{"id":"sl-2024-29","name":"Common Boundaries Regulation 2024","slug":"common-boundaries-regulation-2024","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"29 of 2024","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173294,"registerId":"act-sl-2024-29-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Common Boundaries Regulation 2024","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCommon Boundaries Regulation 2024\nSL2024-29\nmade under the\nCommon Boundaries Act 1981\nRepublication No 1\nEffective: 13 September 2024\nRepublication date: 13 September 2024\nRegulation not amended\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Common Boundaries Regulation 2024, made under the Common\nBoundaries Act 1981 (including any amendment made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3\n(Editorial changes)) as in force on 13 September 2024. It also includes any commencement,\nrepeal or expiry affecting this republished law.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT\nlegislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n• authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n• unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial amendments\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by\nan Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The\nchanges are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into\nline, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the\nsymbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying\nprovision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation\nAct 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $160 for an\nindividual and $810 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR1\n13/09/24\nCommon Boundaries Regulation 2024\nEffective: 13/09/24\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCommon Boundaries Regulation 2024\nmade under the\nCommon Boundaries Act 1981\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of regulation 2\n3 Matters to be taken into account by ACAT—dividing fences a safety\nbarrier for regulated swimming pool—Act, s 13A (2) 2\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 5\n2 Abbreviation key 5\n3 Legislation history 6\n4 Amendment history 6\n\n\n\nR1\n13/09/24\nCommon Boundaries Regulation 2024\nEffective: 13/09/24\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCommon Boundaries Regulation 2024\nmade under the\nCommon Boundaries Act 1981\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Common Boundaries Regulation 2024\nEffective: 13/09/24\nR1\n13/09/24\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of regulation\nThis regulation is the Common Boundaries Regulation 2024.\n3 Matters to be taken into account by ACAT—dividing\nfences a safety barrier for regulated swimming pool—Act,\ns 13A (2)\n(1) The ACAT must take into account the following matters in making a\ndetermination under the Act, division 2.1 (Fences requested by\noccupiers):\n(a) whether 1 or more parties to the application for the\ndetermination must comply with all or part of the requirements\nunder the Building Act 2004, part 5A (Regulated swimming\npools) (the swimming pool safety requirements);\n(b) whether the cost of erecting, repairing or replacing a fence that\nwill be a compliant fence is different to the cost of erecting,\nrepairing or replacing a fence that will not be a compliant fence;\n(c) if the cost of the compliant fence is more than the cost of a fence\nthat is not a compliant fence—\n(i) for a determination mentioned in the Act,\nsection 10 (2) (d)—whether the amount that should be\ncontributed to the cost by the party who is not the party\nresponsible for erecting the fence should be adjusted\nbecause 1 party must comply with all or part of the\nswimming pool safety requirements to a greater extent than\nthe other party; or\n(ii) for a determination mentioned in the Act, section 11 (3) (e)\nor section 12 (3) (a)—whether 1 party should bear a greater\nproportion of the cost of repairing or replacing the fence\nbecause that party must comply with all or part of the\nswimming pool safety requirements to a greater extent than\nthe other party; or\n\nSection 3\nR1\n13/09/24\nCommon Boundaries Regulation 2024\nEffective: 13/09/24\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(iii) for a determination mentioned in the Act, section 12 (2) or\nsection 13 (2)—whether it is reasonable that the party who\nis not the applicant is required to contribute to the cost of\nthe applicant erecting, repairing or replacing the fence\nbecause the applicant must comply with all or part of the\nswimming pool safety requirements to a greater extent than\nthe other party; or\n(iv) for a determination mentioned in the Act,\nsection 13 (3) (a), if the circumstance mentioned in the\nAct, section 13 (4) (b), applies—whether it is reasonable\nfor the amount to be adjusted because the applicant must\ncomply with all or part of the swimming pool safety\nrequirements to a greater extent than the other party.\nExamples—party with a greater extent of compliance\n1 the party who must maintain a safety barrier for a regulated swimming\npool on their parcel of land, if the other party does not have a regulated\nswimming pool on their parcel of land\n2 the party who must maintain a safety barrier for a regulated swimming\npool on their parcel of land, if the other party has been granted a\nMinisterial exemption in relation to a regulated swimming pool on their\nparcel of land or a standing exemption applies to the pool on their parcel\nof land\n(2) In this section:\ncompliant fence means a fence that complies with all the swimming\npool safety requirements each party to the application for a\ndetermination must comply with.\nMinisterial exemption, in relation to a regulated swimming pool—\nsee the Building Act 2004, section 83 (1).\nregulated swimming pool—see the Building Act 2004,\nsection 83B (1).\n\nSection 3\npage 4 Common Boundaries Regulation 2024\nEffective: 13/09/24\nR1\n13/09/24\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nsafety barrier, for a regulated swimming pool—see the Building\nAct 2004, section 83 (1).\nstanding exemption, for a regulated swimming pool—see the\nBuilding Act 2004, section 83 (1).\n\nEndnotes\nAbout the endnotes 1\nR1\n13/09/24\nCommon Boundaries Regulation 2024\nEffective: 13/09/24\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law\nbut are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details\nof these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are\nunderlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\n3 Legislation history\npage 6 Common Boundaries Regulation 2024\nEffective: 13/09/24\nR1\n13/09/24\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nCommon Boundaries Regulation 2024 SL2024-29\nnotified LR 12 September 2024\ns 1, s 2 commenced 12 September 2024 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 13 September 2024 (s 2)\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 om LA s 89 (4)\n© Australian Capital Territory 2024","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulation specifies the matters ACAT must take into account under the Act, s 13A(2), by adding pool‑safety compliance and cost‑differential considerations and giving examples (Common Boundaries Regulation 2024, s 3). This clarifies and narrows the tribunal’s assessment criteria by making explicit how pool safety obligations should affect cost allocation."},"complexity_factors":["Direct cross‑reference to Building Act 2004, part 5A (regulated swimming pools) for defining compliant fences and safety barriers — Common Boundaries Regulation 2024, s 3(1)(a) and s 3(2).","Multiple conditional branches tying cost adjustments to specific sections of the Common Boundaries Act (references to ss 10(2)(d), 11(3)(e), 12(3)(a), 12(2), 13(2), 13(3)(a), 13(4)(b)) — s 3(1)(c)(i)–(iv).","Requirement to assess the relative 'extent' to which each party must comply with pool‑safety requirements, which is a factual, comparative judgment — s 3(1)(c).","Interaction with ministerial and standing exemptions under the Building Act adds factual complexity about whether a party actually bears pool‑safety duties — s 3(1) examples; s 3(2) definitions.","Necessitates factual cost comparisons and reasonableness inquiries (e.g. cost of erecting/repairing compliant vs non‑compliant fences), potentially requiring evidence or valuations — s 3(1)(b)–(c).","Grants ACAT discretionary adjustment of contributions without prescribing a fixed formula, increasing judgment calls in outcomes — s 3(1)(c)."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation tells the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) what to consider when deciding dividing‑fence disputes where the fence may also be a safety barrier for a regulated swimming pool. It requires ACAT to check whether parties must comply with the Building Act 2004 pool‑safety rules and to compare the costs of a compliant fence with a non‑compliant one. If the compliant option costs more, ACAT must consider adjusting who pays, and by how much, based on which party has greater pool‑safety obligations."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a new regulation made in 2024 under the existing Common Boundaries Act 1981. It appears to implement a specific amendment to the Act (section 13A) dealing with swimming pool safety barriers. The scope is narrow and tightly focused on the intersection of dividing fence disputes and pool safety compliance, which aligns with the Act's purpose of resolving boundary disputes between neighbours."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 operative sections (1 and 3), with section 2 omitted","Single substantive provision (section 3) containing nested conditional logic with 4 sub-paragraphs (i)-(iv) cross-referencing different sections of the parent Act","4 defined terms in section 3(2), all referencing external legislation (Building Act 2004)","Heavy reliance on cross-references to the Common Boundaries Act 1981 (sections 10, 11, 12, 13) and Building Act 2004 (part 5A, sections 83, 83B)","Conditional structure requires tracking: 'if cost of compliant fence > non-compliant fence' then apply one of four different tests depending on which section of the Act applies","Two practical examples provided to illustrate 'greater extent of compliance' concept"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation tells the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal to factor regulated swimming-pool safety obligations into disputes over dividing fences. It affects ACT neighbours, pool owners, and ACAT by directing that a party with greater legal responsibility to provide a compliant pool barrier may bear more of the cost. The rule aims to prevent neighbours without pools (or with exemptions) from unfairly shouldering higher fence costs needed for pool safety."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/common-boundaries-regulation-2024","history":"/api/acts/common-boundaries-regulation-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/common-boundaries-regulation-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/common-boundaries-regulation-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/common-boundaries-regulation-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/common-boundaries-regulation-2024/documents"}}