Beach and waterways safety

Beaches are patrolled across the state by Life Saving Victoria(opens in a new window).

You can find a patrolled beach on the Beachsafe website or by using the Beachsafe app.

Check whether the beach is patrolled with lifesavers or lifeguards. Swim between the red and yellow flags where they can see you if you get into trouble.

Lifeguards are highly trained and very knowledgeable about beach safety and conditions.

When you arrive at the beach, look for and identify the lifeguards. Feel free to ask them about the day’s conditions. You can also ask for any additional beach safety advice they might have for that specific beach, because every beach is different.

The most important flags on the beach are the red and yellow flags. These show the supervised area of the beach and that a lifesaving service is operating.

If there are no red and yellow flags, you should not go swimming.

Safety signs are also put in place to warn you about the permanent and occasional hazards that are present in the environment. Some of these signs are permanent for long-term hazards.

Some signs are put into place each day by the lifeguards to show you hazards present on that day. These could highlight specific locations such as rip currents, which can move from place to place on different days.

Know how to identify and avoid a rip current. Find our more at beachsafe.org.au, or download the Beachsafe app.

Check the beach hazard safety rating of the beach you’re planning to go to at beachsafe.org.au and ask a local for advice.

Draw a Line in the Sand to stop, look and plan when you arrive at a beach to assess conditions.

Whenever possible, swim between the red and yellow flags at a beach patrolled by lifesavers or lifeguards.

If you’re caught in a rip current, stay calm, conserve your energy and consider these options:

• raise an arm and call out to seek help
• float with the current, as it may return you to a shallow sandbank
• swim parallel to the beach, you may escape the rip current
• reassess your situation - if what you are doing isn’t working, try another option until you return to shore.

Find out exactly what you need to when encountering a rip current.

For more information on water safety visit the Victorian Government's water safety page.

Alcohol and drug-related coastal drownings make up one fifth of all coastal drowning deaths since 2004.

More than half of these deaths occurred while swimming, wading or boating, predominantly at unpatrolled locations or outside patrol hours.

Check the weather forecast on the Bureau of Meteorology website. Watch for changing conditions, cool changes and wind direction changes that could impact your beach activities.

Check the beach hazard rating of the location you’re heading to at beachsafe.org.au. A beach with a rating of 8/10 won’t be suitable for swimming for most people.

Also check whether the beach is patrolled with lifesavers or lifeguards, so you can swim between the red and yellow flags where they can see you if you get into trouble.

Be prepared to change your plans if you get to the beach and find the conditions are not suitable for the activity you have planned. It’s not worth the risk.