Drowning

National strategy: The Drowning Prevention Strategy: Towards a Water Safe New Zealand 2005-2015 Te Rautaki Arai i te Toremitanga Kia Tupu ai a Aotearoa hei Whenua Haumaru ona Wai 2005-2015

On average, 130 New Zealanders drown annually, making drowning a leading cause of unintentional death by injury in this country.

What's new Background and relevant strategies Agencies involved Drowning and near-drowning prevention resources

What's New

On the 23rd January 2008 the newly established Drowning Prevention Council (DPC) met for the first time. The DPC took over from the interim role fulfilled by the Implementation Management Group (IMG) and will provide the strategic leadership required to meet the deliverables in the DPS Implementation Plan. Specifically, the DPS is responsible for the following DPS Objectives:

  • DPC (Objective 1: To provide strategic direction and effective co-ordination by and for the water safety sector;
  • Objective 2: To ensure an appropriate water safety infrastructure;
  • Objective 3: To ensure an appropriate level and distribution of resourcing for water safety initiatives and agencies; and,
  • Objective 8: To enhance community and sector engagement in water safety initiatives).

Agencies involved in the DPC

Water Safety New Zealand
Accident Compensation Corporation
Surf Life Saving New Zealand
Maritime New Zealand
New Zealand Coastguard
Water Safe Auckland

The DPC is supported by four advisory committees who have all met throughout January and February 2008. These committees report to the DPC and are responsible for the following DPS Objectives:

  • Education and Awareness Advisory Committee (Objective 6: To provide quality water safety education and awareness);
  • Research Advisory Committee (Objective 4: To improve our water safety knowledge through research and development);
  • Rescue Advisory Committee(Objective 5: To provide quality water safety emergency rescue services); and,
  • Environment Advisory Committee (Objective 7: To create safer environments in, on, under and around the water).

Membership of the DPC Advisory Committees includes representatives from the DPC organisations and others relevant organisations (e.g., Swimming New Zealand, Injury Prevention Research unit, New Zealand Police, New Zealand Fire Service).

The DPC and the Advisory Committees have been developing Terms of Reference for each committee, reviewing the priorities in the DPS Implementation and developing a work plan for the current and next financial years in accordance with the DPS Implementation Plan.

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Background and Relevant Strategies

There has been a general decreasing trend in the number of drownings: a 45 percent reduction since 1985. However, New Zealand still has one of the highest rates of drowning in the western world - double the drowning rate per head of population of Australia and over four times the drowning rate per head of population of Great Britain. Water-related harm occurs over a wide range of environments, age groups and activities, reflecting access to and use of water in this country.

Key statistics are available in the Background section of the Drowning Prevention Strategy website.

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Agencies involved

There are a number of government agencies, non-government organisations, community organisations and research centres involved in water safety. Some of these include:

A detailed list of stakeholders involved in water safety is available on the Drowning Prevention Strategy website.

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Drowning and near-drowning prevention resources

See Resources on the Drowning Prevention Strategy website.

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