The why

    First Nations children are 2.9 times more likely to drown than non-Indigenous children, particularly if they live remotely.

    Royal Life Saving Australia research shows that First Nations children (aged 5-14 years) are 2.9 times more likely to drown than non-Indigenous children, due to generally lower levels of swimming skills and water safety knowledge, combined with many living in a remote location near waterways. 


    The RLSA also reported that 40.6% of drowning fatalities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people occur in locations classified as remote and very remote. 

    We can change this.

    Health crisis in remote First Nations communities

    Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from remote communities across Australia continue to experience poorer health and living conditions than other Australians, including exceedingly high rates of chronic disease. 


    First Nations peoples are:

    4 times more likely to have Type 2 Diabetes than other Australians

    3 times more likely to have chronic kidney disease than other Australians

    Health inequality

    This is a result of a range of contributing factors including overcrowded housing, poor sanitation and poor nutrition. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in overcrowded houses are more susceptible to contracting infections through lack of hygiene from poor sanitation and close contact with others, including:


    • chronic ear infections like otitis media
    • eye infections like trachoma
    • skin conditions like pyoderma and scabies


    There is currently a lack of effective health promotion and equity of services across remote and very remote areas to mitigate the health crisis in communities.

    Pools as a vital community asset

    In remote communities, the local swimming pool is a vital community asset. The pool serves as a health intervention to promote healthy living practices that minimise the onset of chronic disease in children and young people, and an opportunity to develop life-long water safety skills to prevent drowning. 


    A number of studies have found that swimming pools result in a range of health and social benefits in communities:

    • A report by Charles Darwin University found a reduced rate of skin infections in First Nations communities after swimming pools were opened, or through strong community-based swimming programs


    • A report published by the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health found that there is a lower rate of infectious diseases in children who have access to clean swimming water compared to those who don’t swim regularly

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