Lifesavers sound the alarm as drowning deaths surge among older Australians
Urgent action is needed to improve lifeguards’ swimming skills at all ages as Australia faces a record rise in drowning deaths, it has warned.
The latest data from Royal Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving’s National Drowning Report shows 357 people drowned between July 2024 and June 2025; This number is 27 above the 10-year average.
While children had the lowest drowning rates nationwide, deaths rose sharply in people over 15 and were above the 10-year average for every age group over 45.
There was a 63 percent increase in people over the age of 75, and a third of the deaths were immigrants.
About 87 percent of Australia’s population lives within 50 kilometers of the coastline, where nearly half of all drowning deaths occur.
The report found that swimming, fishing and visiting unsupervised sites remain high-risk activities in coastal areas.
Royal Life Saving Australia CEO Justin Scarr said in a statement that the shocking figures were a wake-up call.
“The decline in swimming skills, an aging population and more people traveling to remote and unfamiliar locations for life-saving services are causing concern,” he said.
“Half of children leave primary school unable to swim 50 meters but cannot swim for two minutes, resulting in lifelong risk.
“To reverse this tragic drowning trend, every Australian, regardless of postcode or background, should have access to swimming lessons, a great local swimming pool or somewhere safe to swim.”
He said that those who cannot swim 100 meters should probably not swim above knee level.
The veteran lifeguard has been retrieving bodies from water since he was 18 and estimates he has carried out 6,500 rescues during his 30-year career.
Mr Carroll was prompted by action on a family holiday in Hawaii this month when a three-year-old girl was pulled from a hotel pool after lying below the surface for about two minutes.
Her father fell asleep, unaware that his little girl had been struggling in the water for nearly four minutes.
Mr Carroll resuscitated the child, who vomited approximately 1200ml of water from his lungs.
He said this is a timely reminder for people to learn CPR, know how to resuscitate a child or adult and learn to swim, which could be the difference between life or death for a loved one.
“People don’t realize how close they are to death,” he said.
“I’m watching two men in hats talking right now, and I can tell by the way they move with minimal tearing that they have no idea what they’re doing.
“Men think they are strong and tough, but they have the highest drowning statistics.
“If they’re going to save someone they really need to know what they’re getting into and what they’re doing because a lot of guys drown trying to save someone.”
While the government has invested $34 million in water safety campaigns across the country, which are great for raising awareness, Mr Carroll believes the money should be used to encourage people to take swimming lessons, regardless of their age.
‘We’ve got a million campaigns on safety around water and what we’re doing to protect and preserve human life this summer,’ he said.
“The funding must be given back to the people. We must give them some sort of incentive to learn to swim because I can guarantee that in six months we will be horrified.”
“Take some surfing lessons before you start surfing, there are so many ways to gain skills now.”
Mr Carroll encouraged people to break the stigma and sign up for swimming lessons if they don’t know how to swim, even if they are adults.
“It’s about being there and being there for your family because it takes seconds to lose someone,” he said.
“I’ve seen so many people go through this and do so many rescues throughout my career.
“I’m talking about surgeons and people who are very talented and made mistakes and never learned to swim and went into the ocean.
“There’s a stigma that people are too old to learn, but you can always learn to swim.”
The Bondi lifeguard said Australia’s beaches were some of the most treasured parts of the country’s culture and were close to where most people lived, but the number of people who couldn’t swim and entered the ocean was getting worse with each passing year.
“I can’t believe I haven’t lost a life on my watch for 30 years, but now I feel like I’ve clinched it,” he said.
“We were raised to love the ocean, it’s engraved in our children’s DNA.
“Why don’t they (visitors) want to feel the same as us, so they go down to the beach and jump headfirst?
“Knowing your limits is very important and knowing your threshold in the water is vital.
“When the beach isn’t marked with red and yellow flags or patrolled, it’s not a swim day.”
Surf Lifesaving Australia CEO Adam Weir said in a statement that surf lifeguards and lifeguards had never worked harder to keep people safe on beaches.
He said lifeguards and lifeguards performed nearly 2.2 million preventive actions and more than 8,000 rescues last year.
“As beach use continues to increase and people explore a larger coastal area, more is being asked of surf lifeguards and lifeguards,” he said.
