PROPERTY managers receive no formal training in pool safety, an inquest on a toddler heard yesterday.
Laura Teal said she knew nothing about pool fences when the girl's mother raised concerns about safety during an inspection of a property the family rented from AFL coach Mark Harvey.
At the June 2008 inspection, Monica Harris said she was worried her three-year-old daughter Lauren might squeeze through a gap in the pool fence where it joined a barbecue.
Ms Teal said she didn't think the fence was dangerous or that it was an "issue" because she knew the Harveys had lived there with their young children.
Ms Teal said she completed a number of courses at the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, but pool safety was never mentioned.
"There was nothing in my training that informed me as to the specific requirements, standards, guidelines with regard to pool fences," she said.
"I'm not trained in pool fencing. The REIV should be putting something in their education."
Lauren Harris drowned at the house in Roberts St, Essendon, that her parents rented from the Harveys in September 2008.
Ms Harris raised the issue of the pool fence around the barbecue and her concerns about toddler access, Ms Teal said.
"She asked me to gain the landlord's permission to put up lattice at her own expense," she said.
The inquest has heard that the bluestone barbecue provided "climbing steps for small children" to a gap in the pool fence.
Ms Teal said Donna Harvey told her in an email: "Tell them they can put something up near the pool at their own expense."
The inquest before deputy state coroner Iain West is expected to continue in March next year.
REIV chief executive officer Enzo Raimondo said outside court that licensed real estate agents had a responsibility to be aware of laws relating to letting and selling property.
"The REIV licence course includes content relating to pool fences and there is assessment on that issue to ensure students understand the requirements. Ms Teal did not complete her licence course with the REIV."
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