Industry wide response to address aquatic facility violence

Reacting to a growing number of reports of violence and anti-social behaviour at aquatic facilities, a comprehensive plan to address this challenge has been initiated by key organisations in the Victorian aquatic industry.

Led in partnership by Aligned Leisure, Life Saving Victoria (LSV) and Royal Life Saving Society - Australia (RLSSA), the plan aims to take a risk-based approach to identify new (or enhance existing) mitigants that can be taken to reduce the likelihood or consequence of this type of behaviour.

At a national level, there are understood to be approximately 2,000 acts of violence and/or anti-social behaviour at aquatic facilities (an average of five incidents a day).

This can include physical altercations, verbal abuse, and inappropriate behaviour from patrons, which threaten the safety of staff and visitors. The impact of these incidents extends beyond just immediate harm - as it can have significant impact on affected staff as well as other patrons exposed to the violence.

While this type of behaviour has been condemned by the industry as well as the Victorian community more broadly, LSV notes “disappointingly there appears to be an escalation of the frequency and severity of these types of incidents, requiring a collaborative and cohesive all-of-industry response.”

The plan will consider all available treatment options including (but not limited) to training, education, advocacy, policies/process, technology, supervision, security/surveillance, reporting, expectations, partnerships, research and the broader legal framework.

The initial stage of the plan will be the completion of a risk treatment plan between the four organisations, before broader input is sought from broader established stakeholder representative groups.

• Aligned Leisure will seek input from the Victorian Aquatic Recreation Industry Leaders Group

• LSV will seek input from the Platinum Pool Steering Committee (PPSC)

• Royal Life Saving will seek input from the National Aquatic Industry Committee (NAIC)

The first instance of the report is intended to be completed by the end of February. It is intended to act as phase one of the broader plan and contribute to the internal review of recent acts of violence at Casey ARC.

The objective of this collaboration is to enable all Victorian aquatic facilities to achieve their intended objectives. These objectives range from providing a safe environment for recreational activities to fostering community engagement and promoting public health. By addressing violence proactively, it is possible to empower and enable aquatic facilities to remain places where staff and patrons can work and engage in activities without fear of harm.

Expressing the ongoing commitment of everyone at Aligned Leisure to provide safe environments for staff and patrons, Aligned Leisure Chief Executive, Ben Tudhope stated “we stand firmly by our team and are committed to the highest standards of safety.

“Our high performance team culture is critical to enabling our patrons to achieve their goals, and we look forward to continuing this important work.”

Life Saving Victoria General Manager, Andy Dennis reiterated the importance of aquatic facilities to Victorian communities, adding “80 million patrons visit Victorian aquatic facilities each year and there is no room for violence.

“In order to achieve the social, health and wellbeing benefits offered by these facilities, we plan to work with all of our industry partners to understand if there are any further steps or learnings that we can put into place for the betterment of staff and patrons across all facilities.”  

The Victorian aquatic industry comprises approximately 300 Council operated pools, 300 learn-to-swim facilities and a growing number of school and university pools. These facilities represent key community infrastructure and enable critical social, health and wellbeing value for Victorians. The industry is also a key employer and acts as a gathering place for individuals and families to exercise, relax and recreate.

Image: Lifeguard at the Casey ARC, scene of an assualt on lifeguard on 20th January (Used for illustrative purposes only). Credit: City of Casey.