Shortly before the end of 2025 the Department of Housing and Urban Development advised that the Assessment Improvements Code Amendment had been finalised and adopted by the Minister for Planning.
This Amendment proposed several technical amendments to South Australia’s Planning and Design Code (PDC), which contains the planning policies and rules for our state.
SPASA has been actively involved in the stakeholder and community consultation process which occurred on the draft Code Amendment from 12 December 2024 to 11 March 2025. You can read about SPASA’s submission here.
As a result of the feedback received several adjustments were recommended to the Code Amendment across a range of areas.
SPASA’s position has been that electric water heaters should be clearly exempted from potentially damaging acoustic enclosure requirements and be treated the same as air-conditioners and domestic hot water heaters, which are not subjected to the same locational or noise restrictions as pool water pumps.
In engaging with State Government throughout 2025, SPASA’s goal has been to update the relevant wording in the PDC which relates to pool pumps, water heaters, and air handling units, to provide greater clarity and reflect the intention of the direction. This will in-turn provide councils with clearer instructions and lead to consistency throughout the state.
Part 8 - Administrative Terms and Definitions has been amended to clarify the definition of Pumps and/or filtration systems which are associated with a swimming pool or spa.
The new definition Pumps and/or filtration systems says, “In relation to swimming pools or spas, does not include a heat pump”.
This change will alleviate the issues many builders have been having with SA Councils requiring heat pumps to comply with the distance and acoustic requirements intended for swimming pool pumps. The inconsistent and incorrect interpretation has caused many builders and their clients to deal with delays and increased costs.
The Accepted Development Classification Criteria, found in Part 2, Table 1 has been amended to refer specifically to an acoustic structure as follows:
Additionally, in Section 4 – Interface between Land Uses, the definition has been amended to improve clarity as follows:
You can read the full amendment on the PlanSA website. The relevant amendments are listed under 4.2.6 - Swimming Pool Pumps – Acoustic Enclosure Policy.
SPASA is engaging with councils across the state and is able to provide advice and broader context in addressing any issues. If you have a situation with council, SPASA recommends that you arrange a phone call, or ideally a short face-to-face meeting to discuss the situation. Email can be used to provide documentation and reports; however, a conversation goes a long way to resolving misunderstandings which come from lengthy email threads.
If you continue to have an issue with a council, and would like some support, please contact SPASA via [email protected] or 1300 021 482. If you’re not a SPASA member, become a member today.