Two drownings in Victoria renew calls for stronger water safety education

Two separate tragedies in Victoria have again brought water safety into sharp focus, as communities grieve and authorities investigate the deaths.

In Melbourne’s south-east, a mother and her six-year-old son lost their lives on 10 November 2025 after being swept away in Dandenong Creek. The pair were pulled from the water by emergency services but could not be revived. Police said the creek was running fast after heavy rain, and witnesses described the scene as distressing.

 

In another incident, an eight-year-old boy drowned on 9 November 2025 in a swimming pool at a display home in Kialla, near Shepparton. Emergency services were called after the child was found unresponsive, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Police confirmed the pool area was fenced and compliant, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Though these tragedies occurred in different parts of Victoria, they have renewed long-standing concerns about water safety, particularly among multicultural communities. With summer approaching, authorities warn that the risk of drowning increases as more families spend time outdoors. Many new arrivals to Australia come from countries without a strong culture of swimming, and often live near rivers, creeks or beaches where water hazards are easily underestimated.

Life Saving Victoria’s latest Victorian Drowning Report, released in March 2025, showed an alarming trend — a record 21 drownings among multicultural communities in 2023–24, the highest since records began. The report also found that regional residents remain nearly twice as likely to drown as those in metropolitan areas, and that 15 children aged 0–14 lost their lives to drowning in 2020–21, the highest number in more than two decades.

Earlier this year, several councils across the state joined forces to address the growing concern. In March, the Mornington Peninsula Shire partnered with Bass Coast, Casey, Cardinia and Greater Dandenong councils, alongside Life Saving Victoria, Belgravia Leisure and The Back Beach Collective, to launch a regional Water Safety Framework. The initiative came amid sobering statistics — the Mornington Peninsula alone recorded 54 drowning deaths in the past decade, nine times the state average, with a 99 per cent chance of at least one drowning each year.

Water safety advocates say such figures underline the urgent need for accessible, culturally tailored programs. While community leaders and organisations have led awareness drives each year around World Drowning Prevention Day, barriers such as cost, language and lack of access to lessons continue to leave some families vulnerable.

Over the past decade, Life Saving Victoria, the Royal Life Saving Society and multicultural community groups have delivered water safety sessions and promoted swimming lessons in multiple languages. Yet advocates say more needs to be done to ensure lessons reach high-risk families before the warmer months.

As Victoria heads into summer, authorities are reminding families to remain alert around all water sources — at home, in creeks or by the coast. Active supervision, swimming lessons, CPR training and compliant pool fencing remain the most effective tools in preventing further loss.

Each year, community campaigns repeat the same message: drownings are preventable. The deaths of 9 and 10 November are a painful reminder of how vital that message remains.