In Australia swimming is a vital life skill. Learning to swim at any age can not only prevent you from drowning, but can also protect your family and help you confidently participate in Australian life.
Learning to swim may not seem a priority when settling in Australia. The reality is that drowning numbers in multicultural communities are alarmingly high, and water safety knowledge is poor.
These are the findings of the National Drowning Report, produced each year by Royal Life Saving Society Australia.
Michael Masseni is Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at Life Saving Victoria (LSV), and delivers swimming programs to CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) groups.
On average over the past 10 years, 35 per cent of all drownings have been people from CALD backgrounds, so either people who have recently moved to Australia or people whose parents weren’t born in Australia.
Eighty per cent of drownings are men, as they tend to engage in riskier behaviour, says Mr Masseni.
Men might overestimate their ability in the water. And women might come from countries where sport and swimming aren’t really a priority.
Swimming unlocks opportunities to participate in Australian life Source: Getty Images/Attila Csaszar
Why are multicultural communities at higher risk of drowning?
Australian-born children usually have access to school swimming programs. Most Australians live on the coastline or have access to swimming pools, and view water as both utilitarian and recreational. Swimming is part of Australia’s cultural identity.
This is not always the case for our CALD communities.
Sophia grew up in Eritrea and moved to Kenya as a refugee. She had no swimming or water safety knowledge when she arrived in Australia.
I can count just two or three days in my life that I went to the pool, before I came to Australia. So there was not really any opportunity for me to learn, even though I was very interested in swimming.
With support from a community program run by LSV, Spectrum and Victoria University, Sophia learnt to swim as a young adult and now teaches children to swim.
“I heard stories about many Eritreans like myself who lost their lives in the sea after migrating,” says Sophia. “I didn’t know how to float. I didn’t have the basic skills to survive in the water. But once I got into swimming, I overcame the fear that anything can happen while you’re at the pool.”
Rivers can be remote and are unsupervised Source: Source: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Where do people drown?
People fail to recognise the dangers of open water such as ‘rips’, the strong currents moving out to sea. Despite rips being one of Australia’s greatest beach hazards, even more drownings occur away from the beach.
Last year 26 per cent of fatal drownings were in a river or creek, compared with 22 per cent at a beach and 15 per cent in the ocean or harbour.
“Many people visit remote areas not knowing the water depth,” says Jade Hanson, Marketing Manager at AUSTSWIM. “There’s little supervision or help in remote river locations so we see a high percentage of drownings.”
Swimming is an essential life skill
Both swimming and water safety skills are essential to ensuring safe swimming, fishing, boating and other water activities.
If you’re confident in your own swimming ability then you’ll be more confident supervising your family around water.
Developing good swimming skills will also unlock "opportunities to be part of the community and participate in common things in Australia life," says Michael Masseni. .
Find a swimming class
The best place to learn to swim is in the swimming pool. The AUSTSWIM website provides an AUSTSWIM-recognised swim centre locator, says Jade Hanson.
They’ve got lessons aged from six months, so babies all the way through to adults. Some centres offer special CALD lessons so they might be one-on-one, or with a group.
The average price is $19 – $26 per lesson, depending on the pool and class size.You can also find programs that are free or subsidised, so ask your local migrant resource centre, council or university.
Royal Life Saving Society Australia has resources in languages, and what to wear to the pool.
They also fund programs for identified ‘at-risk’ communities, including adults from CALD groups.
is another program designed specifically for adults. First developed by Navitas Skilled Futures in Bankstown, Sydney, in partnership with Different Strokes Swimming, a Sydney-based learn-to-swim school solely for adults, this program has now assisted many migrants and refugees to gain a new skill, become more self-confident and feel empowered.
