In Australia, drowning is the single most common cause of death due to injury for children under 5 years of age. About half of these deaths occur in residential swimming pools or spas.

With over 300,000 backyard swimming pools in NSW, swimmig pool safety is a vital issue that affects the whole community.

The Swimming Pools Act 1992 was introduced to improve pool safety for children. In 2012, a comprehensive review of the Swimming Pools Act 1992 was finalised. This review identified a number of amendments designed to enhance the safety of children under the age of five years around private ('backyard') swimming pools in NSW.