Swimming might be part of Australia’s national identity, and one of the most popular physical activities undertaken by Australians but the annual SwimSafer Report reveals startling new figures showing two in five (43 per cent) families don’t have their children enrolled in lessons because they believe they are too young to learn to swim.

Furthermore, astoundingly over half (54 per cent) of Aussie parents are not confident their child has the skills to help themselves if they get into trouble in the water.

In addition, sadly, 16 children aged between 0-4 years old drowned last year, with a quarter (25 per cent) of incidents happening in either backyard pools or the bath.

November 20 – 26 is SwimSafer Week.

Pushing further towards the goal of zero drownings, industry leader AustSwim joined this year's campaign with AustSwim CEO Bradley Low saying the partnership enabled another 700 swim schools and 31,000 teachers to share the message.

“We are very proud to be aligned with SwimSafer Week and work together to make an even bigger impact on water safety awareness.

“It’s very concerning that over half of parents are not confident their child has the skills to help themselves in a water emergency,” he said.

“By the age of six months, children can start infant learn to swim programs, where the child explores and enjoys the water with their parents.

“Kids are exposed to water of all forms right from birth, so it’s important they get comfortable in and around water as early as possible.”

While the cost-of-living crisis has also impacted parent’s ability to get their kids to learn to swim with over a third (38 per cent) of parents believing swimming lessons are too expensive, the Swim It Forward initiative is aiming to raise funds to remove the financial barrier and allow more disadvantaged Australian families to enrol in swimming lessons during SwimSafer Week.

Swim Australia CEO Brendon Ward said: “The reality is cost of living pressures have been a concern for many families this year and unfortunately some parents have taken their children out of swimming lessons to manage financial constraints.

“The flip side is close to half of the parents surveyed kept their children in lessons by sacrificing spending on weekly takeaway, coffees, streaming services, and beauty treatments."

“We know that the 0 – 5 years age group is particularly vulnerable to drownings, which is why it is imperative that we change the belief held by some parents that their child is too young to start water familiarisation lessons.”

Information on where to find a swim school and other resources available at swimsafer.org.au.

You can also make a donation, or apply for Swim It Forward funding.