The Australian Water Safety Council (AWSC) was officially formed in February 1998 as a result of strong industry consultation and with the support of the Federal Minister for Sport & Tourism, The Honourable Andrew Thomson MP.  The Council acts as a consultative forum comprising the major water safety and related government agencies and focuses on the presentation of key water safety issues to governments, industry and the community.

The Australian Water Safety Council does not represent an additional layer of organisational bureaucracy and it will not receive funding directly. The Council will however, provide a collective voice for its member organisations.  It will also liaise closely with kindred bodies at State, National & International levels.

The AWSC is committed to enhancing Water Safety in Australia - to producing a strong directional document, to generating bipartisan support and to overseeing the successful implementation of the National Water Safety Plan.  The AWSC member bodies have demonstrated their commitment by throwing the resources of their respective organisations behind the Council.

On 5 May 1998 the AWSC conducted the National Water Safety Conference at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre involving a broad cross-section of the Australian Water Safety community and including representatives of government departments, agencies and statutory authorities from throughout Australia.  The recommendations and spirit of cooperation engendered on 5 May have been incorporated into the objectives and priorities presented in this Plan.

The Australian Water Safety Council has pleasure in presenting this National Water Safety Plan to the Australian public with the great expectation that by following the recommendations contained herein there will be a significant reduction in the number of lives lost to drowning and aquatic related incidents.

In November 2000 the National Water Safety Plan was reviewed by stakeholders at the National Water Safety Conference held in Canberra.  There was overwhelming agreement to continue on the path set by the plan and to strive to meet outstanding objectives.  It was noted that in the three years since the inception of the plan there had been much greater coordination of water safety at State level with the establishment of State Water Safety Councils or equivalents.  There has also been a much greater support of water safety initiatives by State Governments and many of the initial recommendations of the plan have been achieved.