From rivers and lakes to dams and creeks, these unique and complex environments pose an inherent and ongoing risks to community safety. These risks, combined with increasing visitation and varying levels of supervision, demand a proactive and coordinated approach to safety planning.
A local drowning profile is the first step in understanding inland waterway safety. It provides a structured analysis of current circumstances and risks, helping to inform future planning, investment and prevention strategies. Each profile includes:
This evidence-based approach supports a deeper understanding of the unique local context and promotes informed, coordinated actions to reduce drowning risk while supporting safe, active recreation around inland waterways.
Risk assessments include the identification, analysis, evaluation and treatment of risks at a specific inland environment. In line with best practice principles these assessments consider environmental conditions, user behaviours and activities to assist land and waterway managers understand and manage risk. Risk assessments include:
Signage Assessments provide a comprehensive review of aquatic safety and emergency warning signage to ensure compliance with recognised standards and best practice in drowning prevention.
Signage is a recognised communication and risk treatment tool, and is often the focus of critical incident investigations, making accurate, compliant and consistent provisions essential. Each assessment includes:
In addition to assessments, LSV offers a safety signage design, manufacture, and delivery service to ensure signage meets community needs and compliance obligations.
An Inland Waterway Safety Assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of safety systems including policies, procedures, signage, equipment and emergency response plans.
An assessment helps land and waterway managers and other responsible agencies:
These assessments enable land and waterway managers to demonstrate due diligence through the engagement of an independent, expert perspective and better support safer public access to Victorian inland waterways.
A Local Waterway Safety Plan is a comprehensive plan coordinating actions for drowning prevention and water safety at inland aquatic environments.
Developed in line with the best practice water safety, drowning prevention, emergency preparedness and community engagement provisions, each plan is tailored to the local aquatic context and created in collaboration with key community, government and emergency service stakeholders. Key benefits include:
