A toddler’s drowning in a backyard fish pond has promoted calls from a coroner for Victorian building authorities to regulate fencing for residential ponds.
The 23-month-old boy drowned in a fish pond in his grandmother’s backyard in Victoria, in November 2022.
The boy’s parents were both at work that day and his grandmother was in the shower from 11.50am until 12.20pm, according to coronial findings.
The house’s rear sliding door was left unlocked, allowing the boy to open the door himself and access the fish pond, which was not fenced off or enclosed in any way.
About 12.20pm, the grandmother found the toddler face down and unresponsive in the pond.
Emergency services were called and CPR was attempted, but the boy was pronounced dead at 1.32pm.
The pond was about 61cm deep and had a rocky, uneven bottom and was built from timber, lined with plastic, filled with rocks and surrounded by pot plants.
The deputy state coroner, Paresa Antoniadis Spanos, this week found ornamental ponds and water features do not require a building permit or safety barrier in Victoria, unlike swimming pools and spas.
“Given a child can drown in only a few centimetres of water, it is noteworthy that the VBA (Victorian Building Authority) does not require safety barriers for fish ponds,” she said.
“Fish ponds are undoubtedly attractive to a young child, and it is entirely conceivable that they would be located in a child’s own backyard at a depth greater than 30 centimetres.”
She said there was some need for additional safety and fencing requirements around fish ponds in the state.
“Given the considerable risk to young children posed by fish ponds, I direct that this finding be provided to the VBA for their consideration of the need to regulate the building and design of fish ponds in the interest of child safety,” she said.
Four children under the age of four have drowned in a residential ponds in Victorian since 2010.
The VBA has been contacted for a response to the findings.