Published 18 March 2025
From Primary to High School: A Generational Decline in Swimming Skills Puts Lives at Risk
New Royal Life Saving research highlights further declines in children’s swimming skills, with half of Year 6 students falling below the National Swimming and Water Safety Benchmark. This alarming trend continues into high school, putting thousands at increased risk of drowning in early adulthood.
Key Findings:
- Primary-aged students are struggling to meet benchmarks. Teachers estimate that 48% of Year 6 students cannot swim 50 metres and tread water for two minutes. Parents report similar concerns, with 46% of 11-12-year-olds falling short of this standard.
- Swimming skills don’t improve in high school. Teachers estimate that 39% of Year 10 students still cannot meet the Year 6 benchmark
- Lifesaving skills of high school students are dangerously weak. Teachers estimate a staggering 84% of 15-16-year-olds are unable to swim 400 metres and tread water for five minutes, a basic lifesaving requirement and the benchmark for 17-year-olds.
The research comes after 104 people lost their lives to drowning this past summer, up 5% from last summer and 14% on the 5-year average. A lack of swimming skills was known to be a significant factor for drowning across summer.
School Swimming Programs Under Pressure
The research shows that 31% of schools do not offer learn-to-swim programs at all. Cost, staffing shortages, and time limitations are cited as major barriers.
Parents Carry the Burden – But Many Can’t Afford It
Parents play a crucial role in children’s swimming education, yet one in ten children aged 5-14 have never attended lessons, with those from low socio-economic and regional backgrounds most impacted.
While 59% of children start swimming lessons before age three, most stop between ages 7-9, often before learning critical lifesaving skills that could protect them from drowning as teenagers and adults.
Urgent Action Required
Royal Life Saving Australia CEO Dr Justin Scarr urges immediate action, “Summer was terribly tragic in so many ways. This new research further amplifies long-held concerns that many young people lack the swimming skills to enjoy the water safely.
“It’s alarming to see so many missing out. We risk creating a generation with extremely poor swimming skills. Coordinated investments are needed to boost the swimming and lifesaving skills of children and young people, especially those aged 10-14 years who can’t yet swim 50 metres, before it's too late.”
Declining swimming skills have been flagged for years. Thousands of children missed lessons due to the pandemic. Non-and poor-swimming children become adults highly vulnerable to drowning, with drowning rates increasing ten-fold between 10 and 20 years of age.
Royal Life Saving Australis advocates four measures to ensure no child misses out on learning to swim:
- Increase funding for existing school and vacation swimming and water safety programs
- Increase grants targeting people with vulnerabilities to drowning, including those from refugee, migrant, regional and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
- Increase access to lifesaving programs to boost water safety skills and teach resilience in high schools
- Address infrastructure gaps, by investing in more public swimming pools and swim schools
