AUSTSWIM Makes Change To Age Eligibility

With families across Australia being turned away from swim schools due to the nationwide swim teacher shortage, Australia’s pre-eminent provider of swimming and water safety teacher training AUSTSWIM has now lowered the age of its Swim Teacher License to 16 years old.

 

Urgently addressing the need for vital swimming and water safety skills ahead of summer, AUSTSWIM is committed to ensuring every Australian - whether living regionally or remote, Indigenous, culturally, and linguistically diverse or any other community in need – has immediate access to swimming and water safety training and education.

 

Since its inception in 1979, AUSTSWIM swim teacher candidates could undertake the AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety course at the age of 16 and upon turning 17, receive their AUSTSWIM Teacher Licence.  

 

Now, this landmark response to the nationwide shortage means new prospective swim teachers will be able to train and gain their AUSTSWIM Swim Teacher License at 16 years of age.

 

It also means that the more than 300 AUSTSWIM trained teachers who had been awaiting their 17^th birthday to be licensed will have their AUSTSWIM Swim Teacher License just in time for the summer months to ensure there is a trained and skilled workforce helping to meet demand.

 

 

AUSTSWIM Chief Executive Officer Brad Low said the organisation remains committed to addressing the nationwide shortage and the importance of raising awareness around drowning prevention through the teaching of vital swimming and water safety skills.

 

“Swim schools across the country are operating at capacity and with not enough accredited and licensed teachers, they are unfortunately turning families away, this small but very significant change will make a difference to ensuring we have a trained and skilled workforce helping to meet demand,” said Mr Low.

 

“Also, with the support of several State funding initiatives, our focus is on educating as many new teachers as we can, ensuring that everyone across the country has access to swimming and water safety classes delivered by knowledgeable and experienced AUSTSWIM teachers who have been trained to the highest quality standards.

 

“AUSTSWIM Licensed Teachers are the lifeblood of swimming and water safety programs and have been so for the past 43 years.

 

“Their employment and engagement are critical, resulting in more Australians participating in swimming and water safety lessons which will help reduce the number of preventable drownings and water-related injuries.”

 

AUSTSWIM Ambassador Brooke Hanson OLY OAM spoke about the importance of new teachers and how learning to swim is a skill for life. “After almost drowning twice as a baby I was put into swimming lessons and quickly learnt the importance of water safety. I’m so concerned about the youth of our nation and the vital lessons they are missing out on. As an AUSTSWIM ambassador, I call on Australians of all ages to become AUSTSWIM licensed teachers and join our team of ‘Everyday Swim-influencers’ and make a difference in the lives of others by teaching a skill for life.”

 

For over 43 years Australians have been taught to swim by AUSTSWIM-trained and licenced Swimming and Water Safety Teachers.

 

Nationally, AUSTSWIM commits to ensuring training is available. Whether it is regional and remote, indigenous, culturally, and linguistically diverse or any other community in need, AUSTSWIM is there to ensure that every Australian has access to swimming and water safety training and education.

 

With one AUSTSWIM Licenced Teacher teaching on average up to 100 Australians a week, the total AUSTSWIM Licensed Teacher network is teaching up to 3.5 million people every week.

An estimated 4.7 million children aged 0–14 live in Australia alone, and the vision for AUSTSWIM is for each and every one of them to be taught by an AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety.

 

 

The Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2022 reveals a tragic spike in drowning deaths over the past 12 months with 339 drowning deaths occurring across Australia, the highest in 25 years.

 

In addition to the fatal drownings, there were 686 non-fatal drowning incidents.

 

The report shines light and concern on the importance of learning swimming and water safety skills at any age. These statistics are a reminder to the whole community and to over 33 000 AUSTSWIM teachers currently working back-to-back shifts that they are the lifeblood of Swimming and Water Safety programs across Australia, and they teach skills for life.

 

 

A not-for-profit body, AUSTSWIM is Australia’s pre-eminent provider of swimming and water safety teacher training. Its licensed teachers are accredited to the ISO17024 standard and provide an essential link in drowning prevention and safer aquatic participation. 

AUSTSWIM has been Australia’s national organisation for the teaching of Swimming and Water Safety since 1979. In that time, we have trained over 388, 250 teachers of swimming and water safety and continue to train around 13,000 candidates annually.

 

AUSTSWIM has developed quality aquatic education programs for those wishing to enter the aquatic industry as a Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety, together with a range of industry-leading specialist courses that will enable candidates to become well-regarded assets in their chosen fields.

 

The AUSTSWIM Licence is the industry standard for swimming and water safety teachers. It is delivered and recognised in each state and territory of Australia, as well as in many countries overseas.

 

The AUSTSWIM Teacher licence is the most well-known, widely recognised and regarded accreditation in the industry.