Watch Around Water is a leading water safety and supervision program designed to protect children at public swimming pools across Western Australia. Launched in 2004 in response to tragic drowning incidents involving young children, this program was created by The Leisure Institute of Western Australia (LIWA) Aquatics and Royal Life Saving Society WA to raise awareness and improve supervision standards at aquatic facilities.
By encouraging parents, guardians, and pool staff to actively supervise children – especially those under 10 years old – Watch Around Water helps reduce drowning risks and aquatic injuries. The program is based on national and international best practices and has been successfully implemented in many metropolitan and regional pools throughout WA.
With over 20 years of proven impact, Watch Around Water remains a trusted community-driven initiative promoting safe swimming environments. Its ongoing success comes from clear supervision policies, widespread support across local pools, and a shared commitment to keeping children safe around water.
The Watch Around Water program is proudly supported by LIWA Aquatics.
Supervision Policies
Supervision policies are an essential part of the Watch Around Water program. These policies have been developed based on national and international best practice standards.
These policies are a minimum standard and some pools may choose to operate at a higher level.
- Children under 5 (aged 0-4 years) must be accompanied into the aquatic centre by a responsible adult (aged 16 years or older) and supervised within arm's reach at all times. This means that if the child is in the water, the parent/guardian must be ready to enter the water in case of an emergency.
- Children under 10 (aged 5-9 years) must be accompanied into the aquatic centre by a responsible adult (aged 16 years or older) and supervised within the line of sight at all times. This means the parent/guardian must have clear, constant and direct access to the child at all times.
- All unsupervised children will be removed from the water.
PARENTS SUPERVISE. LIFEGUARDS SAVE LIVES.
Watch Around Water is an industry-driven program, leading the way globally in providing safe public swimming pools for the community to enjoy.
Lifeguards are trained to respond in emergencies, but they can’t watch every child constantly. That’s why parents and guardians play a vital role in supervising their children closely — working together with lifeguards to keep everyone safe around water.
Watch Around Water is in place to make sure everyone goes home safely after visiting the pool.
