Australian Beach Safety Education Evaluation Project (ABSEEP)

Along with lifeguard provision, education has been the most frequently adopted approach to beach safety in Australia and worldwide. In Australia, a major focus has been placed on educating young people in schools about beach hazards and safety practices. Each year, lifeguards and lifesavers present beach safety information, typically in the form of presentations, to tens of thousands of Australian students. However, evaluation of school-based beach safety education programs worldwide is limited to only a single study of students from one private primary school in Queensland. The effectiveness of school education in improving knowledge, awareness, attitudes and beliefs towards beach safety and hazards still remains largely unknown. This raises questions regarding the actual efficacy of existing programs. Moreover, no evaluation of beach safety education exists for programs prioritising high school students (ages 11-18), a group with twice as many beach-related fatalities as younger children.

The UNSW Beach Safety Research Group is working with multiple stakeholders to help add knowledge to this area. Several different projects occurring in 2021 and 2022 aim to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of school-based beach safety education. These programs have historically played a central role in preventing beach drowning and injury, we hope this research provides new information on effectiveness, return on investment, and the optimal messages, design, and delivery for these education initiatives. Outcomes of this study will guide future best practice in Australia, as well as inform beach safety education efforts internationally. 

Want to get involved?

If you represent an organisation providing schools-based beach safety presentations/programs or a school receiving beach safety presentations and would like to learn more or be involved in this research, please contact us.

Research Participant Information

For ongoing research Participant Information and other documents, click HERE.