BACKGROUND
Swimming and water safety skills are vital for all Australians. They are fundamental life skills that unlock a lifetime of safe aquatic recreation, physical activity, and wellbeing, and help protect individuals from drowning. Yet despite more than two decades of advocacy, research, and investment, a significant proportion of Australian children do not meet nationally agreed benchmarks for swimming and water safety.
ROUNDTABLE EVENT
A National Swimming and Water Safety Education Roundtable was held in Brisbane on the 4th & 5th June 2025. The Roundtable brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to build consensus and momentum for action. Participants included representatives from governments, education and academic sectors, aquatic facility and swim school managers, sporting associations, other peak bodies and community water safety providers.
The Roundtable objectives were to:
- Review approaches to addressing disparities in access to swimming lessons.
- Review the issue and solutions for children who missed out over COVID-19.
- Review existing governmental approaches to school, vacation and subsidy programs.
- Review youth access and the status of lifesaving in high schools.
- Review and strengthen pathways into swimming and aquatic recreation.
- Revisit past symposiums and revise the national plan to address the issue.
As an outcome, an updated action plan has been formulated.
NATIONAL PLAN FOR INCREASING SWIMMING AND WATER SAFETY FOR ALL
The 6-Point Plan focus on actions to:
- Ensure no child or adult misses out.
- Increase retention beyond age 7.
- Focus on youth and the covid generation.
- Boost government funding for swimming and water safety programs.
- Embed the National Swimming and Water Framework and Benchmarks in all programs.
- Advocate for pool infrastructure and workforce sustainability.
The 6-Point Plan will help guide the next steps towards increasing swimming and water safety skills through further research, collaboration and consultation to implement strategies to address the problems.
