We use the Watch Around Water policy to inform water safety at all of our pools. This approach:

• supports responsible adults to keep children safe in and around the water
• ensures adequate supervision for every child visiting public aquatic facilities.

Watch Around Water is a collaboration between Aquatics and Recreation Victoria, Life Saving Victoria and the Play it Safe by the Water campaign.

See below for how the Watch Around Water policy applies to different age groups and scenarios.

Responsible adults

As a responsible adult, you must

• not supervise more than 4 children under 10
• not supervise more than 2 children under 5
• be within arm's reach of children under 5 at all times
• maintain the ability to provide immediate assistance should their child come into difficulty
• be actively observing children including during swimming lessons
• be ready to collect child at the conclusion of the lesson.

You should avoid distractions, such as mobile phones, and stay on pool deck. If a child or swim instructor needs help, they should be able to find you.

If you have multiple children in different lessons, we recognise that it's not practical to supervise them all. Aim to split your time between lessons and make regular check-ins with instructors.

Children under 5

Children under 5 must:

• be accompanied into the centre and the water by a responsible adult over the age of 16
• stay within arm's reach at all times
• wear a pink wristband to indicate their age.

As a responsible adult, you must wear a wristband(s) to indicate which children you're supervising. Our staff will remove unsupervised children from the water.

You may not need to be in the water when your child is under a teacher's supervision. However, you must observe them for the whole lesson and be ready to collect them after their learning.

Children under 10

Children under 10 must:

• be accompanied into the centre by a responsible adult over the age of 16
• be constantly and actively supervised
• wear a yellow wristband to indicate their age.

As a responsible adult, you must:

• place yourself where you have a clear view of the child with no barriers between you and them
• not be distracted from actively supervising your children
• wear a wristband(s) to indicate which children you're supervising – our staff will remove unsupervised children from the water.

We strongly recommend that you accompany the child into the water and stay within arm's reach when swimming in our main pools (1m or deeper).

You may not need to be in the water when your child is under a teacher's supervision. However, you must observe them for the whole lesson and be ready to collect them after their learning.

Children 10 and over

As a responsible adult, use your knowledge of the child's development and swimming ability to determine the level of accompaniment they need.

We recommend that children 10 and over are not left at the pool unsupervised.

If a lifeguard is concerned for a child's safety, they will remove them from the water.

Swimming before and after lessons

The Watch Around Water Policy also applies to recreational swimming around lessons. There are no exceptions or exclusions that apply to children swimming recreationally.

As the responsible adult, you must:

• accompany children under 5 into the water if they swim recreationally before or after lessons
• actively supervise children under 10 if they swim recreationally before or after lessons.

Your child, your focus.