New data from Surf Life Saving Australia shows increased drowning risk on public holidays: Summer Coastal Drowning Report 2024-2025
March 1, 2025
Surf Life Saving Australia has released its Summer Coastal Drowning Report today, which shows there were sadly 104 drowning deaths nationally across the Summer season, with almost half occurring along the coastline.
The peak summer holiday periods, specifically between Christmas Eve to New Years Day and the Australia Day long weekend, were especially risky this summer recording 27% of summer coastal drowning deaths.
While Summer has drawn to a close, the busy Easter/school holiday period ahead has surf lifesavers urging the public to make sure water safety remains top of mind.
A total of 51 lives were tragically lost across the Australian coastline, each one with long lasting impacts to family and friends. Males, unpatrolled beaches, and rip currents were again highlighted as dominant risk factors.
Of that number 18 lost their lives along the NSW coastline, with 94% of them being male and 100% of these occurring outside of flagged areas. There were 33 NSW drowning deaths over the 2024-25 period.
Rip currents continue to be a causal factor in at least 38% of Summer beach drowning deaths, with 60% of these incidents occurring during Christmas to New Years Day and the Australia day long weekend.
This number, however, would have been far greater if not for the incredible efforts of Surf Life Saving services, who performed more than 1.31 million preventative actions and 5,500 rescues over the Summer months.
More than 29,000 people have also completed Surf Life Saving Australia’s Beach Passport, a virtual water safety course that provides practical tips on how to keep safe when visiting the coastline.
Surf Life Saving Australia CEO Adam Weir said it’s a timely reminder, with the upcoming school holidays, including the Easter and ANZAC Day long weekends.
“While this concludes a busy summer, surf lifesavers will continue to patrol beaches for the next few months, including the coming school holiday period which includes Easter and ANZAC Day.
“We are urging all beachgoers to keep water safety top of mind when visiting our coastline, understand your limitations and swim between the red and yellow flags.
“Before visiting the beach, also be sure to complete our free online Beach Passport for surf safety education or just to brush up on your water safety knowledge - it could save your life, or the life of someone you share it with,” he said.
The efforts of surf lifesavers across the summer season have certainly helped towards the 22% decrease observed in summer coastal drowning deaths, compared to the 2023-24 summer.
“We are grateful to our volunteer surf lifesavers and lifeguards across the country who commit their summer to keep Australians and all beachgoers safe.
“Over the last three months, our surf lifesavers have performed more than 5,500 rescues, 1.31 million preventative actions and 45,500 first aid treatments, returning so many loved ones to their family and friends.
“The work of those in red and yellow is estimated to have contributed an almost $5.3 billion value to the community,” he said.
Click here to read the interactive National Summer Coastal Drowning Report.
Royal Life Saving Australia is extremely concerned by the rise in drowning deaths this Summer. RLSA states declining swimming abilities, changes in demographics and leisure patterns, means long-term investments into drowning prevention measures are urgently needed to reverse this troubling trend.
By January 31 2025, two-thirds of the way through summer, the Royal Life Saving Summer Drowning Toll showed that 77 people had fatally drowned across Australia since 1 December.
More than 38 people drowned in January 2025, an average of more than one person drowning every day. Regional areas have seen a higher number (46) of drowning deaths than in cities.
Tragically, 11 children (≤17 years) had drowned by January 31, and at least four people have drowned while attempting to rescue children in trouble in the water. In all these cases, the children survived.
Royal Life Saving Chief Executive Officer Dr Justin Scarr said: “The tragic, underlying issue is that swimming rates are at historic lows. As a nation, I fear we’ve lost our herd immunity to drowning, as conservative estimates show that more than 50% of the population can’t swim.”
Concern for declining swimming skills in children has been flagged for years, but urgent and coordinated action is needed now. Thousands of children, many now teenagers, missed lessons due to the pandemic. Increased migration, especially from nations where learning to swim is rare, means many teenagers and young adults can’t swim or know what to do in an emergency, putting themselves at risk of drowning.
Additionally, regional communities experience higher rates of drowning compared to those living in major cities, due to greater exposure to natural waters, reduced access to safe places to swim, and being the most affected by funding pressures for local swimming pools.
Dr Justin Scarr said “The unfolding tragedy of this summer can’t be wasted. Significant investment in long term, upstream drowning prevention is needed. Royal Life Saving is calling for a focus on four actions to combat drowning:
- Nationally co-ordinated investments to boost the swimming and lifesaving skills of children and young people, especially those aged 10-14 years who can’t yet swim 50m and float for 2mins.
- Large scale grant programs for refugee and migrant communities, delivered at local pools in partnership with community groups, to build swimming and water safety skills and aid in community cohesion.
- Expansion of Royal Life Saving’s approach to facilitating local water safety planning and coordination, as outlined in the Australian Water Safety Strategy, so that communities affected by repeated drowning tragedies can unite to identify and implement localised, comprehensive and multisectoral solutions.
- Strategic, structured and long-term investment in building and refurbishing community swimming pools and learn to swim centres, to meet the changing needs of communities in our growing cities and regional areas, and to ensure that those most likely to miss out have access to a safe place to swim.
“Investment in community swimming pools has always been a key part of Australia’s approach to water safety and drowning prevention. More is needed to meet the medium-term impacts of ageing pools, changing community demographics, and population growth in our outer metropolitan suburbs and regional areas,” Dr Scarr said.
Drowning risk spikes on Australia Day and public holidays, new study shows
For every drowning death in NSW there are 15 near misses, says new research which highlights the at-risk people who are often overlooked.
Safety experts are warning Australians and international visitors to be careful near waterways and pools this long weekend, with new research showing that Australia Day is one of the worst days of the year for drowning deaths and near misses.
University of NSW Sydney researchers analysed more than 4100 fatal and non-fatal drowning incidents over the 12 years up to June 2022, finding drownings were more common on public holidays, weekends and school holidays.
The research, Public holidays, school holidays, and long weekends: Effects on drowning rates in New South Wales, released January 24 2025 and published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, shows the Australia Day and New Year’s Day public holidays had the most drownings, accounting for almost 5% of cases over the study period, with 86 and 111 incidents respectively across both the actual and observed public holidays.
Senior author Dr Amy Peden, from the School of Population Health and the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, attributed the higher number of incidents to the increased leisure time, alcohol consumption and hot weather tied to these public holidays.
“I’ve come to dread these holiday periods, because I know there will be spikes in drowning. The increase in leisure time and hot weather means we have more people in the water, and they’re also more likely to be consuming alcohol, which increases drowning risk,” Dr Peden said.
An uplift in people visiting unpatrolled beaches and waterways in national parks and at holiday destinations could also be a contributing factor, Dr Peden said.
More broadly, rates of drowning were more than four times higher on public holidays than regular weekdays – accounting for about 11% of overall cases. Drowning rates on school holiday days were also more than twice as high as non-school holiday days.
The research is the first of its kind to use linked data – from ambulance attendance, emergency rooms and death records – to calculate both fatal and non-fatal drowning numbers in NSW on different days of the year.
SAFETY TIPS FROM SLSA
STOP:
- Before you enter the water
LOOK:
- For the red and yellow flags to swim between. Find your nearest patrolled beach at beachsafe.org.au
- For signs and warnings about the sea
- At the conditions and weather forecast
- For rip currents and other dangers
STAY ALIVE:
- Assess the conditions based on your own ability
- If it’s unsafe, don’t swim
- Don’t go alone
- Complete the online Beach passport for basic training and education on water safety – visit beachpassport.org.au
- Always supervise children in, on and around water
- Avoid alcohol and drugs around water
- Wear a lifejacket when boating, rock fishing or paddling
- Check the conditions, including weather forecasts