July CEO Update

The team at Life Saving Victoria has much to celebrate and reflect upon from the last 12 months. 

With the 2025-26 financial year now complete, it’s a great time for us all, within LSV, the lifesaving movement and the aquatic industry to take stock of what we’ve achieved together.   

A total of 75,556 people learned vital water safety skills and knowledge in programs run by LSV’s Education and Diversity & Inclusion teams. Our Public Training team delivered courses to 21,288 participants, covering first-aid, CPR and aquatic safety. This is on top of the hundreds of thousands of people educated and trained throughout Victoria by our aquatic industry partners. 

Of course, our volunteer lifesavers and paid lifeguards had a significant year as well, performing a total of 631 rescues and 1,465 first-aid interventions. 

There is no doubt that the combined work of our volunteers, personnel, partners and stakeholders has made an immeasurable impact on so many lives, families and communities throughout Victoria. 

Despite these efforts, 52 people still lost their lives to drowning in Victoria. This is equal to the number of fatal drownings last financial year. 

Whilst we saw encouraging early signs that drowning incidents were reduced over summer compared to record numbers in previous years; the number of drownings remains persistently high – throughout all seasons – not just summer. One drowning is one too many, and we must continue to assess risks and hone our efforts and resources to drive these drowning numbers down – Together!

Carrying the theme this year of Unite to Turn the Tide, the day was an opportunity to remember the lives that have been lost, support affected families and communities and encourage practical action to prevent drowning. 

Roughly 300,000 people drown every year across the world, with 92 per cent of incidents occurring in low and middle-income countries. Tragically, children under five make up about a quarter of all drowning deaths. 

Everyone can do their bit to stay safe around water, and you can find a whole range of easy steps you can take at World Drowning Prevention Day 2026.  

Coupled with World Drowning Prevention Day, Life Saving Victoria was proud to participate in the National Water Safety Summit in Sydney. 

The summit provided an important opportunity for water safety leaders and experts from across Australia to come together, share insights, and identify a collective path forward to reduce drowning across the country. 

LSV was strongly represented throughout the event, contributing to panel discussions, chairing sessions, and showcasing our expertise through six presentations delivered by the Research and Health Promotion team. These presentations highlighted LSV's ongoing commitment to evidence-based research, evaluation, and insights-led drowning prevention initiatives. 

I was also delighted to attend LSV’s annual Pool Lifeguard Challenge in July, which was a terrific success. 

Twenty-four lifeguard teams from across Victoria fought it out at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre, where their skills were put to the test in a range of grueling competitive events covering rescues, first-aid interventions and crowd management scenarios.  

Congratulations to Waves Leisure Centre who took out the win for the event, and to all teams that took part. Thank you to LSV’s Aquatic Capability team for putting on such a fantastic event.  

Victoria came third overall in the competition, which was a terrific achievement for all involved. 

I commend all competitors for your efforts and thank everyone who supported our Victorian crews to take part in the championships.