Practice Note No. 15 - Water Safety - Division of Local Government ...
Practice Note No. 15 - Water Safety - Division of Local Government ...
Practice Note No. 15 - Water Safety - Division of Local Government ...
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4. A RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH TO WATER SAFETYCouncils are encouraged to adopt a risk management approach to water safety, or some other approachwhich is systematic and comprehensive in identifying water safety risks and developing strategies to addressthese risks. Many councils have adopted a risk management approach based on Australian Standard AS/NZ4360 – 1996 Risk Management. This publication is available from Standards Australia (see Section 11Further Resources for contact details).A risk management approach, or any other approach concerned with water safety, will need to consider anumber <strong>of</strong> factors.In regard to public swimming pools, factors that should be considered include:ØØØØØnumber <strong>of</strong> patronscharacteristics <strong>of</strong> patrons, for example, age and swimming abilitydesign <strong>of</strong> the facility and the impact this has on visual surveillance <strong>of</strong> patronssize and shape <strong>of</strong> poolsnature <strong>of</strong> activities available such as diving towers and water slides, aquarobics, and learn-to-swimclassesIn regard to beaches and other waterways, factors that should be considered include:Ø number <strong>of</strong> usersØ characteristics <strong>of</strong> users, for example, age and swimming abilityØ location, for example, its proximity to emergency services such as ambulanceØ geographic layout and the impact this has on visual surveillance <strong>of</strong> usersØ number and size <strong>of</strong> patrolled and unpatrolled areasØ characteristics <strong>of</strong> beaches, such as rips and other surf conditions, and the location <strong>of</strong> rocks and otherhazards. Councils might find the publication Beaches <strong>of</strong> the New South Wales Coast. A guide to theirnature, characteristics, surf and safety useful as it describes such characteristics and allocates a safetyrating for each NSW beach. The publication is available from Surf Life Saving NSW (see Section 11Further Resources for contact details)Some councils use computerised risk management programs, for example:Ø Wollongong City Council has developed a comprehensive system called Corporate Asset ProtectionSystem (CAPS) which is also used to assist the council in carrying out its water safety functions (seeSection 11 Further Resources for contact details for Wollongong Council for further information)<strong>Practice</strong> <strong><strong>No</strong>te</strong> <strong>15</strong>: <strong>Water</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>5