removing a swimming pool

That price you could dig and install a new pool. way way too much

Your neighbour needs some lovin'

Check with the council and their regs on removal or just fill the bastard. I'd be just filling the bastard but as you said perforate the bottom to encourage good drainage and knocking off the top edge or 300 as you suggested.

Gumtree is your friend too. Advertise for clean fill. Generally people digging for a pool want to rid of the overburden and it's generally clean dirt.

So be a good neighbour call a few mates, arrange tools for the job, some beers, bbq and an inflatable paddle pool and save the neighbour $18000.

I had my concrete pool dug in and built a shed over the top! used a rock breaker to push the top thickening in and then punched holes in the base. I had trucks of uncleaneed sand (cheap and fills all the spaces) dumped into the pit and hosed in with water (a fire hydrant does this well) then topped of with compacted fill. Slab has only minor cracking but these could be just shrinkage cracks.

Tell her to advertise on gumtree.

"Free pool you remove."

Neighbours did this, had three calls and was gone in a week. They even organised and paid for the crane.

Then just organise a bobcat for half a day to fill in the hole.

Probably $400 -$600 plus fill, as mentioned above if clean fill isn't required it'll cost diddly.

From someone currently considering installing a pool!

Pool to pond conversions:www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/a-suburban-oasis/9435162

ring a demo contractor then local earthworks operator, ask for clean and compacted fill
oh, ring council first, may need a demo permit

Better yet, take the sawzall, cut the top 1/2 meter off, all the way around, throw the pieces in the bottom, then bury the whole damn thing, and walk away.

$12,000 that's less that the cost of the bladder

The shire of Wanneroo requires no permit to remove it. It requires an email advising them you removed it with a civil engineer certificate it was filled in and compacted.
Compacting requires 15-30 cm thick layers individually compacted to a certain density.
Then you pay the civil engineer to come and inspect it. They will use some kind of a tool to measure the density and issue the certificate.

Not really the topic here, but how much is a average running cost per year to keep a typical backyard pool?

I know is great for kids etc, but living so close to the ocean it wonders me why people have them rather than going for a swim in the ocean.

On the demo/fill job :

As someone already mentioned, do not lay more than 150mm high loose material prior each compaction layer, otherwise the equipment needed to compact it properly needs to be heavier (and expensive).

That 150mm should compact to 75 or 90mm (depending on what you are using), then you proceed laying the next loose stuff and compact. If you just drop a high layer (anything over 150mm) and compact, only a thin top layer gets compacted with the rest loose under.

In the next rainy period water will percolate though settling the voids and the terrain will subdue.

>cost
Electricity - A few $ a day
Salt - -a few $ per month
Shire Pool Inspection - $25 per year
A new salt cell - lasts roughly the warranty period + 7 days - $300 per year
A new control unit (computer) - again, lasts roughly the warranty period + 7 days - $'00s per year
Other stuff that breaks - a few $00 a year.
Time spent in cleaning the pool - priceless

I estimated mine to be a $100 a dip.

It soon became obvious that I couldn't practice gybes in it, so I emptied it.
Too expensive to remove.
Decided to leave its as a project to the next owner , once I sell the house.

So now I pay for the shire pool inspection. They check and express admiration how well my empty pool is fenced and charge me for it.
Have a little frog problems after rains... but that's it.