Article
A Drowning Risk We Do Not Talk About Enough: Overseas-Born Australians
New analysis from Aquatots shows that overseas-born Australians are at a higher risk of drowning. With National Water Safety Day on December 1, 2025, we need to ask: Are we reaching the communities at the highest risk?
Key findings
- Over the last
20 years, people born overseas have often made up a
bigger share of drowning deaths than their share of the population. In the late 2010s, they were about
30% of the population but up to
40% of drowning deaths.
- In the five years before COVID
(2015-16 to 2019-20), overseas-born Australians drowned at a rate about
25% higher than the overall population. This occurred while the national drowning rate improved. It suggests that overseas-born communities did not benefit as much as those born in Australia.
- From
2005-06 to 2023-24, there were
1,627 drowning deaths among people born overseas - over
30% of all drowning deaths in that period.
- From 2013-14 to 2022-23, the average annual drowning rate was 1.04 deaths per 100,000 for Australian-born residents. For overseas-born residents, it was 1.30. For Nepal-born people, it was 2.48, and for China-born people, it was 1.98.
Australia loves water, but not everyone is equally safe. Our analysis of 20 years of drowning data shows a clear pattern. People born overseas are often carrying more than their share of the grief.
Chart 1
Chart 1 shows how the picture has changed over time.
In the mid-2000s, overseas-born residents were about a quarter of the population. They were also about a quarter of drowning deaths.
Over time, that changed. By the late 2010s, people born overseas made up roughly 30% of Australia’s population. But in some years, they accounted for around 40% of drowning deaths.
A five-year bracket analysis highlights this shift (2024-25 excluded, overseas-born drowning data is provisional):
- 2005-06 to 2009-10: overseas-born people were about 27% of drowning deaths.
- 2010-11 to 2014-15: overseas-born people’s share rose to about 29%.
- 2015-16 to 2019-20: it jumped to over 36%, more than one in three deaths.
- 2020-21 to 2023-24: the share sits at about 29%.
This raises an important question. Is this simply due to the growth of the overseas-born population, or are overseas-born Australians actually less safe in the water?
To answer this question, we look at deaths per 100,000 people per year, the crude annual drowning rate. For much of the last 20 years, the rate for people born overseas has sat above the rate for the population as a whole (see chart 2).
Chart 2
In the five years before COVID (2015–16 to 2019–20), the drowning rate for overseas-born Australians was about 25% higher than the national average. In some of those years, the ‘extra risk’ climbed close to 40%.
For most of the period, the risk ratio (shown by the yellow dashed line in Chart 2) is at or above 1.0. This means overseas-born Australians were as likely, and often more likely, to drown than the average Australian.
Since COVID, the two lines have moved closer together. Overall drowning has gone up, and the gap between overseas-born and Australian-born has narrowed. But the long-term story is clear; for many years, overseas-born Australians - including many culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities were more likely to die once they entered the water.
The CALD communities cover many different communities. We focused on three large migrant communities: people born in China, India, and Nepal.
In 2005, the Nepal-born population in Australia was about 3,800. By 2024, it was around 197,800, more than 50 times larger. Over the same period, the India-born population grew by more than fivefold, and the China-born population by more than threefold.
We used ten years of Royal Life Saving National Fatal Drowning Database Dashboard data (2013-14 to 2022-23) and population figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. We calculated average annual drowning rates per 100,000 people and compared different groups (see chart 3).
Chart 3
Two things stand out from chart 3:
- People born in Nepal and China seem to have a higher risk of drowning. This risk is greater than the average for those born overseas and for the Australian-born population.
- People born in India have a lower crude rate, but India and Nepal together still account for around seven drowning deaths a year on average.
Across this time period
(2013-14 to 2022-23), there were
933 drowning deaths
among people born overseas.
181
of these involved people born in
China, India, or Nepal, almost one in five overseas-born drowning deaths.
What this means for a drowning-free Australia
This study doesn’t explain all the reasons for the numbers. But it clearly shows that if Australia aims to reduce drowning deaths by half, CALD communities need to be included.
We know that overseas-born Australians face a higher drowning risk, it's time for specific action:
- Make swimming lessons more affordable and culturally safe.
- Offer water safety information in multiple languages.
- Listen to CALD communities about the barriers they face and the support they need.
Recognizing these patterns and admitting the gaps is the first step to real progress. It’s key to a drowning-free nation where no family is left behind.
Methodology & Data Notes
Data Sources
- NATIONAL DROWNING REPORT, Royal Life Saving Australia, several years
- Royal Life Saving National Fatal Drowning Database Dashboard
- 34090DO001_2024 Australia's population by country of birth 2024, Estimated resident population by country of birth - as at 30 June, 1996 to 2024, Released at 11:30 am (Canberra time) 30 April 2025, Australian Bureau of Statistics
- A 10 YEAR NATIONAL STUDY OF OVERSEAS BORN DROWNING DEATHS, 2005/06 to 2014/15, Royal Life Saving Australia
- Drowning Among Multicultural Communities in Australia, AN UPDATE: 2013/14 TO 2022/23, Royal Life Saving Australia
Formula
- Crude drowning rate
(raw death count in the year/population of the year) * 100,000
- Risk Ratio
Overseas-born drowning rate/Australian-born drowning rate
A value above 1 means overseas-born Australians face higher drowning risk.
Note
- 'Overseas-born' is not the same as 'CALD', our analysis focuses on country of birth
- We used the Royal Life Saving National Fatal Drowning Database Dashboard to analyse the annual total drowning death counts. The dashboard reports 316 deaths for the 2023-24 period. National Drowning Report 2024, Royal Life Saving Australia shows 323. The difference does not affect any trend or conclusion in the analysis.
Using our work
Aquatots Research & Data Team's work is meant to be shared and used widely. You do not need to seek our permission to reuse our article, charts, data, you just need to provide credit - http://www.aquatots.com.au/a-drowning-risk-we-do-not-talk-about-enough:-overseas-born-australians
About Aquatots
There are lot's of ways you can help your child with their swimming progression without even going near the water. When your child is learning to swim you must understand that 30 minutes a week to learn is not a lot of time. Helping your child's muscle memory by doing the required movements out of the water can help their swimming progression to no end. Stretching the required muscles and tendons to complete the movements for the technique can help your child transfer the movement to the water and gain the technique faster.
Things to practice at home that will help at any level of your child's swim progression are things like jumping, hanging, swinging, rolling, risk taking, problem solving and any type of activity that will build on core strength.
Some homework for the different levels at Aquatots can be as follows
SEA HORSE 1 & DOLPHIN 1
Breath control can be practiced by working on holding breath and blowing out on cue. You can practice the blowing into drinks through straws or blowing light objects across a surface like ping pong balls.
Working on wetting the face and making this a positive and fun experience can help with confidence. Always treat water on the face as a positive thing. Sing songs and make it fun, when the water is on your child's face it is important that you do not wipe it off for them, encourage them to understand water on the face is ok.
Rocket arm position is also great to practice out of the water. Ensure your child's ears are in front of their arms when practicing this position ready to transfer to the water. This position can be done on the floor, standing tall or planking on a stool/chair etc for added core strength.
SEA HORSE 2 & DOLPHIN 2
The muscles for rolling in the water can be built by practicing rolling on the ground at home. Try to encourage your child to roll turning their head as the head will turn the body when in the water
Practice pointing and flexing the feet to stretch the tendons. Ensure you use the key words point and flex so we can start building on the terminology used in class.
Lay on tummy and practice freestyle kick movement. Ensure the movement is coming from the hips. This needs to be done front and back. For added core strength do the exercise in a plank position on a stool/chair.
SEA HORSE 3 & DOLPHIN 3
Talk about strong swimming hands and practice the difference between floppy hands and swimming hands
Make the correct arm movements on land for backstroke, ensure the bicep touches the ear and the hand brushes the thigh every round. This will force the correct shoulder roll movement required to perform the correct arm positions. Arms must always move in opposites. For extra strength you can have your child hold full soft drink cans while performing the movement.
Make the correct movements for freestyle arms, arms never catch up and always move in opposites. Ensure a long strong stretch. The upper body should turn with the arm movements but the head needs to stay still.
SEA HORSE 4 & MINI/DOLPHIN 4
Practice on dry land bending at the hips, arms circles and turning the head to breath as the backhand exits the water. The head should turn back before the arm gets back around to the front.
Talk about strong swimming hands and the forearms like ores on a boat pushing the water to the leg for a strong backstroke pull
MINI/SHARK ADVANCED
Chant the timing for breaststroke arms, breath, kick, glide 1 2 over and over
Work on breaststroke arm movement making sure that the hands do not pull back past the shoulders
Frog kick can be practiced on the floor, have both feet kick the bottom, turn the feet out, legs apart and around to the start. Encourage a toe point at the end of the kick and count to 2
TRANS SQUAD PREP/SQUAD PREP
Walk around doing the butterfly arm pattern. Strong hands push down to the hips, pinky's out then swing the hands back to the start. Thumbs should be pointing to the ground for the whole stroke and hands should end up back together in front.
Have your child lay on their tummy on the floor and work on bringing the shoulder blades together to strengthen the back. It is usually the strength available in this area that will allow your child to perform the correct movement for butterfly arms.
Practice timing of the breath by brining the head up as the arms press down past the hips, head should be back down before the arms are back in front
Work on kick by moving the hips back and forward, this will build on muscle memory and core strength.
Another great way to help your child with their progression is to get to the pool as often as possible. Allowing your child to play and explore the water will not only build their confidence but have them at ease with their buoyancy in the water. A child that is balanced in the water will find it easier to gain correct technique.
Your child's report card will also give you an idea of what your child needs to master to progress to the next level. If you would like some help understanding what it is your child needs to do to progress please feel free to talk to our amazing team leaders (they are in the bright green shirts), they are more than happy to let you know and give tips on what you can do to help your child achieve what is required.
