Published 27 April 2022

Media Release

City of Gold Coast Aquatic Facilities have been awarded Royal Life Saving’s Bronze and Silver Pool Safety awards.

In doing so the City of Gold Coast facilities become the first Queensland aquatic facilities to be recognised as achieving a high level of safety within their aquatic facility operations.

The facilities endorsed under the program are Pimpama Sports Hub, Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, Upper Coomera Aquatic Centre, Helensvale Aquatic Centre, Miami Aquatic Centre and Nerang Aquatic Centre.

Endorsements are only awarded to facilities to facilities providing high levels of safety management at an aquatic facility.  To achieve the award the City of Gold Coast facilities had to go through a rigorous series of assessments to ensure it met all of Royal Life Saving’s criteria for the accreditation.

Royal Life Saving Society Queensland CEO Paul Barry said the endorsements are a way of recognising those facilities that are striving towards and attaining the highest levels of safety requirements against known standards.  “The award is similar to accrediting a lifesaver, and therefore facilities must undergo a thorough assessment of their skills and performance and attain a high standard throughout,” Mr Barry said.

“We are very selective when endorsing aquatic facilities and swim schools. Royal Life Saving must be satisfied that exemplary levels of aquatic safety are being achieved and constantly maintained before the award is issued,” he said.

Included in the award is completion of a revised industry leading national Aquatic Facility Safety Assessment, Mystery Guest Visits and adherence to a Royal Life Saving child supervision program.

City of Gold Coast Executive Coordinator Aquatic Centres Tim Goward said the endorsements were evidence that the City of Gold Coast was committed to safety and had some of the finest aquatic facilities available anywhere in the world.

“This endorsement from a peak water safety authority is evidence that our fantastic aquatic venues are not only open for business, but achieving operational and safety excellence along the way,” said Mr Goward.

The endorsements are tiered based on the level of performance against the available standards, including the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia Guidelines for Safe Pool Operations.

“For Councils who are seeking assurance on the levels of safety being delivered in their facilities not just by their own staff, but by contractors and management groups, this process has provided us with assurance and clear recommendations on improvements we can make across our venues ,” continued Mr Goward.

Speaking of the program structure and components, Royal Life Saving National Manager – Aquatics RJ Houston said the program recognises the achievements of aquatic organisations committed to safety.

“Co-designing the program parameters and collaborating with key aquatic facility owners, operators, pool designers and health and safety experts has been critical to the success of this initiative,” said Mr Houston.

“Using the recently updated national RLS safety assessment platform and delivered by nationally qualified and licensed pool safety auditors, owners and operators can be confident that recommendations and benchmarks are nationally consistent,” finished Mr Houston.

Endorsements fall into four categories with higher endorsements awarded when facilities achieve increasing levels of safety management excellence:

• Bronze Endorsement – when all hurdles are met and a final score of between 80-90% on the comprehensive Safety Assessment
• Silver Endorsement – when all hurdles are met and a final score of between 90-99% on the comprehensive Safety Assessment
• Gold Endorsement – when all hurdles are met and a final score of 100% on the comprehensive Safety Assessment
• Platinum Endorsement - is the highest endorsement available and demonstrates the aquatic facility has successfully completed all program activities for consecutive financial years, maintaining a 100% on the Safety Assessment each year to achieve the prestigious Platinum Endorsement.

Belgravia Leisure CEO Nick Cox said that achieving a safety endorsement at Nerang Aquatic Centre is further evidence of Belgravia’s strong commitment to safety and service excellence.

“Belgravia is pleased to work with Royal Life Saving across the country to ensure our venues are safe, welcoming and providing excellent services and programs to local residents,” said Mr Cox.

All public aquatic facilities, commercial swim schools and education institution pools are eligible to participate in the program, however, endorsements will only be issued to facilities which successfully achieve the hurdle requirements, including a high compliance score against relevant standards, legislation and industry guidelines.

City Venue Management CEO Reece Rackley also welcomed the news of the endorsement at the venues which they operate in Miami and Helensvale.

“We’re very happy to achieve this endorsement and look forward to continuing to work towards providing experiences to users that delight and engage,” said Mr Rackley.

Facilities who have qualified for the Pool Safety Endorsement are certified and provided with internal materials within the facility.  The accreditation is valid for twelve months and forms an important component of the overall safety planning and continual improvement strategy.

More information on the program or to sign up, please contact: assessments@lifesavingtraining.com.au

The facilities’ endorsement levels were as follows:

Royal Life Saving acknowledges the support of Life Saving Victoria in delivering this program.