be at least 300mm by 300mm and made of durable, weatherproof material.

For a pool approved before 1 July 1993, a different instrument applies. Ministerial Building Standard MBS 004 attaches the obligation at transfer of title, not continuously, so for many older South Australian pools the question arrives when the house is sold. Our South Australia page sets out the three cases.

The 300mm by 300mm figure belongs to Queensland and South Australia. It is widely repeated as an Australian minimum, including in older articles on this site. New South Wales prescribes no dimensions at all.

States where a home pool does not need one

We found no CPR signage requirement for a private home pool in Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory.

Western Australia does not require one at a private home either. The Building Regulations 2012 (WA) contain no reference to resuscitation or to CPR. Western Australia does have a mandatory resuscitation notice, but it sits in health law and it applies to public and commercial aquatic facilities, not to houses. Our Western Australia page explains the split.

The Victorian and ACT governments both recommend a resuscitation chart on their water safety pages. A recommendation is not a duty, and we are not going to describe it as one.

One thing worth knowing about how solid that finding is. For a home pool, the instrument that governs is building law, and building law is what we read in all eight jurisdictions. That is the right place to look for a house, which is why the negative here is better supported than the same negative would be for a commercial operator. It is also why our pages for facilities are more careful about what they claim.

The barrier and the sign are two separate rules

Every Australian jurisdiction requires a pool barrier. The National Construction Code requires a barrier and contains no signage clause in its base provisions. The signage duty, where it exists, sits in a separate instrument: an Act in New South Wales, a building regulation in Queensland, a code variation in South Australia, a health regulation in Western Australia. Satisfying one says nothing about the other.

What we have not been able to close

• Local council by-laws were not searched. We read the state and territory instruments in full. There are more than five hundred councils in Australia and we have not read their by-laws. A local requirement could exist that this page does not know about.
• The AS 1926 standards are behind a paywall. AS 1926.1 and AS 1926.2 are the barrier standards, and we could not read their full text to confirm they contain no signage clause of their own. The circumstantial evidence points against it, but we cannot state it as closed.
• The 1 May 2016 South Australian start date is the government's own statement and we could not confirm it against code text.

This is general information about what the instruments say. It is not legal advice, and it was compiled on 4 August 2026.

The two signs for a home pool

Two signs cover a home pool, and they do different jobs.

The CPR sign carries the resuscitation flow chart. It is the one the New South Wales, Queensland and South Australian rules are about. It measures 350mm by 710mm, which is well over the 300mm minimum that Queensland and South Australia set, and it is printed on aluminium composite panel. Seven colours, including Charcoal Black, Ice White and Stone Blue.

The Pool Rules sign is a different product. None of the three home pool rules above asks for a rules sign, and we are not aware of a home pool rule anywhere in Australia that does, though we have not read council by-laws. It carries six house rules: supervision, securing the gate, no running or rough play, no diving, keeping the pool area clear, and no glassware. People buy it because a written rule is easier to hold guests to than an unwritten one. Seven colours, matched to the CPR range.

There is also a standalone No Diving sign for pools with a shallow end, which repeats the no diving rule on its own panel where it needs to be seen at the water's edge.

Panels are not pre-drilled. A free installation pack ships with every sign and contains the fixings, and there is a spare installation kit if you need more. Our installation instructions cover mounting on rendered walls, timber and fencing.

Common questions

My pool is old. Am I covered by the old rules?

In New South Wales, a sign erected on or before 31 August 2019 that complied with the repealed 2008 Regulation still complies, unless the pool is substantially altered or rebuilt. In South Australia, the requirement is tied to the date the approval was sought, so an older pool may sit outside it entirely, and a pre-1993 pool takes the obligation at transfer of title. Those are the two jurisdictions where the age of the pool changes the answer.

Does my sign need to be a particular size?

In Queensland and South Australia, yes: at least 300mm by 300mm. In New South Wales, no size is prescribed and the test is legibility from at least 3 metres. Everywhere else there is no CPR sign requirement to have a size.

Is a laminated printout enough?

Queensland and South Australia both require durable and weatherproof material, so a paper printout does not meet those rules. New South Wales requires the sign to be legible from 3 metres and to be maintained in that condition, which a printout in the sun will not stay.

Do I need a CPR sign to sell my house?

That depends on the state and it is a question about the sale process rather than about the sign. In South Australia, transfer of title is the event that triggers the obligation for a pool approved before 1 July 1993. In New South Wales and Queensland the duty applies regardless of whether you are selling. We are not able to tell you what a certifier or an inspector will do, and we will not guess.