Keep Watch @ Public Pools

Keep Watch @ Public Pools is Royal Life Saving’s child supervision program for aquatic facilities. It supports public pools to promote safe supervision practices for families, strengthen child safety messaging across their venue, and contribute to the goal of eliminating drowning deaths and reducing near-drowning incidents at public pools.

Public pools are supervised environments, but young children remain at risk when parents or carers become distracted or assume lifeguards can take over direct supervision. The program helps facilities communicate a simple and consistent message: lifeguards play an important public safety role, but active supervision of children remains the responsibility of parents and carers at all times.

Why this program matters

Royal Life Saving identifies public pools as a high-risk setting for toddler drowning, with lack of direct supervision by a parent or carer believed to be a contributing factor in 70% of drowning deaths at public pools. Keep Watch @ Public Pools responds to that risk by giving aquatic facilities a clear framework, practical messaging and professional resources to reinforce child supervision where it matters most.

The program also aligns with the broader Keep Watch campaign, which has advised Australian parents and carers for more than 25 years using simple, evidence-based drowning prevention messages. By linking local facility messaging with a recognised national campaign, partner facilities help deliver a more consistent public safety message to families and communities.

What active supervision means

At public pools, active supervision means parents and carers stay within arm’s reach of young children and maintain constant visual contact with older children, giving them their full attention all of the time. Children should never be left alone in the water, left in the care of another child, or supervised on the assumption that the presence of lifeguards reduces a parent or carer’s responsibility.

The Keep Watch @ Public Pools program reinforces four simple supervision messages for families:

• Be prepared.
• Be close.
• All of your attention.
• All of the time.

For aquatic facilities, these messages provide a practical supervision standard that can be communicated consistently through signage, staff interactions and public education materials.

Partnering with Royal Life Saving

As a registered Keep Watch @ Public Pools partner, your facility joins a nationally recognised effort to drive down drowning and improve child safety at public pools. Partnership is not only about promoting campaign messages; it is about supporting the consistent, high-quality implementation of child supervision education across the facility and contributing to stronger community safety standards.

Partner facilities gain access to campaign, education and implementation resources that support staff communication, public education and venue-wide consistency. By participating in the program, facilities help reinforce that lifeguards provide an additional layer of protection, while parents and carers remain responsible for actively supervising children.

Partner benefits

As a registered Keep Watch @ Public Pools partner, your facility can:

• Strengthen child supervision messaging through a nationally recognised drowning prevention campaign.
• Deliver more consistent, quality-controlled safety messaging across signage, staff communication and customer touchpoints.
• Equip staff and management with training and education materials that support confident and consistent conversations with parents and carers.
• Reinforce the shared safety message that lifeguards play an important public safety role, while parents and carers remain responsible for active supervision.
• Demonstrate alignment with the Guidelines for Safe Pool Operation (GSPO) as part of a whole-of-site approach to aquatic risk management.
• Enhance community confidence by showing a clear commitment to child safety, drowning prevention and best-practice supervision standards.

Partner resources

Registered partner facilities receive access to a range of resources to support local implementation of the Keep Watch @ Public Pools campaign. These resources are designed to help facilities maintain consistency in the quality, presentation and delivery of key safety messages across their venue and within their community.

Partner facilities receive:

• Promotional campaign artwork and digital collateral for display across the facility.
• Training and education resources for staff, management and community audiences.
• An annual partner pack of campaign materials such as posters, information cards and wristbands for customer engagement.
• Multilingual and community-facing resources to support broader reach and accessibility.
• Guidance to support implementation of mandatory child supervision policies in line with Keep Watch @ Public Pools and GSPO.

Partner facilities are expected to uphold the Guidelines for Safe Pool Operation (GSPO), helping ensure that campaign messaging is supported by strong operational practice and a whole-of-site safety approach.

Partnership Terms and Conditions

Use of RLSSA's Keep Watch @ Public Pools program is subject to terms and conditions. By displaying the Keep Watch materials, the RLSSA logo and/or the program messages at your facility, you agree to the program terms and conditions listed here:

Keep Watch @ Public Pools - Terms and Conditions

Partner Resources

From large aquatic facilities to seasonal community pools - we are committed to the health and safety of all staff and users towards a nation free from drowning.

Campaign Partners

Royal Life Saving is working with communities, regulators, councils, facility operators and government to support and elevate the Keep Watch @ Public Pools campaign both locally and nationally. These partnerships help embed consistent child supervision messaging across the aquatic industry and contribute to improved safety standards for families using public pools.

Royal Life Saving Queensland has an agreement with the Queensland Government, through Queensland Police, to deliver community safety outcomes with and for the aquatic industry. This work spans swimming and water safety education, vocational training, risk management services and public education, providing an important platform for the implementation of Keep Watch @ Public Pools in Queensland.

WorkSafe Queensland recommends that swimming pool operators advise patrons of the Keep Watch rules upon entry and throughout aquatic facilities, reinforcing the importance of clearly communicating supervision expectations to all visitors.

Industry Partners

Brand and usage notice

Keep Watch, Keep Watch @ Public Pools, the Keep Watch logo, and Royal Life Saving brand assets remain the property of Royal Life Saving Society – Australia. Registered partner facilities are granted a limited licence to display and use approved campaign materials, brandmarks and messages solely for the purposes of implementing and promoting the Keep Watch @ Public Pools program at their facility.

This licence is intended to protect the integrity of the campaign, safeguard the Royal Life Saving and Keep Watch brands, and ensure the consistency and quality of resources and their implementation across all partner venues. Partners must not alter, recreate, adapt or repurpose campaign artwork, logos or materials without prior written approval from Royal Life Saving.

Contact

For support, partner enquiries or further information about Keep Watch @ Public Pools, contact Royal Life Saving Australia:

• Email: aquatics@rlssa.org.au
• Phone: (02) 8217 3111
• Media enquiries: Media Key, (03) 9769 6488