An independent Australian journal

Cost, compliance and regions

What the work costs, which paper the council wants, and how soil and salt change the specification.

Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Western Australia

Photo: Michael Spencer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Queensland backyard pool in morning shade and reflection

Cost, compliance and regions

What a custom pool really costs in Australia

The number in the advertisement is usually a shell. The number you live with includes paving, a legal barrier, heating, access and the contingency nobody wanted to print.

16 March 2026

Cottesloe Beach and its sandy coastal setting in Perth

Cost, compliance and regions

Building a custom pool in Perth sand and limestone

Spearwood and Bassendean sands, Tamala limestone pinnacles and a high water table decide the hole before the interior sample does. Perth is a coastal sand city with rock that appears without warning.

6 January 2026

Mona Vale Beach ocean pool on the Sydney northern beaches

Cost, compliance and regions

Coastal pools: salt air, corrosion and durability

Chloride does not care that the pool is inland of the dune. Specify 316 or duplex stainless, coastal-grade coatings, hardware that can be replaced, and a wash-down habit — from the northern beaches to the Queensland coast and the west.

28 December 2025