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ROYAL LIFE SAVING

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Guidelines for Inland Waterways

Guiding Safer Practices in Inland Waters

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  • Inland waterways such as rivers, creeks, streams, lakes, dams and lagoons provide significant social and economic value to Australia and require comprehensive consideration in waterway planning and management.  However, the use of any water body introduces a level of risk to the public.

    Inland waterways are the most prominent location for unintentional fatal drownings to occur in Australia. Within Australia, inland waterways are the most prominent location for unintentional fatal drownings to occur. In the summer of 2021/22 51% of all drowning deaths occurred in inland waterways. Twenty-eight percent of drownings involved swimming and recreation, 13% involved boating and 13% involved an unintentional fall into water.

    Royal Life Saving in consultation with an extensive range of land and water authorities has developed these Guidelines for Inland Waterway Safety in response to that risk.

    The Guidelines provide practical guidance to assist inland waterway owners and operators as well as statutory authorities to determine how best to manage the risk of drowning and serious injury resulting from the use of or access to inland waterways and their waterfronts.

  • The Guidelines for Inland Waterways is an annual online subscription service. There are no printed versions.

    All Guideline subscriptions are valid for a 12-month basis beginning on the 1st of July and finishing on the 30th of June the following year.

    Subscriptions will not be prorated. We want to encourage regular access and checking of safety information; therefore, no discounts will apply even for late in the financial year sign-up to guidelines.

    Subscriptions are AU $249* per year (inc.GST) for individual entities.

    All transactions are processed in Australian Dollars (AUD).

    Please note - as the Guidelines are a digital resource and access is granted instantly, all sales are considered final. If you would like to dispute a transaction please contact info@rlssa.org.au

    All subscriptions to the Guidelines incur an associated fee. Subscriptions are available on a per entity basis per financial year.

    During the subscription process, subscribers’ business and personal details will be recorded by RLSSA in the relevant database. All personal details will be kept confidential as outlined in the Privacy Policy on the website. Personal details provided to RLSSA will not be released to any other organisation without the written permission of the individual concerned, unless required to do so by law. Business details will remain de-identified however may be used in generalised and broad terms for the purposes State of Industry reporting.

  • The Guidelines for Inland Waterways consist of the following information:

    - Definitions, Classifications and References
    - Hazards and Vulnerabilities
    - Risk Management
    - Drowning Prevention Planning
    - Signage
    - Public Rescue Equipment
    - Zoning and Designated Swimming Areas
    - Public Awareness and Education
    - Aquatic Program Delivery

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