Do You Need Council Approval to Remove a Pool in Perth?

The short answer

Usually, yes. Under the Building Act 2011 (WA), demolishing a building or an incidental structure — which is how an in-ground swimming pool is treated — generally requires a demolition permit, applied for on form BA5, from the local government where the property sits. On top of the permit question, every Perth council keeps a register of pools for mandatory safety-barrier inspections, so even where a council handles a small pool removal through a notification process rather than a full BA5, it still needs to be told the pool is gone — and will often inspect before taking it off the register.

The honest complication: Perth's councils do not all handle pool removal the same way, and their published requirements change. This page describes the framework and what individual councils publish; your council's building services team has the final word on your property.

The BA5 demolition permit

The BA5 is the standard WA application for a demolition permit, made to your local government as the permit authority. The state's application form is published on wa.gov.au, and councils assess applications under the Building Act 2011 — typically within ten business days for a compliant application. Depending on the council, a pool-removal BA5 may need to be accompanied by a site plan, a description of the demolition method, confirmation that services (power to pool equipment, plumbing) will be safely disconnected, and a waste management outline.

Permit fees are prescribed under WA's building regulations, with councils adding administrative charges. This page deliberately quotes no council's fee — fee schedules change annually and differ between councils. Ask yours for the current figure when you confirm requirements; as a planning allowance, budget in the low hundreds of dollars.

How requirements vary across Perth councils

What councils publish (current as at August 2026 — verify before relying on it):

• City of Melville publishes a demolition fact sheet and a dedicated Decommission & Removal of Pool & Spa form, and requires one of its swimming pool inspectors to visit and confirm the pool has been correctly removed or decommissioned.
• City of Joondalup publishes decommissioning guidance for pools and spas — relevant to much of Perth's 1970s–80s pool belt, including Duncraig and Padbury.
• City of Stirling asks to be notified of pool and spa removals as part of its pool safety and inspection program.
• City of Gosnells publishes demolition permit requirements for structures including pools.
• City of Wanneroo publishes a swimming pool/spa removal notification form — an example of the notification-based approach some councils take.
• Some councils publish size-based thresholds for when a full demolition permit is required rather than a notification. Do not assume a threshold applies in your area: confirm it in writing with your own council.
• Others — including the City of Canning and the City of Kalamunda — publish less about pool removal specifically online. That does not mean no approval is needed; it means you should ring their building services directly. (Council websites also sometimes block automated access, so links you find in search results may not open — the phone works.)

Safety barriers during and after removal

WA law requires a compliant safety barrier around any private pool or spa that can hold water deeper than 300 mm — and that obligation does not pause because demolition has started. Until the shell is breached, drained and incapable of holding water, the existing barrier must stay, or compliant temporary fencing must stand in for it: Building and Energy describes acceptable temporary fencing as non-climbable to 1200 mm, or 1800 mm minimum if climbable, meeting the Australian Standard for pool fencing. A part-demolished pool that collects winter rain behind a removed fence is exactly the hazard the rules exist to prevent.

After removal, tell the council the pool is gone so it comes off the barrier-inspection register — otherwise you may keep receiving inspection notices (and in some councils, inspection fees) for a pool that no longer exists.

Completion, inspection and paperwork worth keeping

Where a BA5 was issued, completion is notified to the council; where a notification process applies, councils commonly inspect the site — Melville's inspector visit is the clearest published example. Independent of what your council requires, keep for your own records: the demolition permit or notification acknowledgement, the contractor's written scope, and any documentation of how the backfill was placed and compacted. If the site is ever built over, sold or subdivided, that folder is what stands between you and an expensive argument about what is under the lawn. Backfill standards are covered in the cost guide, and disclosure questions in the common questions.

Sources

• Building Act 2011 (WA) — legislation.wa.gov.au
• BA05 Application for demolition permit, and building approvals guidance — wa.gov.au (Building and Energy)
• Swimming pool and spa safety barrier requirements — wa.gov.au (Building and Energy)
• City of Melville — demolitions fact sheet and pool/spa decommissioning form — melvillecity.com.au
• City of Joondalup — pool and spa decommissioning guidance — joondalup.wa.gov.au
• City of Stirling — pool and spa safety and inspections — stirling.wa.gov.au
• City of Gosnells — demolition permits — gosnells.wa.gov.au
• City of Wanneroo — swimming pool/spa removal notification — wanneroo.wa.gov.au

Nothing on this page is a promise that any permit will be granted, and none of it replaces confirmation from your own local government. For a contractor who deals with these requirements week in, week out, call (08) 6171 3458.