The ACT Coroners Court last November urged the territory government to overhaul its "inadequate" and "confusing pool fencing laws, following the death of 21-month-old River Arama Parry.

Coroner Beth Campbell found while a lack of supervision was a key factor in the boy's drowning, the pool was unfenced, easily accessed from the house's back door and lacked child locks or self-closing mechanisms.

However, because the pool was installed in 1986, it was not required to comply with new pool fencing rules.

Ms Campbell called for urgent reforms to require all existing backyard pools to comply with the latest version of the building code, regardless of when they were put in.

She suggested further changes to the law to provide methods for ensuring compliance, noting regulation measures adopted in other jurisdictions included swimming pool registers and inspection regimes.

The government's response to the coroner's report was tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

They agreed in-principle to adopt her recommendations about updating the law and improving compliance measures.

"The ACT government is currently considering potential schemes for improving the safety of existing swimming pools,"

"The ACT government will also seek views on mechanisms for applying new codes and standards in community and industry engagement.

"New standards would not necessarily be applied to exiting pools automatically. The impacts on child safety and pool owners would need to be considered before further standards and upgrade requirements are applied to existing pools."

The government noted they had already adopted the coroner's recommendation to run a public awareness campaign about pool safety and life-saving skills.

Their 'Backyard Lifesaver' campaign also encouraged pool owners to check their pool barriers against current standards, and upgrade them if they do not meet those standards, they said.

A spokesman for Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the ACT was looking closely at laws in other states and territories and would put a model forward for public feedback once one was developed.