7 July 2026
Royal Life Saving Australia celebrates successful collaboration with the National Sports and Physical Activity Convention 2026
Royal Life Saving Society - Australia has celebrated a successful collaboration with the National Sports & Physical Activity Convention (NSC) 2026, highlighting the growing role of aquatic and leisure facilities in community health, inclusion and fostering emerging leadership across the community.
Royal Life Saving was pleased to once again partner with the National Sports & Physical Activity Convention to shape the aquatic and leisure management stream, contributing evidence, industry insights and practical experience from facilities and programs across Australia.
Supporting Emerging Leaders
Together with the NSC and the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), this year’s convention marked the third consecutive year that Royal Life Saving has helped bring a cohort of Emerging Leaders to the event, ensuring new voices from aquatic and leisure centres are part of national conversations about facilities, participation and community impact and reflecting a deliberate focus on building workforce capability and strengthening the pipeline of future industry leaders.
These early‑career professionals are already contributing to safer, more welcoming and socially impactful aquatic environments in their local communities, aligning strongly with Royal Life Saving research showing that well‑managed aquatic facilities can drive health, social connection and inclusion outcomes.
Focus on future facilities and social impact
On the NSC program, Royal Life Saving jointly curated and delivered the Aquatic and Leisure Management stream in partnership with the NSC.
The stream focused on the next generation of participants in both youth and ageing cohorts, the next generation of social cohesion and the next generation of facility planning, providing strategic thought leadership about inclusion, social cohesion, changing community profiles and the funding landscape.
Highlights from the convention program
Key presentations across the convention reinforced themes that are central to Royal Life Saving’s work: designing facilities that move beyond minimum compliance toward genuine empowerment and inclusion; understanding bias and privilege to ensure everyone feels they belong in aquatic spaces; and meeting young people where they are by building safe, fun programs around their existing interests.
Speakers also examined the future provisioning of aquatic and leisure facilities for ageing, more diverse and resource‑constrained communities, echoing Royal Life Saving’s ongoing calls for contemporary, evidence‑based approaches to design, workforce development and risk management in public pools and aquatic centres.
Additionally, Royal Life Saving officers joined presented alongside colleagues from IAKS International and IAKS Australia & New Zealand to explore the future of sport and leisure facilities, with a particular emphasis on how data, evidence and story‑telling can translate activity into measurable social impact.
Royal Life Saving drew on national research demonstrating that aquatic facilities are critical social infrastructure – places that can increase participation, foster social cohesion and support diverse communities when they are designed and managed with inclusion, accessibility and workforce capability front of mind.
People, networks and next steps
For Royal Life Saving, the convention was also an important opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and partners from across Australia and overseas, reinforcing the importance of relationships that sustain collaboration and impact over time.
Building on momentum from NSC 2026, Royal Life Saving will continue to work with partners to support emerging leaders, enhance inclusion in aquatic facilities, and ensure communities around Australia can enjoy the water safely, confidently and with a strong sense of belonging.
