Royal Life Saving
The Royal Life Saving Society is the largest water safety education organisation in the world, operating in over 50 countries. Formed to combat the unacceptably high drowning toll, the Society started educating people on water safety in 1891 in the United Kingdom.
The Society’s teachings were brought to Australia in 1894 and since then The Royal Life Saving Society Australia has been the leading Australian water safety education body. The Society has been instrumental in providing water safety education programs in schools, the workplace and throughout the community. The Society has published a series of world class training manuals which are used to compliment its water safety education programs as well as to train personnel employed in the Aquatic and Recreation Industry.
As an educational institution, the Society pursues the humanitarian goal of the saving of lives, by way of:
- Providing leadership and direction in technical areas for educational, recreational and health agencies in Australia.
- Providing the community with resources and opportunities to learn to save lives, either through Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Water Safety or First Aid instruction.
- Promoting community understanding of its responsibility for the teaching of water safety, life saving and resuscitation techniques. It strives to increase the community’s awareness of safety in aquatic, home, work and leisure environments.
- Supporting the continuing development of education in safe swimming and life saving.
- Maintaining the Society as the leading accreditation body in safety training to the Aquatic and Recreation industries, providing high quality courses for today’s lifeguards, pool operators and other employees. In addition the Society provides quality professional consultative services for the Aquatic industry on water safety issues and Aquatic venue safety audits as well as providing an expert witness arm.
The Royal Life Saving Society is proud of its record in the area of water safety and life saving education. In 2009 some 250,000 people were accredited with life saving qualifications in New South Wales alone while just over 405,000 people – young and old alike – were instructed face to face in the Society’s educational and public awareness programs. This instruction was carried out by the professional staff, contracted trainers and volunteers spread throughout New South Wales.
The New South Wales Branch of the Society has its headquarters in Sydney, as well as five strategically located Regional Offices in Newcastle, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong, Coffs Harbour and Orange. The Society, with the assistance of the NSW Department of Education and Training, is proud to boast it is the first aquatic safety training organisation in Australia to create ‘The Murdi Paaki Indigenous Skills Centre’ in Orange NSW and the Mobile Indigenous Training Unit in Sydney, designed to educate Australia’s Aboriginal communities in survival, rescue, resuscitation, first aid and vocational courses in lifeguarding and learn to swim.
The Society’s educational and training work is carried out in the aquatic and recreation industry, labour market and general communities, educating people in the skills of water safety, swimming, survival, rescue, resuscitation, first aid and lifeguarding.
Link to http://www.royallifesaving.com.au/www/html/187-nsw-website-home-page.asp