Visits to Western Australian aquatic facilities delivered $275 million in economic benefits in 2022/21

A newly released report from Royal Life Saving Society WA, in conjunction with LIWA Aquatics, shows that public aquatic facilities in Western Australia recorded 10.4 million visits in 2020/21 - representing 3.9 pool visits per head of population.

A decline from a pre-COVID peak of 11.5 million visits on 2018/19, these visits have been shown to deliver $275 million in economic benefits to the state.

Breaking down the visits, the Bigger, Better, Safer: Western Australian Aquatics Industry Report 2020/21, showed that 412,906 visits to facilities in the Mid West region - equating to 7.8 visits per head - was the highest in the state while 192,450 in the Great Southern region - equating to 3.1 visits per head - was the lowest.

Aquatic industry expenditure totalled $96.1 million total in 2020/21, an 18.8% rise from 2019/20 with an average $9.22 expenditure per public pool visit during the year. The Pilbara region was the highest spending, generating $24.50 per visit while Metropolitan Perth had the lowest at $7.60 per visit.

The annual report on the state of the aquatic industry in Western Australia, showed 4134 staff were employed in 2020/21 of which 738 were full-time, 446 part-time and 2950 casuals - with 60% of this workforce located in Metropolitan Perth.

The 18 to 24 years age group were the largest part of the workforce (38%) while the 25 to 34 and 55 to 64 age groups totalled 13% each.

64% of this workforce were female, 1.45% came from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and 2% from multicultural backgrounds.

Technical staff in pools made up 11% of the workforce, 40% of whom worked in the Perth area. With an average age of 37 years, 35% were employed on a casual basis.

Pool lifeguards made up 28% of the workforce, 73% of whom worked in the Perth area. With an average age of 26 years, 68% were employed on a casual basis.

In these groups, 70% of technical staff and 54% of lifeguards were male.

Swim teachers made up 33% of the workforce, 78% of whom worked in the Perth area. With an average age of 26 years, 86% were employed on a casual basis and 75% of this segment of the workforce female.

The report, which as far back as its 2017/18 edition identified the now nationwide trend of a shortage of swim instructors and pool lifeguards, showed in this latest edition that there are a total of 1377 swim instructor positions in the state, not all of which are currently filled.

Among the active positions, 133 are swim coaches and 735 are swim teachers.

Reversing a trend of decreasing water usage over recent years, water consumption across facilities rose to a total of 1270 megalitres, an increase of 1.1% from the previous years, with an estimated 123 litres water consumption per patron.

In the area of safety, Bigger, Better, Safer recorded 2,327 injuries at public pools in 2020/21, representing 22.3 incidents per 100,000 visits.

Trips, slips and falls were the major incidents and cuts, grazes and piercings the main injuries.

Produced each year with financial assistance from the Western Australian Department of Sport and Recreation, Bigger, Better, Safer report aims to;

• Better understand the aquatic industry as a collective and to quantify key outputs,

• Monitor risks to patron safety and identify trends,

• Evaluate compliance to industry benchmarks and standard operating procedures, and

• Be a catalyst for discussion and an evidence base for ongoing program development.

Overall, the report states “aquatic centres provide significant benefits to the WA community, in terms of community development, sport, recreation, health and fitness.”

Moving forward it suggests: improving injury data procedures across the state; continuing efforts to reduce injury at public pools; improving cultural knowledge across workforce; further exploration into facility expenditure; assessing the social impact of aquatic facilities and addressing workforce staffing gaps.

In regard to staffing issues, it notes “currently, the industry is struggling to find staff to meet the demands for swimming instructors and lifeguards during peak time periods and across regional WA.

“Further efforts are needed to encourage individuals to join the aquatic industry workforce and decrease staff turnover. This is particularly important in regional WA where programs have been cancelled due to a lack of available staff.”

New Royal Life Saving Society WA President
The end of 2021 saw Royal Life Saving WA appoint a new President, following the retirement of Colin Hassell.

The Board of Directors appointed Vaughan Davies to the role who is described as having “a wealth of experience in the aquatic and government sectors across WA”.

Having grown up the regional towns of Esperance and Kalgoorlie, Davies started his working life as a casual pool lifeguard before going on to an extensive career in the public sector.

He spent 10 years in local government working in community services and overseeing the management and construction of swimming pools across regional Australia, before moving into a role as regional manager of Tourism WA based in Broome.

From there he joined the Western Australian Department of Aboriginal Affairs where he became the Director General of the Department in 2016.

Davies currently works at the Western Australian Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage as the Assistant Director General of the Heritage and Property Division - responsible for the management, protection and promotion of Western Australia’s Aboriginal and Historic heritage assets as well as the Western Australia Planning Commission’s property portfolio.

A keen long-distance open water swimmer, Davies is impressed by the work Royal Life Saving WA does through its Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pools program.

Joining the board’s Aboriginal Reference Group in 2017 he sees RLSSWA as a well-established, solid brand steeped in history and filled with talented, professional and committed staff and saw his position on the board as an opportunity to work with like-minded people, while also giving back to a cause that has been a part of his entire life.

Davies believes swimming is a life skill that every Western Australian should enjoy 100% water safety across all parts of the community is a goal he would like to see the organisation achieve - from infant aquatics, swim & survive, seniors water safety through to working with non-English speaking and remote Aboriginal communities. He sees this as an achievable aim through good governance, strategic thinking and creating partnerships with government and corporate organisations.

Welcoming Davies appointment, Royal Life Saving WA Chief Executive, Peter Leaversuch stated “for many years Vaughan has made an invaluable contribution, most recently in his roles on the Board and reconciliation working group.

“He brings to the role an extensive background in terms of aquatics, regional WA, Aboriginal affairs and most importantly is a terrific leader and inspiration for all the team at Royal Life Saving.”

Click here to download the Bigger, Better, Safer 2020/21 report.

Images: Armadale Fitness and Aquatic Centre (top), Beatty Park Leisure Centre (middle) and new Royal Life Saving WA President Vaughan Davies (below).