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
At Aquatots we start our babies at 6 weeks of age because we understand the benefits of an early reintroduction to a watery environment. The benefits being, physical, mental and of course safety around and aquatic environment.
Monitoring the children that started in the 6 week program we are finding that children are up to learning the technical side of all four strokes by the age of 5.
Throughout your child's learn to swim journey you will see a lot of progression, some plateaus in the progression and sometimes even a small regression from time to time. In this article I am hoping to help parents to understand how swimming progression works for children and babies.
The progression of your child's swimming will have a lot to do with the consistency and frequency that they attend lessons and or practice their swimming outside of lesson time. Learning to swim is like learning to walk, if you only allow your child to practice walking for 30 minutes per week this skill would take a long time to master. The same goes for swimming. The more your child is allowed to practice and explore the water the quicker they will progress with their skills.
We recommend attending your regular weekly class but also using the free public hours and attending the pool to practice and or have a play. If you are unsure as to what you should be practicing when you attend these sessions ask your supervisor on deck or your child's instructor for handy hints.
Bumping your child's classes up to twice a week is also a great way to see a quicker progression. The cost of a 2nd lesson is at 30% less than the full price of a term.
Another great way to see a quicker progression or help your child get past a skill they may be stuck on is intense swimming. Either bump up swimming time during free periods or book the intensive holiday programs. The holiday programs are free of charge for children that have a roll over booking with Aquatots.
Homework can also be done at home without water. Gaining the muscle memory for the movements required for the strokes can be done out of the water. For some suggestions on what you can do for home work please read our homework article.
The main times you will see a plateau or even a slight regression in your child's swimming will be
TIME OFF
If they have had time away or a break from swimming. Unfortunately the skills do not retain when children are in the learn to swim phase so taking a break can cause a regression of skills already mastered. A child's brain is culling connections that are not used to make room for new ones all of the time. If your child is not practicing the movement or their swimming unfortunately the connections are broken. The best way to help your child regain skills is to bump up water time during the week. More repetitive movement will recreate the connections faster.
GROWTH SPURTS
A plateau in swimming progression is usually present when your child has a growth spurt. When your child grows their centre of buoyancy will change. They will become unbalanced in the water and will need a chance to rebalance before you can see a progression again. If your child does not swim through a growth spurt regaining balance in the water will become a longer process.
CO-ORDINATION
Progression will usually slow when your child begins to learn strokes or the technical side of strokes. The reason for this is mastering the strokes takes co-ordination and your child's brain is still developing and working on motor skills and co-ordination.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
In addition to the swimming progression you will also come up against brain development and physical development stages. An important brain development leap will happen around the age of two.
Allow your child to learn at their own pace but understand you can help them speed up the process by using our tips and tricks above. Always stay positive throughout all stages of your child's learn to swim and understand if they are in a flat spot of progression that they will come out the other side as long as you keep practicing.
AQUATOTS CARES ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S PROGRESSION
At Aquatots we care about your child's progression. We monitor all children in the program. Sometimes children can get stuck on a skill. If your child has been in the same level for over 3 terms the supervisor is alerted and a progression plan is put in place between your child's instructor and the supervisor. The supervisor may come and talk to you about what your child needs to work on with their technique and will give you some suggestions on how you can help them master the skill/s they may be struggling with. A holiday program is also suggested at this stage, children that need a progression plan in place will be invited to book into the holiday program early to help with progression. If your child completes 4 terms at the same level and they have a good attendance record and has tried a holiday program your supervisor will offer a progress class to help them gain the skills required to move up. A progress class will be free of charge and your child will be in their progress class until they move to the next level. Progress classes are offered at your supervisors discretion.
On shift we also have spare instructors, our spares are fully qualified instructors and are on hand to help. One of their jobs is to help with kids progression. If you see your child working one on one with one of our amazing spares this is to help them to work on the skills they require to move to the next level.
If you have questions about your child's progression please feel free to talk to our supervisor on shift. Supervisors are in green shirts and are always available to answer questions and or give suggestions. Always remeber we are here to help :-)
