Report Highlights Opportunity to Strengthen Safety Guidance

Published 12 July 2022

Report - Australian Policy and Case Law for Public Safety in Inland Waterways

A new report has found there is a troubling lack of practical water safety guidance to help ensure public safety in rivers, creeks, lakes and dams, despite inland waterways being Australia’s most dangerous aquatic locations.

The Australian Policy and Case Law for Public Safety in Inland Waterways: A Review and Recommendations 2022 report was commissioned by the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia.

It reviews policy and governance frameworks relating to inland waterways, ocean beaches and aquatic facilities and  all Australian coronial and legal liability cases involving safety in inland waterway environments.

The report’s authors recommended developing a policy framework to make inland waterway public safety recommendations for owners/operators clearer and more consistent.

In the 10 years to June 2021, 940 Australians lost their lives to drowning in inland waterways, with 70 per cent of those deaths occurring in regional and remote locations. Almost three-quarters of those who drowned were not visitors to the area.  More than half the drowning deaths occurred in rivers with the remainder occurring in creeks, lakes, and dams.

Royal Life Saving National Manager - Aquatics, RJ Houston said the report examined how coroners and case judges apply policy frameworks and standards to provide recommendations for safety.

“We know there are strong standards in place for ocean beaches and public swimming pools which means the community has a level of confidence that safety is being actively managed in these locations, however this is not the case for all inland waterway environments,” Mr Houston said.

“For example, the requirement to have basic water safety signage which would be expected in a swimming pool or an ocean beach was not upheld in some of the inland legal cases.

“Similarly, risk assessments and appropriate zoning of waterways to ensure boaters and swimmers don’t mix are not consistently applied, if they are applied at all.

“A nationally consistent and industry-driven approach to guidance is needed to support achievable actions, consistency and certainty for decision makers when it comes to safety.

“These measures will save lives.”

Mr Houston said the development of a policy framework needed to include local communities to ensure the guidelines meet community needs and could be enforced.

Royal Life Saving is committed to working with communities, governments and waterway owners and operators to ensure any future frameworks are practical and encourage improvements to water safety.

Click here to download the full report