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
Progressing to the next level of swimming can be an exciting time for children and parents. For some of the classes there are differences between what they have been doing and what they will be expected to do in the higher level.
It is important you talk to your child about what's going on and how well they are doing with their swimming, this means they will be moving into a higher level to learn new things. Explain to them that they are in the new level to learn new skills and are not expected to know how to do the skills straight away. The best thing about the Aquatots program is we touch on all strokes throughout the complete program which means that a strong foundation has already been put in to place to help children with the new expectations of the level.
Below are a few differences that you may come across from level to level or program to program.
JELLY FISH to SEA HORSE
Around the age of three your child will be assessed for their readiness to graduate into the Sea Horse program. To be ready your child needs to be happy to go with their instructor, follows simple instructions and can understand to wait for their turn.
Once they are ready to progress they will be placed in a transition class with their Jelly Fish instructor. This class does not require a parent or gaurdian in the water any longer but we do recommend you bring your swimmers just in case. Having your child attend their first Sea Horse classes with a familiar instructor will help your child with their transition into the Sea Horse program. Your child will spend a maximum of 3 lessons. If your child transitions well and is ready to move into a Sea Horse class this will be done. To transition well children need to be able to wait their turn, follow instructions and be comfortable to stay with the instructor in the assigned area.
We recommend that children view a class in progress to help with the transition.
- Sea Horse classes do not require a parent/guardian in the water for the class. We do recommend you come prepared for the first couple of lessons ready to get in as parents are welcome to assist until your child is comfortable in the new class
- The class size for the Sea Horse 1 & 2 classes are 3 kids to one instructor, Sea Horse 3 & 4 there are 4 kids per one instructor
- Your child will receive a medal a certificate and an Aquatots cap for graduating
- Swim caps must be worn in the Sea Horse program (and above)
MINI LEVELS or DOLPHIN 4 to SHARKS
When children can swim freestyle and backstroke technically correct they will move into the Sharks program. We recommend children view a class in progress once they have graduated.
Some of the differences will be
- The class is 45 minutes rather than 30. This is to have enough time to master breaststroke, add distance with the ones in preperation for squad level swimming and master the required life saving skillsÂ
- The distances and length of the class may mean your child needs to build their swimming stamina to make the class easily, this will happen with practice and consistency in attendence
SQUAD PREP to DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
Once children have completed all four strokes they will be ready for development squad. A training session is 1 hour duration and parents are allowed to drop children off and return to pick them up once they have finished training. We recommend children view a training session before they decide if they would like to join the squad program.
- Coaches are out of the water for these sessions
- Children are expected to swim laps (to start with their stamina will need to build up)
- No rash shirts or board shorts are to be warn for training sessions
- Once your child has done a term of 1 session per week. If they would like to add another session they are welcome to (only 1 night session per child is allowed) Extra training sessions are at no extra cost however if your child holds a position and does not attend they will be removed from the session they do not attend.
- If your child would like to compete we offer the Sea Dragon swim squad that attends carnivals. To join this squad please talk to your child's coach
