Surf Life Saving Australia releases 2024 National Coastal Safety Report

September 13, 2024

Aquatics / Recreation / Safety / Sport /

Over the past 12 months volunteer surf lifesavers saved over 1,600 lives. This statistic is one of many highlighted in Surf Life Saving Australia’s 2024 National Coastal Safety Report released today.

New research also reveals that over the past 12 months there were more than 16 million coastal visitations, 258 coastal deaths - 150 due to drowning (58%).

The report highlights that the coastal drowning burden would have been over 1,684 and a further 1,010 critical injuries could have occurred if it wasn’t for the dedication of volunteer surf lifesavers and lifeguards across the country who performed a record 2.4 million preventative actions.

As more than 45,000 volunteers gear up to patrol Australia’s beaches again this season, the National Coastal Safety Report reveals that 8,857 rescues were performed across the country’s coastline in the last 12 months, as well as more than 2.4 million preventative actions by surf lifesavers and lifeguards to keep beachgoers safe. This was an increase of 29% from last season.

Surf Life Saving Australia Chief Executive, Adam Weir said surf lifesavers are committed to keeping people safe at the beach but urged all Australians to make surf safety a personal priority.

Weir shared “we are deeply saddened by the drowning numbers this past year, each one was preventable and one death is one too many. The numbers are alarming and we encourage everyone to take notice.

“I am however incredibly proud of the work of our volunteer surf lifesavers across the country who performed a record number of preventative actions which has ensured this drowning number was not significantly higher. Never before have our surf lifesavers been asked to do so much. Our research shows that our efforts represent a $9.5 billion dollar value to the community.

“As the Australian population continues to grow, more and more people are visiting the coast and swimming away from Surf Life Saving services remains a major risk. Drowning incidents along our beaches are extending beyond the traditional holiday periods with summer extending well into March with drowning incidents 64% above average.

“We want to ensure everyone can enjoy our coastline safely and return home to loved ones. Our message remains simple: swim at patrolled locations, know your limits and be aware of your actions and decisions around the water”.

The National Coastal Safety Report 2024 insights include:

Males were 6.5 times more likely to drown than females, accounting for 86% of the coastal drowning burden
Swimming and wading drowning deaths increased by 49% from the 10-year average.
Beaches were the leading drowning location with 1 in 3 beach drowning deaths due to rip currents, which remain the number one coastal hazard
Coastal drowning deaths were 64% higher in February and March, and 24% above average in Winter.
16.6 million Australians visited the coast in the last 12 months
8,857 rescues and 2.4 million preventative actions were performed across the Australian coastline in the past 12 months

Click here for the 2024 National Coastal Safety Report.

LIFESAVING, COASTAL DROWNING & FATALITY STATISTICS 2023/24

NATIONAL

No. patrolling members - 45,236
No. of rescues - 8, 857
No. of preventative actions - 2, 482, 013
No. of first aid treatments - 49, 331
Volunteer patrol hours - 1,462,533
Value to community - $9.5+ billion
No. of coastal deaths – 258 coastal deaths, including 150 due to drowning (58%)
No. of coastal drowning deaths – 150, a 22% increase from last year (n=123), and a 18% increase from the 10-year average of (n=127).
High drowning risk groups - 21% 40-49 year olds, 10% 20-24 year olds, 86% male
Where drowning deaths occurred - 69% >1km from Surf Life Saving services
Coastal drowning occurred mostly while swimming/wading (41%), followed by boating (11%), then snorkelling and falls (7% each).

NEW SOUTH WALES

No. patrolling members – 20,878
No. of rescues - 4,489
No. of preventative actions - 1,114,642
No. of first aid treatments - 18,098
Volunteer patrol hours – 685,090
Value to community - $4.4+ billion
No. of coastal deaths – 99, 61 due to drowning (62%)
No. of coastal drowning deaths – 61, a 27% increase from last year (n=48), and a 33% increase from the 10-year average of (n=46).
High drowning risk groups - 23% 45-54 year olds, 16% 20-29 year olds, 85% males
Where drownings occurred - 62% >1km from Surf Life Saving services, 56% beaches, 25% rock/cliff locations
When drowning deaths occurred – 28% occurred in winter (an increase of 113%), almost equal to summer (30%)
Coastal drowning deaths occurred mostly while swimming/wading (39%), followed by rock fishing (11%), then watercraft (7%).

NORTHERN TERRITORY

No. patrolling members – 95
No. of rescues - 37
No. of preventative actions – 6,393
No. of first aid treatments - 368
Volunteer patrol hours – 1,759
Value to community - $28+ million
No. of coastal deaths – 4, 1 due to drowning (25%)
No. of coastal drowning deaths – 1 drowning death in 2023/24, equal to last year, and a 50% decrease from the 10-year average of (n=2).

Five-year NT coastal drowning trends (2019/20 – 2023/24)

No. of coastal drowning deaths – 7 drowning death in five years, 30% lower than the preceding five year period (2014/15 – 2018/19; n=10), and 18% below the ten-year average (n=2).
High drowning risk groups - 29% 55-64 and 29% 25-34 year olds, 86% males
Where drownings occurred - 86% >1km from Surf Life Saving services, 57% beaches, 29% port/marina locations
When drowning deaths occurred – 57% occurred during the wet season
Coastal drowning deaths occurred mostly while swimming/wading (57%), followed by falls (29%), then boating (14%).

QUEENSLAND

No. of patrolling members – 9,072
No. of rescues - 2,633
Five year Beach rescue demographics – 587 were children (0-12 years), 486 young adults (13-17), 1560 Adults (18+ years), males are 1.5x more likely to be rescued than females
No. of preventative actions - 787,366
No. of first aid treatments - 25,106
Volunteer patrol hours – 356,662
Value to community – $2.9+ billion
No. of coastal deaths – 47, 23 due to drowning (49%)
No. of coastal drowning deaths – 23, a 15% decrease from last year and the 10-year average (n = 27).
No. of beach related drowning deaths – 8 beach-related drowning deaths in 2023/24, the lowest in five years.
High-risk beach drowning groups – 52% Australian born, only 10% were short-term visitors
High drowning risk groups - 22% 40-49 year olds and 35% 6-69 year olds, 87% males
Where drowning deaths occurred 48% offshore, 35% beaches, 70% >1km from Surf Life Saving services
When drowning deaths occurred – 57% occurred during summer, 26% spring
Coastal drowning deaths occurred mostly while swimming/wading (35%), followed by boating (22%), then snorkelling (17%).

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

No. of patrolling members – 2,641
No. of rescues - 86
No. of preventative actions - 11,923
No. of first aid treatments – 550
Volunteer patrol hours – 71,288
Value to community – $58+ million
No. of coastal deaths – 15, 9 due to drowning (60%)
No. of coastal drowning deaths – 9, a 50% increase from last year (n = 6), and a 8% increase from the 10-year average (n = 8)
High drowning risk groups - 30-39 (22%), 70-79 (56%) year olds, 100% males
Where drownings occurred – 56% at beaches, 33% offshore, 78% >1km from Surf Life Saving services
When drowning deaths occurred – 56% occurred in autumn, 22% winter
Coastal drowning deaths occurred mostly while boating (33%), followed equally by land-based fishing, attempting a rescue and swimming/wading (11% each)

TASMANIA

No. patrolling members – 792
No. of rescues - 83
No. of preventative actions – 1,291
No. of first aid treatments - 136
Volunteer patrol hours – 21,773
•Value to community - $27+ million
No. of coastal deaths – 15, 10 due to drowning (67%)
No. of coastal drowning deaths – 10, a 233% increase from last year (n=3), and a 70% increase from the 10-year average of (n=6).
High drowning risk groups - 30-39 (30%) and 70-79 (30%) year olds, 80% males
Where drownings occurred - 90% >1km from Surf Life Saving services, 60% beaches, 40% offshore
When drowning deaths occurred – 40% occurred in Summer, 30% each Spring and Autumn
Coastal drowning deaths occurred mostly while swimming/wading (50%), followed by scuba diving (30%) and then boating (10%).

VICTORIA

No. patrolling members – 6,630
No. of rescues - 849
No. of preventative actions – 455,937
No. of first aid treatments – 1,321
Volunteer patrol hours – 216,098
Value to community - $1.5+ billion
No. of coastal deaths – 40, 26 due to drowning (65%)
No. of coastal drowning deaths – 26, a 37% increase from last year (n=19), and a 38% increase from the 10-year average of (n=19).
High drowning risk groups - 20-29 (27%) and 55-64 (31%) year olds, 85% males
Where drownings occurred - 69% >1km from Surf Life Saving services, 65% beaches, 19% offshore
When drowning deaths occurred – 69% occurred in Summer, 19% Autumn
Coastal drowning deaths occurred mostly while swimming/wading (54%), followed by snorkelling (12%) and then scuba diving (8%).

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

No. of patrolling members – 5,128
No. of rescues - 680
No. of preventative actions - 104,461
No. of first aid treatments - 3,752
Volunteer patrol hours – 109,863
Value to community – $4.8+ million
No. of coastal deaths – 38, 20 due to drowning (53%)
No. of coastal drowning deaths – 20, a 5% decrease from last year (n=21), and a 5% increase from the 10-year average (n=19)
No drowning risk groups- 40-49 (35%), 60-69 (20%) year olds, 90% male
Where drownings occurred – 65% at beaches, 15% offshore75% >1km from Surf Life Saving services
When drowning deaths occurred – 55% occurred in Summer, 20% in Autumn
Coastal drowning deaths occurred mostly while swimming/wading (40%), followed by snorkelling (15%) and then scuba diving (10%)

12th September 2024 - NSW Surf Life Saving Clubs to receive $5 million funding boost

12th September 2024 - Mobile coverage to be enhanced at popular Western Australian remote surf beaches

20th August 2024 - UNSW safety research shows volunteer surf lifesavers have sole responsibility for patrolling NSW beaches just 14.4% of the time

20th August 2024 - Drowning levels continue to increase despite ever increasing resources

18th August 2024 - NSW Government backs new Surf Life Saving coastal safety and rescue efforts with $380,000 investment

2nd August 2024 - UNSW research indicates confusion over beach safety signage

22nd June 2024 - Surf Life Saving Iron Series secures Shaw and Partners as new naming rights sponsor

21st June 2024 - Gold Coast’s professional lifeguards swap skills with Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture to improve surf safety

20th May 2024 - Surf Life Saving Australia marks end of volunteer patrolling season with Parliament House reception

13th April 2024 - Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships gets underway on Sunshine Coast

25th March 2024 - Surf Life Saving Australia research exposes lesser-known coastal threats

6th May 2024 - Australian Lifeguard Service gains recognition with NSW Rescue Awards

19th March 2024 - 2024 APOLA Conference to argue for investment in drowning prevention

5th March 2024 - NSW Government convenes Coastal Water Safety Roundtable

1st March 2024 - Surf Life Saving Australia reveals summer with 99 drowning deaths and more than 5,000 lives saved

15th December 2023 - Sensationalist media target Surf Life Saving Australia over draft gender diversity guidelines

6th December 2023 - Surf Life Saving Australia launches ‘Give an F about the Flags’ new summer safety campaign

30th November 2023 - Randwick Council introduces professional lifeguarding services at two new Sydney beaches this summer

9th November 2023 - Launching its Keep Watch water safety campaign Royal Life Saving warns of child drowning risk

27th October 2023 - Australian Lifeguard Service to run beach patrol service for Eurobodalla Council

5th September 2023 - Royal Life Saving highlights swim teacher and lifeguard shortages present opportunities for job seekers this summer

7th May 2021 - Review gives ‘top marks’ to Gold Coast’s professional lifeguard services

15th December 2017 - Leading professional lifeguard says swim between flags message is ‘desirable but unrealistic’

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