A Form 36 (Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate) lets you sell a Queensland property with a pool without a current pool safety certificate. The buyer then has 90 days after settlement to get one. It's legal and sometimes useful, but it isn't an exemption, it can't be used to lease a house with a private pool, and it often costs sellers more at the negotiating table than getting certified would.
What Is a Form 36?
A Form 36 is the official notice used when a property with a regulated pool is sold, or a unit with a shared pool is leased, and there's no pool safety certificate (Form 23) in effect. It tells the buyer, and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC), that the pool may not comply with the pool safety standard and sets out what needs to happen next.
It's easy to confuse with the other pool forms, so here's how they fit together:
| Form | What it is | Who issues it |
|---|---|---|
| Form 23 | Pool Safety Certificate: the pool complies | A licensed pool safety inspector |
| Form 26 | Nonconformity Notice: the pool doesn't comply yet, with a list of what to fix | A licensed pool safety inspector |
| Form 36 | Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate: there's no current certificate at sale (or shared pool lease) | The seller or lessor (usually via their agent or solicitor) |
When Is a Form 36 Used?
Selling a house with a private (non-shared) pool
- Before the contract is signed: the seller gives the buyer a Form 36.
- Before settlement: the seller either provides a pool safety certificate or notifies the QBCC using the Form 36.
- After settlement: the buyer must obtain a pool safety certificate within 90 days.
Selling a unit or townhouse with a shared pool
The seller also notifies the pool owner (usually the body corporate) before settlement. The body corporate then has 90 days from settlement to obtain a certificate for the shared pool.
Leasing
For a shared pool, a Form 36 can be given to the tenant, the pool owner and the QBCC if there's no certificate, and the pool owner then has 90 days to get one. For a house with a private pool, a Form 36 is not an option: a valid pool safety certificate must be in place before a new lease is signed.
A Form 36 is not an exemption. The pool must still comply with the pool safety standard, and the barrier still has to keep children safe on the day of settlement and every day after.
Why Sellers Use a Form 36
There are genuine reasons to sell with a Form 36:
- Speed: the property needs to go to market immediately and there isn't time to inspect and fix the barrier first.
- Major work needed: the barrier needs a full rebuild, and the buyer may be planning to renovate or replace the pool anyway.
- Selling as is: the seller can't, or doesn't want to, fund repairs before the sale.
- Buyer preference: some buyers, often builders and renovators, are happy to take on the barrier work themselves.
Why You Might Not Want to Use One
What a Form 36 saves you
- The inspection and repair cost before sale
- A little time before listing
- Dealing with tradies before settlement
What it can cost you
- Buyers see a red flag and assume the worst
- Price negotiations based on guessed repair costs, often higher than the real fix
- A smaller buyer pool: investors can't lease a private-pool home until it's certified
- Extra questions and delays during the contract period
In our experience, many pools that "need work" only need minor fixes, such as a gate latch adjustment, a self-closing hinge, or moving a pot plant out of the non-climbable zone. These are often sorted on the day of the inspection. When a buyer sees a Form 36, though, they don't know that. They price in the unknown.
A current Form 23 removes that uncertainty. You can answer "yes" to the pool questions in your seller disclosure, buyers see a property that's ready to live in or lease, and there's one less thing to negotiate.
If You're the Buyer
- The 90 days starts at settlement and can't be extended (except for limited QCAT proceedings). A Form 26 reinspection period doesn't extend it either.
- Book your inspection early, ideally in the first couple of weeks after settlement, so there's time for any repairs and the reinspection.
- Budget for repairs. The cost of making the barrier compliant falls on the owner, which after settlement is you.
- Planning to rent it out? You'll need a pool safety certificate before signing a lease.
- Fines apply if a required certificate isn't obtained, and some pool safety fines exceed $25,000.
Our Advice: Get Certified Before You List
For most sellers, a pool safety inspection before listing is the simpler, cheaper path. It costs $210 including the QBCC levy. Minor items are fixed on the spot where possible, and the certificate is lodged the same day once the pool passes. If anything needs work, you get a Form 26 with a private video link for each item to pass on to your tradie. Read more in Get Ahead: Secure Your Pool Safety Certificate Before Listing.
Selling Soon?
Book a pool safety inspection before you list and give buyers one less reason to negotiate.
Book an Inspection Call 0457 520 953Form 36 FAQs
Is a Form 36 an exemption from the pool safety rules?
No. The pool must still comply with the pool safety standard. A Form 36 only records that there was no certificate at the time of sale or shared pool lease.
Can I lease my house with a Form 36?
Not if it has a private (non-shared) pool. A valid pool safety certificate must be in place before you enter a new lease. A Form 36 can only be used for leases involving shared pools.
Can the buyer's 90 days be extended?
Generally no. The only extension is for time the owner is a party to a QCAT proceeding about the barrier.
Who pays for the repairs after a Form 36 sale?
The cost of making the barrier comply is met by the owner of the land, so after settlement it's the buyer's responsibility, unless the contract says otherwise.
Can the public see a Form 36 on the pool register?
No. Form 36 notices are attached to the property on the QBCC register, but the public can't view them.
Want the bigger picture? Our Queensland Pool Safety Compliance Guide covers buying, selling and leasing with a pool, and our FAQ answers the most common questions.
This article is general information based on QBCC and Queensland Government guidance, and isn't legal advice. For advice on a specific contract, talk to your solicitor or conveyancer.