Upcoming South East Queensland Water Safety Forum looks to reduce region's drowning rate

South East Queensland's high drowning rate has prompted water safety experts to convene a forum with community leaders in a bid to avert further deaths across the region.

The South East Queensland Water Safety Forum will bring together local stakeholders with an interest in sharing knowledge and best practice in water safety in a bid to reduce drowning in the region and improve safety management across waterways.

Royal Life Saving Society - Australia General Manager of Capability and Industry, RJ Houston, said the variety of recreational areas in the region, including home pools, public pools, rivers, lakes, creeks dams and the ocean create significant benefits, but also carry significant risk.

Houston explained "more work is needed to be done to coordinate drowning prevention activities and standards across all waterways.

“Royal Life Saving research shows that 275 people have drowned in this region over the past 10 years. Almost a third of those drowning deaths were in rivers and creeks, with a further 28% of deaths occurring at beaches, and 19% occurring in swimming pools.

“The most common activity being undertaken prior to drowning has been swimming and recreating, followed by unintentional falls into water, and boating.

“Only 7% of these drownings were overseas tourists, which tells us that it is local people and local communities who are most affected and who can benefit the most from strengthened drowning prevention measures.”

The forum will be delivered via two dedicated streams.

A Drowning Prevention Planning stream will focus on the development of a drowning prevention plan and will bring together community groups, governments and the water safety sector to focus on reducing the incidence of drowning across the region. 

An Aquatic Facility Safety stream will bring together leaders from aquatic facilities and swim schools across South East Queensland with the aim of sharing best practices in aquatic facility safety and risk management. The forum will aim to provide the region with a guiding strategy for reducing drowning, coordinating collective action and reinforcing the importance of safe enjoyment of the water. 

The two-day Forum is being held event on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th May 2023 at the Pimpama Sports Hub, thanks to the support of the City of Gold Coast.

Forum registrations will be open in the coming week and with limited numbers it is important to register early to avoid disappointment. 

Click here for information on the Forum in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.