Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th May, 2023, more than 120 delegates from over 45 organisations met together to develop a collective water safety strategy for the South East Queensland region.
The forum, facilitated by Royal Life Saving Society - Australia and co-hosted by the Royal Life Saving Society - Queensland and the City of Gold Coast, came about as a result of Royal Life Saving research which found that 366 people had drowned in the region in the last 10 years, making the region a drowning blackspot region.
The drowning report and draft strategy are available below.
BACKGROUND
Royal Life Saving research has identified South East Queensland as a key area of concern with the region over-represented in drowning statistics. A 10 year analysis from 2011/12 to 2021/22 indicates:
- 366 people have drowned in South East Queensland
- 45% were within five kilometres of home when they drowned
- 32% were aged between 25 and 44 years of age and a further 20% were aged 65+ years
- 77% of people who drowned were male
ABOUT THE STRATEGY
The development of this strategy has been informed by the following activities:
South East Queensland Drowning Profile
Forum participants were provided with local drowning data, research and information. The information included regional and LGA-level drowning statistics, key contributing factors and local drowning risk factors. Participants were also invited to share their own personal experiences of drowning, drowning prevention and drowning response. These discussions informed the architecture of the regional water safety strategy which focuses on 17 key priority areas for the region.
Community Survey – Community Attitudes to Water Safety
Workshop participants were also provided with findings from the Community Attitudes to Water Safety Survey. The survey catchment area covered the South East Queensland region from Pallarenda, west to Alice River, south to Charters Towers and includes Magnetic Island. The 18-question survey was open for four weeks to gather as much information as possible. Hundreds of community members completed the survey, providing rich insights into community behaviours and expectations.
Water Safety Forum Workshops
Forum attendees identified key issues for each of the 17 selected priority areas and collectively agreed upon action that they believe will move South East Queensland closer towards the target of reducing drowning by 50% by 2027.
NEXT STEPS
We encourage LGAs to consider whether they could follow up this strategy by developing a local water safety plan specific to their local community context. We also would be supportive of a broader QLD Government-led working group being established to respond to the strategy, and recognise forum participant feedback that more cross-cutting and cross-portfolio collaboration is needed to accelerate meaningful drowning prevention action.
