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Project Blueprint: Tackling the Top Ten

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Project Blueprint: Tackling the Top Ten Project Blueprint: Tackling the Top Ten Page 1 of 238 Project Blueprint: Tackling the Top Ten © Surf Life Saving New South Wales, Belrose 2013 All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer This report has been published online with the consent of the NSW Ministry of Police and Emergency Services. While Surf Life Saving New South Wales endeavours to provide reliable analysis and believes the contents of this report to be accurate, it will not be liable for any claim by any party acting on such information. All rights are reserved and no part of this publication covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except with the written permission of Surf Life Saving New South Wales. We accept no duty of care or liability to you or any third party for any loss suffered in connection with the use of this document. Page 2 of 238 Project Blueprint: Tackling the Top Ten Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 SUMMARY OF KEY RECOMMENDATIONS 29 1 STRATEGIC 29 2 EDUCATE AND INFORM, INCREASE SURVIVAL SKILLS 31 3 PROVIDE WARNINGS 33 4 EMERGENCY MARKER SYSTEM 35 5 ACCESS MANAGEMENT 35 6 INCREASE SURVIVAL SKILLS 36 7 SUPERVISION AND SURVEILLANCE 36 8 EMERGENCY RESPONSE 37 9 MONITOR AND REVIEW 39 1 INTRODUCTION, SCOPE & CONTEXT 40 1.1 INTRODUCTION 40 1.2 SCOPE AND CONTEXT 42 1.3 LIMITATIONS 43 1.4 DEFINITION OF TERMS 43 1.5 PROJECT TEAM 45 1.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 46 2 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY 47 2.1 INTRODUCTION 47 2.2 SITE IDENTIFICATION 47 2.3 SITE INSPECTION 48 2.4 HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT 48 2.5 DATA ANALYSIS 48 2.6 BEACH HAZARD RATINGS AND OVERVIEW 51 2.7 ABSAMP BEACH TYPES AND RATINGS 52 2.8 ABSAMP BEACH TYPE CHARACTERISTIC OVERVIEW AND HAZARDS 54 2.9 FACILITY VISITATION RATES (FVR) 57 2.10 FACILITIES AUDIT 62 2.11 BEACH USAGE AND INCIDENT STATISTICS 63 2.12 COMMUNICATION AND CONSULTATION 71 3. RISK ASSESSMENT FINDINGS 77 3.1 ACTION PLANNING PRIORITY (INHERENT GROSS RISK) 77 3.1.1 ACTION PLANNING PRIORITY INDEX 77 3.1.2 AUSTRALIAN BEACH SAFETY AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 78 3.1.3 LOCAL POPULATION RATING 79 3.1.4 HUMAN/ACTIVITY INTERACTION RATING 81 3.1.5 ACCESS RATING 83 3.1.6 ACTION PLANNING PRIORITY SCORE 85 3.2 OVERVIEW OF PRINCIPAL RISK TREATMENT OPTIONS 91 3.2.1 INTRODUCTION 91 3.2.2 HIERARCHY OF RISK TREATMENTS (CONTROLS) 91 3.2.3 EDUCATE AND INFORM - INCREASE SURVIVAL SKILLS 92 3.2.4 PROVIDE WARNINGS 98 3.2.5 EMERGENCY MARKER SYSTEM 106 3.2.6 ACCESS INFRASTRUCTURE AND ONGOING CAPITAL WORKS/MAINTENANCE PROGRAMMES 109 Page 3 of 238 Project Blueprint: Tackling the Top Ten 3.2.7 PUBLIC RESCUE EQUIPMENT 112 3.2.8 SYSTEM OF SUPERVISION 116 4. EMERGENCY RESPONSE 130 4.1 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS/REPORTING - TRIPLE ZERO (000) 130 4.2 EMERGENCY RESPONSE BEACONS 131 4.3 EMERGENCY SERVICE RESPONSE 132 5. MONITOR AND REVIEW 140 REFERENCES 141 APPENDIX A - LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA DROWNING DATA 143 APPENDIX B: ABSAMP BEACH HAZARD RATINGS AND MODAL CONCEPTUAL BEACH MODELS 167 APPENDIX C: FACILITY VISITATION RATINGS 174 APPENDIX D: ACTION PLANNING PRIORITY 181 APPENDIX E: LIFESAVING SERVICE LEVEL ANALYSIS 208 Page 4 of 238 Project Blueprint: Tackling the Top Ten Executive Summary Australian CoastSafe is undertaking an ambitious project after funding approval was granted under the NSW Water Safety Black Spot Fund to conduct ‘Project Blueprint’, a Coastal Public Safety Risk Assessment for every beach and rock platform in NSW. This project will be instrumental in addressing the coastal drowning issue in NSW both in the short, mid and long term. An average of 92 people drown in Australian coastal waters every year. New South Wales (NSW) accounts for almost 50% of the national coastal drowning toll. There have been 338 coastal drowning deaths in NSW between July 2004 and June 2013. Over 53% of these drownings can be attributed to swimming/wading (29.8%) and rock-fishing (23.4%), with almost all occurring at unpatrolled locations or outside of patrol operational times, where no expert assistance is immediately available. Accidental drowning deaths in the coastal aquatic environment can be accounted for through a number of causal factors known as the ‘drowning chain’ (ILS, 2008). Elements of the drowning chain include: o Lack of knowledge, disregard or misjudgement of the hazard; o Uninformed, unprotected or unrestricted access to the hazard; o Lack of supervision or surveillance; and o An inability to cope once in difficulty. To address these issues, identify where there may be gaps in the drowning chain and prioritise drowning prevention strategies based on evidence and consultation Surf Life Saving has developed the coastal public safety risk assessment programme. This programme, through the assistance of the NSW Ministry of Police and Emergency Services Water Safety Black Spot Fund is being delivered across ten NSW Local Government Areas with high drowning rates over the past seven years in order to help meet the State’s vision to reduce the rate of drowning deaths in New South Wales1. Throughout the project community engagement has been crucial, both in terms of gaining the expert local knowledge contained within local communities, but also in gaining trust and acceptance of the project. Community engagement and consultation has occurred across local, regional and state wide communities and agencies. In each local government area visited by the project the following upfront engagement process has been completed: o Thorough stakeholder identification and analysis o Direct notification for identified key stakeholders o Online engagement through website and online survey tools o Use of social media to raise awareness and encourage engagement o Use of media releases / interviews / radio / television / newspapers o Multiple open forums / workshops held in each local government area. Following the on-site field visit phase of the assessment and once the draft reports had been written, a second round of stakeholder engagement occurred with key local and state stakeholders, which included: o All members of the NSW Water Safety Advisory Council o Australian National Sport Fishing Association NSW, Recreational Fishing Alliance NSW, Australian Land Based Anglers Association o Local land management authorities including Local Government, National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Office of Environment and Heritage Over four years the project will aim to cover 1,590 km of coastline, which includes 600km (38%) of rocky coastline and 990km of sandy coastline (62%). An estimated total of 892 locations will be assessed as part of the project. The first year of the project has now been completed with over 370 kilometres of coastline assessed, made up of 270 individual sites, including 186 beaches and 96 rocky coast locations and in the 1 p.5, New South Wales Water Safety Strategy 2013-15 (NSW WSAC, 2013) Page 5 of 238 Project Blueprint: Tackling the Top Ten process collected over 19,500 spatial data elements along the coast of New South Wales. All collected data is geocoded and can be analysed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and incorporated into mapping systems of land managers. This data is then made available to local and state land managers and provides the vital supporting evidence required for the effective and efficient implantation of drowning prevention strategies. Data is presented in a manner consistent with ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management – Principles and Guidelines, providing land managers with a prioritised treatment plan consisting of options for implementation. The overall process of assessment and communication has increased the focus on community safety which in turn reduces the risk of hazards going unnoticed and in turn, incidents occurring. Outcomes in addition to lives saved, include reduced duplication, reduced costs, improved joint-operations and partnerships between the stakeholders and long-term sustainable and effective drowning prevention strategies. Table 1 below provides a summary of the drowning prevention strategies that were brought to the attention of CoastSafe assessors during year one of Project Blueprint. The strategies are identified against the Local Government Area that they are currently being implemented within. The strategies have also been matched against the relevant quadrant of the International Lifesaving Federation Drowning Prevention Chain (p.37). The table shows the range of activities that are currently being implemented by local land management authorities. More information on the strategies identified can be found in the corresponding Local Government Area report for each area. Similarly, Table 2 shows a summary of the drowning prevention treatment options that have been proposed in each of the Local Government Area reports produced in year one of Project Blueprint. A range of options have been recommended across all four quadrants of the drowning prevention chain. More information on the options identified can be found in the corresponding Local Government Area report for each area. This report will be instrumental in addressing the coastal drowning issue in NSW both in the short, mid and long term. The report provides a summary of the first year of Project Blueprint, including a summary of treatment options provided and key treatment options that are common across multiple Local Government Areas or could potentially be implemented through the New South Wales Water Safety Advisory Council. It is acknowledged that land management authorities and Government agencies have many competing priorities and limited resources. Land management authorities and Government agencies should balance their water safety land management activities within the context of their broader role to provide services and facilities to meet the current and future needs of their local communities as a whole, all within a limited budget. This report recognises that there are many inherent risks associated with the NSW coastline and that in most instances these risks cannot be eliminated and can only be managed within the operational contexts of land management authorities and Government agencies, taking into account all of their responsibilities and available resources.
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