Every metal object conducts electricity. Your pool fence spigots, stainless steel posts, handrails, and even the reinforcing steel inside your pool shell — they’re all conductive. If an electrical fault occurs nearby (a damaged pump cable, a faulty pool light, even a lightning strike), these metal components can become energised at different voltages.
When you’re standing in or near water — wet, barefoot, often touching a metal handrail — your body becomes the path of least resistance between two different voltages. That’s how electrocution happens around pools.
Equipotential bonding solves this by connecting every conductive element within the pool zone with a continuous electrical wire, then grounding the entire system to a single earth point. The word “equipotential” literally means equal potential — the goal is to ensure that every metal surface you could touch is at the same electrical voltage. No voltage difference means no current can flow through your body.
Under AS/NZS 3000:2018 (commonly known as the Wiring Rules), Section 5.6 mandates equipotential bonding for swimming pools, spas, and their surrounding zones. The key requirements are:
This isn’t a guideline or a recommendation. It’s a mandatory Australian Standard, and non-compliance can void your insurance, result in council enforcement action, and — most importantly — put lives at risk.
Here’s where the real money problem lies. Equipotential bonding wires need to be installed before your pavers, tiles, or coping stones are laid around the pool. The bonding wire runs beneath the surface, connecting each spigot and post location back to the earth point.
If you’ve already finished your paving and then discover that your metal pool fence hardware needs to be earthed, you’re facing one of two expensive options:
Neither option is cheap. Both are entirely avoidable with proper planning.
“We see this scenario more often than you’d expect. A homeowner finishes their pool area, contacts us for glass fencing, and only then learns about the earthing requirement. A five-minute conversation at the planning stage would have saved them thousands.”
— Harbour Glass team
If you’re reading this and your pool area is already paved, don’t panic. Non-conductive pool fence hardware exists specifically for this situation. These fittings are made from engineered polymers or composite materials that don’t conduct electricity, which means they fall outside the equipotential bonding requirements of AS/NZS 3000:2018.
At Harbour Glass, we stock and install both conductive (stainless steel) and non-conductive pool fence hardware. We can advise you on which option suits your situation — and if you’re still in the planning phase, we’ll help you coordinate with your electrician and pool builder so the bonding is done right the first time.
This is an important distinction: your pool fence installer does not do the electrical bonding. Only a certified, licensed electrical contractor can perform equipotential bonding and issue the required Certificate of Test.
Your builder or project manager should be coordinating this, but in our experience, it’s often overlooked — particularly on owner-builder projects or when trades are booked independently. If you’re managing your own pool build, make sure your electrician is booked to do the bonding after the spigot locations are set but before the paving goes down.
Planning a pool area with glass fencing? Work through this checklist before any concrete or paving is laid:
As glaziers, equipotential bonding isn’t our trade — but it directly affects our customers. We’ve seen too many pool projects where the earthing requirement was discovered after the fact, leading to delays, cost blowouts, and frustrated homeowners.
When you contact Harbour Glass about pool fencing, we’ll walk you through the full compliance picture — not just the glass and hardware, but the electrical, structural, and council requirements that affect your project timeline and budget. We can also connect you with licensed electrical contractors on the Coffs Coast who specialise in pool installations.
Equipotential bonding isn’t optional, and it isn’t something you can sort out later. If you’re building a pool with metal fence hardware anywhere on the Coffs Coast — from Grafton to Nambucca Heads — this needs to be in your project plan from day one.
Talk to your fencing supplier before you talk to your paver. It’s a conversation that takes five minutes and can save you thousands.
Ready to plan your pool fencing the right way? Contact us or call (02) 6652 9669 before your pool build begins. We’ll make sure every detail is covered — including the ones most people miss.
