Royal Life Saving Australia is seeking members for a National Multicultural Community Advisory Group

Royal Life Saving Australia is calling on multicultural community members across the country to help shape a new national initiative aimed at making water safety more welcoming, inclusive and accessible.

Expressions of interest are invited from people with multicultural, migrant, refugee and international student backgrounds from across metropolitan and regional Australia to join the group.

Role of the advisory group

The National Multicultural Community Advisory Group will provide independent, community‑led advice to a new national Multicultural Community Water Safety Program, ensuring it reflects the needs and priorities of diverse communities.

Members will help make swimming and water safety activities more culturally safe, relevant and accessible, and will identify barriers such as cost, language, culture, transport or confidence, suggesting practical solutions to overcome them.

The group will also work to strengthen connections between multicultural communities and local aquatic facilities, including pools, swim schools, clubs, councils, settlement services and education providers.

Membership and participation

The advisory group will include 10-12 members from across Australia and will meet up to four times over an initial 18‑month period, mostly online to support participation from different locations.

Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses such as travel or childcare will be reimbursed so that cost is not a barrier to involvement.

Who is encouraged to apply

Royal Life Saving is not seeking technical experts, but people with lived experience and strong community connections.

Potential members might be community, faith or cultural leaders or organisers; parents or caregivers who want children to be safer and more confident around water; people involved in youth, student or community activities; or people with experience removing barriers to swimming lessons, aquatic programs or participation in swimming and lifesaving activities.

Expressions of interest are especially welcomed from people with strong links to multicultural, refugee, migrant and international student communities, those with lived experience of swimming, recreation and safety around water in Australia, and those committed to fairness, inclusion and respectful, collaborative discussion.

Time commitment

Members will be asked to participate in up to four online (or hybrid) meetings of 1–2 hours over an 18‑month period.

There may also be short reading or feedback tasks between meetings, with optional opportunities to join smaller working groups focused on areas such as settlement pathways, communications, regional pilots, workforce initiatives or campus‑based activities.

How to express interest

Expressions of interest are now open and close at 5pm on Monday 8^th June.

Interested community members are invited to complete a short Expression of Interest form Expression of Interest - National Multicultural Community Advisory Group – Fill out form

For questions or to discuss alternative ways of expressing interest, including via phone, video or with interpreter support, contact Stacey Pidgeon, National Manager, Research and Policy, at spidgeon@rlssa.org.au or 0455 381 115.