Form 15 and Manufacturer Test Data Required for Proprietary Pool Fencing
If your pool fence is a manufactured proprietary system, your certifier needs the manufacturer’s Form 15 and test data before inspection. Without it, there is no way to confirm the fencing complies.
If you are purchasing proprietary pool fencing, confirm before you buy that your fence supplier will provide a completed Form 15 and NATA-accredited test data for the specific product being installed. Without these documents, your certifier has no basis on which to accept the fencing as compliant — and your pool cannot be certified. Do not assume the documentation will be provided. Ask for it upfront.
Proprietary pool fencing is any manufactured fencing system supplied by a fencing company — aluminium tubular pool fencing, frameless or semi-frameless glass fencing, PVC fencing, and similar products. These systems are designed, tested, and supplied as a complete product rather than built on-site from raw materials.
Unlike timber paling fences constructed to a published standard, proprietary systems achieve their compliance through testing specific to their product. The compliant nominal gap between vertical members, the post spacing, the fixing method, and the footing requirements are all determined by that testing — not by the general rule of 100mm. The fencing must be installed exactly as tested and specified for its compliance to hold.
Form 15 is a Queensland Government statutory form under the Building Act 1975 and Building Regulation 2021 (sections 73 and 77). It is a compliance certificate signed by a competent person — in the case of proprietary pool fencing, the manufacturer or supplier — stating that the fencing system, if installed as specified, will comply with the building assessment provisions.
For proprietary pool fencing, the Form 15 identifies the specific fencing system, references the manufacturer’s NATA-accredited test reports, and confirms that the system has been assessed against the relevant Australian Standards including AS 1926.1. The test reports referenced in the Form 15 are what establish the compliant specifications for that product.
The Form 15 and the test data it references must be provided to the building certifier before inspection. Without this documentation, the certifier has no basis on which to accept the fencing as compliant.
AS 1926.1 requires that a 100mm cone cannot be pulled through the openings in a barrier under a specified load. For proprietary fencing, this test is conducted on the actual product in a NATA-accredited laboratory. Because the members deflect slightly under load, the nominal manufactured gap must be set to less than 100mm so that the opening does not exceed 100mm when the fence is under load.
The manufacturer’s test data specifies what that nominal gap is for their specific product. This is why simply measuring the gap at inspection and comparing it to 100mm is not sufficient for proprietary fencing — the compliant dimension is whatever the manufacturer’s test data specifies, and that data must be on file.