Published 16 May 2025
River Murray Water Safety Working Group Reaches Key Milestones
in Drowning Prevention Set to Expand Across South Australia
The River Murray Safety Working Group has made significant progress in enhancing water safety and drowning prevention efforts in South Australia's Riverland region over the last twelve months.
The group was formed in part as a response to Royal Life Saving Australia Drowning Reports that 17 people had drowned in the Riverland Region between 2002 and 2023.
The Working Group is a collaborative initiative of cross-governmental departments, emergency services local councils, water safety agencies and community organisations and is being led by South Australia Police (SAPOL) supported by Royal Life Saving.
The group has made significant strides in coordinating the delivery of water safety education messages and programs to users and communities along the River Murray having now delivered a number of joint campaigns and programs over the last twelve months, leading to critical localised drowning prevention and water safety messages getting to more people and places across the region than ever before.
"The River Murray Safety Working Group is a powerful example of what's possible when multiple individuals and organisations come together with a shared purpose," said Brooke Cherfils on behalf of Royal Life Saving.
Updated drowning analysis by Royal Life Saving has shown that 16 people also drowned in the Murraylands region over a similar period of time.
With the success of the Riverland model, advocates are seeking to expand the model to address drowning in the Murraylands Region as well.
"Driven by principled collaboration and a deep commitment to community, we are seeing significant progress in the coordination and sophistication of drowning prevention initiatives across the Riverland, and we now look forward to seeing what can be achieved in the next twelve months as this model expands into the Murraylands region,” said Ms Cherfils.
Initiated under an Australian Government-funded Inland Communities Water Safety blackspot program, which supports the aims of the Australian Water Safety Strategy 2030, the Working Group has measured its success by developing and delivering on the four key goals of a Riverland Water Safety Strategy.
Senior Sergeant First Class – Riverland Operations, SAPOL Mark Howie
said the group's impact is being felt at both a local and state level, thanks to its alignment with key strategic priorities.
“By intentionally addressing local challenges through these four focus areas, we are not only meeting regional needs but also contributing to state and national goals to reduce drowning."
"The Group's success has now led to broader collaboration, with the launch of the Murraylands Working Group. These groups will not only expand coverage across a greater area of the state but will also allow for crossover between the Riverland and Murraylands regions and the sharing of resources where drowning risks and water use patterns are similar,” said Mr Howie.
Last year’s achievements include:
- Ongoing Collaboration: Identified high-risk swimming zones and existing CCTV in the region with councils and agencies, coordinated resource deployment through a special event calendar, shared resources such as lifejacket clinic schedules and boating safety strategies, and aligned messaging on water user behaviour.
- State Policy Engagement: Rolled out stronger enforcement initiatives during peak periods, with coordinated marine safety patrols, alcohol and drug testing on vessels, and expanded jet ski patrol coverage thanks to partnerships between SAPOL, the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, and the State Emergency Service.
- Joint Campaigns and Messaging: Rolled out high-visibility awareness campaigns with consistent messaging across multiple media outlets and social platforms for World Drowning Prevention Day, South Australia Water Safety Day, and Dinghy Derby.
- Swimming and Water Safety Skills: Circulated key messages to migrant workers in the region (following the high-profile drowning of a migrant worker), targeted programs delivering resuscitation training through the Indo-Australian community, and supported ongoing swimming lessons offered by Belgravia Leisure, migrant water safety and inland water safety programs delivered by Royal Life Saving – South Australia and a VACSwim partnership with the Department for Education.
The Riverland and Murraylands Working Groups will meet jointly for the first time in May 2025 in Loxton to celebrate the wins of this past year and set the trajectory for the next 12 months. The two working groups intend to meet quarterly in their regions and join together annually.
