Published 28 August 2026

Now in its second year, the partnership between Royal Life Saving Australia and CERM PI® at Adelaide University is enhancing benchmarking and sector-wide insights across Australia’s aquatic and leisure industry, supporting informed decision-making and driving better community safety, wellbeing and participation outcomes.

Through its leadership in drowning prevention and water safety, Royal Life Saving Australia has developed a substantial body of research on aquatic infrastructure, workforce capability, facility safety and social impact. This evidence has helped strengthen advocacy, shape public policy and drive improvements across the aquatic and leisure sector.

For more than 30 years, CERM PI® has supported aquatic, sport and leisure facilities with trusted, independent benchmarking. Its annual Operational Management (OM) Benchmarking Survey helps organisations understand performance, demonstrate impact and inform strategic decision-making through insights into visitation, financial sustainability, service delivery, facilities, membership and customer experience, and water safety.

This continued partnership brings together the research, data and benchmarking capabilities of both organisations to generate robust evidence that supports advocacy, informs investment and policy decisions, and drives better outcomes for communities and the aquatic and leisure sector.

As part of the 2026 survey, new indicators have been introduced to strengthen benchmarking and provide a more detailed picture of Learn to Swim (LTS) program performance, capacity utilisation and participant demand.

“Partnering with CERM PI® provides the dual benefit of ensuring that local facility insights translate into national advocacy, investment and standards improvement while enabling greater opportunities for sector stakeholders to collaborate into the strengthening of CERM PI’s benchmarking process,” said RJ Houston, Chief Operating Officer at Royal Life Saving Australia.

“We strongly encourage facilities to participate and later provide feedback on how we can continue to elevate the sector and streamline data collection across the industry.”

Professor Ian O’Boyle, Director of CERM PI®, added: “The strength of this partnership lies in its ability to turn facility-level data into sector-wide insights. Together, we are building the evidence needed to support better decision-making, stronger advocacy and improved water safety outcomes for communities across Australia.”

Why Participate?

• Through participation, aquatic facility operators can:
  Compare performance against national industry benchmarks;
• Use evidence to support operational and strategic decision-making;
• Identify strengths and opportunities for improvement; and
• Contribute to a stronger evidence base for sector advocacy and advancement.

How to participate

The 2026 survey is open until 30 November 2026, and costs $250 per facility (excl. GST).

Participating facilities will receive a tailored benchmarking report and the 2026 National Benchmarks Bulletin (valued at $649).

Facilities can register to participate here: https://doit.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ersirVEZgltwKdo

Scholarships for Remote Facilities

Royal Life Saving Australia is offering full scholarships for up to 10 eligible remote, rural, regional or low-resource facilities.

Eligibility:

• Located in a remote, rural and/or regional area (excluding sizeable regional cities)
• Priority for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities without significant government or mining-sector funding.

To apply: email aquatics@rlssa.org.au or cermpi@adelaide.edu.au with the subject CERM PI Scholarship Application and detail your facility name, location and ownership / management model.

More info: royallifesaving.com.au | https://adelaide.edu.au/research/centre-for-enterprise-dynamics-in-global-economies/customer-experience-research-metrics-and-performance-indicators/ | cermpi@adelaide.edu.au