Published 16 July 2024

As Farm Safety Week 2024 commences, Royal Life Saving Australia is highlighting the dangers of water bodies for young children on farms and rural properties, and reminding farming families and communities to actively supervise children around all waterbodies.

Irrigation channels, dams, ponds, rivers, water tanks and even areas where water pools immediately after rain such as ditches, dips and postholes all pose a drowning risk for young children.

Royal Life Saving Australia Chief Executive Officer, Justin Scarr, said the large size of many farms and the relatively easy access to water raised the risk of drowning.

“Drowning risk triples when children turn one and are starting to be more independent and mobile,” Mr Scarr said.

“We know it isn’t feasible or practical for property owners to fence every water body on their farm. It’s not like a suburban home when you can install a fence around the swimming pool and that prevents access to water.

“For farms and rural properties, we recommend setting up child safe play areas near the home so there is a barrier between children and all those water hazards.

“There is no replacement for direct supervision of children, but we know that every parent will have moments of distraction so a barrier between children and water is critical to provide that backup and keep children safe.”

In the 20 years between 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2022, 60 per cent of all drowning deaths in Australia occurred in regional and remote areas of Australia, and 20% of drowning among young children occurred in a river, creek, lake or dam.

Farmsafe Australia’s campaign “In Safe Hands” highlights the safety risks for farmers and farm workers and urges them to make safe choices, including actively supervising children.

"Water bodies are the single greatest risk to children aged 0-4 on farms and rural properties,” Mr Scarr said.

“When the farm is both a workplace and home environment, we know children are going to be around water infrastructure such as dams, troughs, rivers, irrigation channels and other water bodies.

“It's critical that families choose to create a safe, secure play environment away from water, establish barriers to water wherever possible, and actively supervise children when they are around water bodies."

For more information about keeping children safe on farms, visit: https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/stay-safe-active/locations/farm-water-safety