General information. Pool rules are set state by state and run partly through councils. Your council, or a private certifier in NSW, can say what your removal needs.
1Two states, one empty pool
The table sets out what each state’s own pages say. Neither state’s page is a full list of the rules.
| Step | New South Wales | Victoria |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | The Demolition Code allows swimming pools to be demolished as complying development, if they meet its standards. | All building work needs a building permit unless the Regulations exempt it, and some demolitions may be exempt; the council or a building surveyor can say which applies. |
| The hole | Any piping must be removed, and the site restored to the level of the ground next to the pool with compacted fill, which the state policy says must be only virgin excavated natural material. | The council has to be satisfied the pool no longer exists, or can no longer hold water deeper than 30 cm. |
| The register | All pool and spa owners must register on the NSW Swimming Pool Register, and a registration is held against the property address. | Owners must register a pool or spa with the council; it stays registered until it is removed from the register. |
| After removal | Ask the council how the register record is updated once the pool is gone. | Tell the council the pool no longer exists; the council notifies you once it is off the register. |
2The certificate conditions
A pool removed under a NSW complying development certificate comes with the same conditions as any other demolition under the Demolition Code, listed in the department’s Demolition of buildings fact sheet.
The fact sheet also says every essential service must be disconnected as each supplier requires, and that the application has to say how.
3Water deeper than 30 cm
Victoria’s rules turn on depth. The registration laws cover pools and spas able to hold more than 30 cm of water, including above-ground, indoor and relocatable pools and inflatables. So a pool that can no longer hold that much water is the test for coming off the register, and the council decides whether it has been met.
Example only · made-up measurements
A pool shell 8 metres long and 4 metres wide, with an average depth of 1.5 metres, leaves a space of 8 × 4 × 1.5 = 48 cubic metres once the water is out. Under the NSW standard, that whole space is brought back to the level of the ground next to the pool, and the state policy says any fill must be only virgin excavated natural material, compacted to AS 3798-2007, with piping removed first. The figures are invented to show the arithmetic; a real pool’s shape and depth will differ.
4Before the excavator arrives
Before You Dig Australia lists pools among the home projects that involve digging, and it asks homeowners to lodge a free enquiry before work starts. Its tips include deciding who will lodge the enquiry before any contractor begins excavating, and never assuming how deep pipes and cables run, because they can be just under the surface.
Where a pump, lights or a heater are wired in, taking them out is electrical work in Queensland. Queensland’s definition of electrical work includes removing electrical equipment , and in NSW, any electrical installation work must by law be done by a licensed electrician.
In NSW, residential building work worth more than $5,000 including GST in labour and materials needs a licensed contractor (as at October 2026).