Since the second half of 2025, investment by various levels of government in Australia regarding swimming pool equipment upgrades has accelerated significantly. Across states including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania, numerous municipal pool projects have secured funding from the federal Community Energy Upgrades Fund. The core of these retrofits is consistent: replacing gas-fired heating systems with high-efficiency electric heat pumps.
New South Wales' Leeton Shire Council received A$203,006 in federal funding for energy upgrades at the Leeton Regional Aquatic Centre and Whitton Swimming Pool. The project involves decommissioning the existing natural gas heating system in the Leeton pool's shallow section and installing a new solar heating system alongside heat pumps for supplementary heating. Luke Tedesco, the Council's Executive Manager of Utilities and Environmental Services, stated that the solar upgrades and heat pump installations would not only improve energy efficiency but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 132 tonnes annually.
In Queensland, the Milne Bay Aquatic and Fitness Centre, managed by Toowoomba Regional Council, secured A$1,083,907 in federal funds to replace its gas heating system with high-efficiency electric heat pumps. Mayor Geoff McDonald noted that fully electrified operations would allow the centre to utilize solar energy more effectively, lower carbon emissions, and potentially extend the swimming season into cooler months. The project is expected to launch in mid-2026, with the permanent removal of on-site gas connections upon completion.
South Australia has also been active in this round of upgrades. The federal government awarded A$2.5 million to the City of Campbelltown via the Community Energy Upgrades Fund to upgrade the ARC Campbelltown Aquatic Centre with high-efficiency heat pumps. This system integrates with existing gas boilers and solar-equipped carports, effectively utilizing the pool as a "thermal battery."
In terms of industry impact, this wave of municipal pool equipment upgrades sends several clear signals. First, the dominance of heat pumps in the Australian pool heating market is rapidly becoming established. The decommissioning of gas heating systems is not an isolated incident but part of a structural shift occurring simultaneously across states. Secondly, the concept of the swimming pool acting as a "thermal battery" is being validated in municipal projects; by integrating heat pumps with solar energy systems, the pool water itself serves as an energy storage medium, offering significant operational cost-efficiency. Thirdly, sustained federal funding is creating concrete business opportunities for pool equipment suppliers-particularly manufacturers of heat pumps, solar integrators, and providers of smart control systems.
For pool product suppliers, this trend necessitates repositioning heat pumps from "optional accessories" to "core system components." In the residential sector, programs such as the NSW Energy Savings Scheme and Victoria's energy efficiency incentive schemes offer subsidies for high-efficiency heat pumps, with rebates for heat pump water heating systems ranging from AUD 300 to AUD 1,000 in some areas. In the Sydney market, pool heat pump installations start at approximately AUD 4,125, and subsidies further reduce the actual purchase cost for consumers. From a product strategy perspective, promoting heat pumps and the pool unit as an integrated solution-rather than selling them separately-may better align with current market dynamics.
