Learn to swim organisations in regional areas say a $6 million pledge by the NSW government will provide much needed access to vital water safety skills and swimming lessons, and reduce the number of drownings in rivers and waterholes.

The Minns Labor government recently announced the additional funding in an effort to combat an increasing trend of drownings prevalent in migrant, Indigenous, low socio-economic and regional communities. 

Fifteen learn to swim providers will benefit from the scheme, including Penrith Beach where a swimmer drowned soon after it opened in 2023.

Penrith, which has a migrant population of 23.3 per cent is in one of the highest risk groups for drownings, and former operations manager at Penrith Beach, Ethan Jordan, said a lack of education of water risks was a major factor.

“[The] biggest thing in Western Sydney is cultural differences,” he said. “I’ve seen grown, 40-something-year-old people, that [it] was the first time they’d seen a body of water before.

“At the moment we are seeing lots of immigrants move out to western Sydney, [where it is ] not within the cultural norm to have swimming as an active part of life.”

The cash boost will allow for people to receive 10 free swimming lessons across the state in high risk drowning areas.

It is estimated that one in four drowning related deaths were people born overseas, according to Royal Life Saving chief executive Justin Scarr, who attributed the problem to unfamiliarity with water hazards, and inadequate swimming and life saving skills.

Adam King, president of Orange Bush Nippers, said the program, which would compliment existing initiatives, was long over due.

Orange Bush Nippers, based in the central west town of Orange,  is a community supported program which aims to “provide members of all ages with the confidence and skills to make them safe in all aquatic environments”.

It is important to develop these skills and capabilities at a young age.

“Being a regional town, the residents of Orange have access to open waterways both on farms and public areas,” King said. “I suspect that this program will provide important access to all communities in the region, including indigenous communities.

“[It] will provide the community with opportunities to further develop their knowledge and understanding of the risks and confidence to keep themselves and their families safe.

“It is important to develop these skills and capabilities at a young age.”

He added that it would “provide an opportunity for families to access swimming lessons where previously these may have been unaffordable”.

Inland water systems such as dams, lakes or rivers, make up 34 per cent of 2023-24 drowning deaths, according to the National Drowning Report released by Royal Life Saving Australia, with 66 per cent occurring in regional and remote areas.

Penrith Beach, commonly referred to as Pondi, was opened in December 2023 and attracted locals in the Penrith City area and beyond as an opportunity to cool off in the summer months.

Jordan believes the death of a swimmer there could have been prevented.

“I think his own personal knowledge could have helped him a fair bit,” he said. “He would’ve been about chest height being able to stand up and in a split second sort of dropped [into the deep].”

“People don’t know their own limits.”

Main image by Tasmanian Kris/Flickr.