Over 3,000 Members of the Property Management Industry Attended
Property Management Services Authority’s Continuing Professional Development Seminar
Making Good Use of Innovative Technology to Verify Lifeguard Qualifications and Further Enhance Swimming Pool Safety Management
To encourage the property management (PM) industry to further enhance the safety management of swimming pool facilities in properties, and to strengthen understanding of lifeguard qualification verification and the newly launched digital verification system, the Property Management Services Authority (PMSA), following the seminar held in December 2024, today co-organised with the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society (HKCLSS) and the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies Limited (HKAPMC) again a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminar titled “Enhancing Swimming Pool Safety”. Over 3,000 members of the PM industry participated in the seminar in-person and online, gaining insights from the perspectives of regulatory requirement, innovative technology application and responsibilities of PM companies on how to strengthen lifeguard qualification verification and swimming pool facility safety management, thereby further safeguarding swimmers and enhancing the safety management standard of swimming pool facilities in properties.
Mr Albert YUEN Yuk-kin, Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, attended the seminar to support the event and delivered opening remarks. Various guest speakers shared insights during the seminar, including:
-
Mr CHAN Ka-leong, Senior Superintendent (Hygiene) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), explained the Regulatory Control of Private Swimming Pools;
-
Dr Johnnie CHAN Chi-kau, PMSA member and Chairperson of the HKCLSS, shared how lifeguard qualifications should be verified;
-
Ms Karen LEUNG, Research and Strategy Development Director of Certizen Limited, introduced and demonstrated the digital verification system for lifeguards;
-
Dr Wilton FOK, Associate Dean (Student Enrichment) of the Faculty of Engineering and Director of the Sport AI Lab of The University of Hong Kong, shared how innovative technology can be applied to enhance swimming pool facility safety; and
-
Ms Diana PANG, General Manager (Regulatory) of the PMSA, explained the responsibilities of licensed PM companies in swimming pool safety management.
Dr. James WONG, Chairperson of the PMSA said, “Swimming pool facility management is closely related to swimmers’ safety. Lifeguard qualification verification and duty roster arrangements must be carried out rigorously and in compliance with relevant requirement, and must not be taken lightly. I call on all licensed PM companies and PM practitioners to proactively review the safety management system for swimming pool facilities in properties under their management, strictly verify lifeguard qualifications and make good use of technology to strengthen the verification process. At the same time, PM practitioners should maintain close communication with owners’ organisations, swimming pool licence holders, swimming pool service contractors and relevant authorities so as to safeguard swimmers and enhance stakeholders’ confidence and trust in PM services.”
Mr Albert YUEN Yuk-kin, Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, said, “I would like to thank the PMSA for working closely with the FEHD over the years in enhancing the capability of PM companies and PM practitioners in handling environmental hygiene-related work, thereby helping to create a safer and more comfortable living environment for property users. Since 2025, the FEHD has also introduced enhanced regulatory measures for licensed swimming pools, including strengthening the supervisory responsibilities of licence holders, stepping up inspections and increasing penalties, as well as enhancing coordination with other government departments and organisations. I sincerely hope that licensed PM companies and PM practitioners will continue to apply their professional expertise and work hand in hand with the FEHD to ensure that the operation of private swimming pools complies with statutory and licensing requirements, and to jointly safeguard the safety of swimming pool users.”
As the statutory regulatory body of the PM industry, the PMSA is committed to encouraging the industry to enhance the safety management standard of property facilities. Since December 2024, the PMSA has included the safety of swimming pool facilities in properties in the scope of compliance inspection under the PM industry licensing regime. During inspection of properties with swimming pool facilities, the PMSA pays attention as to whether the relevant licensed PM companies have verified the identities and qualifications of lifeguards on duty in accordance with established requirement and procedures, and whether sufficient number of qualified lifeguards has been deployed on duty so as to ensure the safety of swimmers.
The seminar also included Q&A session moderated by Ms. Careen WONG Hau-yan, Vice-chairperson of the PMSA, whereby guest speakers addressed participants' questions and facilitated exchange with the industry, helping participants gain a deeper understanding of how to implement the relevant regulatory requirements in daily PM work, make good use of technology to verify lifeguard qualification, and further enhance the safety management standard of swimming pool facilities in properties. PM practitioner licence holders who completed the seminar may obtain recognised CPD hours under the PMSA CPD Scheme, as well as certificate of participation issued by the PMSA.
Following the ending of the three-year transitional period for the PM industry licensing regime, the PMSA has commenced mandatory implementation of its CPD Scheme. PM Practitioner licence holders of different tiers are required to receive continuing education in phases with the aim to drive the advancement and raise the professional standard as well as status of the industry. Under the Scheme, PM practitioners (Tier 1) are required to complete a minimum of 12 hours of qualifying CPD activities/courses each year, while PM practitioners (Tier 2) are required to complete a minimum of 6 hours of CPD activities/courses each year. The PMSA has imposed mandatory CPD participation condition on all newly issued or renewed licences since 1 August 2023. Non-compliance may affect future licence renewal.
For details, please visit the PMSA website: www.pmsa.org.hk .
Ends/Friday, 2 October, 2026
Issued at HKT 18:00
NNNN
Photo Captions
Photo 1: The Property Management Services Authority today co-organised with the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society and the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies Limited the Continuing Professional Development seminar titled “Enhancing Swimming Pool Safety”. Over 3,000 members of the property management industry participated in the seminar both in-person and online, gaining insights from the perspectives of regulatory requirement, innovative technology application and responsibilities of PM companies on how to strengthen lifeguard qualification verification and swimming pool facility safety management, thereby further safeguarding swimmers.
Photo 2: Mr Albert YUEN Yuk-kin, Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, attended the Property Management Services Authority’s Continuing Professional Development seminar to support the event and delivered opening remarks.
