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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-07-14 Daily Xml
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VACSWIM

In reply to the Hon. J.A. DARLEY (27 November 2008).

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business): The Minister for Recreation Sport and Racing has provided the following information:

1. 'Swim and Survive' is just one of a number of learn to swim, water safety products in the Australian marketplace. It is not the only product, for example DECS does not use 'Swim and Survive' for its own programs in South Australian schools.

I understand the Royal Life Saving Society manual states that their program is attainable in the context of an 'ongoing, comprehensive and developmentally sound water safety, personal survival and swimming education' environment. Hence it is better suited to be delivered as an ongoing program over a longer timeframe.

The successful contractor therefore proposed to write and implement a new water safety program for VACSWIM, based on their own learn to swim product 'Swimways Learn to Swim' that was suitable for delivery over 7-days.

The government still maintained that certain standards had to apply, including that any program had to meet the Water Safety Competency Targets, sometimes referred to as the National Water Safety Framework, which were set out in the National Water Safety Plan 2004-07.

The business plan put forward, and which the government accepted after a proper evaluation process, involved shortening VACSWIM from 9 days x 40 minutes to 7 days x 45 minutes.

The rationale put forward by the contractor was that families would benefit from reduced travel, reduced pool entry costs and the shorter time commitment for busy working families.

2. As I have indicated already, the contractor using their own staff and consultants, wrote the initial program. Staff and consultants who were experienced swimming instructors, fully accredited and trained by AUSTSWIM, the Australian Council for the Teaching of Swimming and Water Safety. Some of those staff had also been involved in the development of the 'Swimways Learn to Swim' program, which has been used to teach more than 1 million people to learn to swim in Australia and New Zealand.

3. I am advised that the contractor did meet with the South Australian Branch of the Royal Life Saving Society in July 2008 to show them the new program.

The Office for Recreation and Sport (ORS) met with the South Australian Branch again in August 2008, and the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing met with them again on 16 October and 10 December 2008.

At the 10 December 2008 meeting all parties, including the Australian Water Safety Council and the Royal Life Saving Society, agreed that the program as it was developed by the contractor, approved by the government's independent advisor and accepted by the government, met the 2008-2011 Water Safety Educational Competency Framework.

4. I am advised the ORS has acted with due diligence throughout this whole process and at all times the safety and wellbeing of children involved in VACSWIM has been their primary concern.

In preparing the tender, the ORS ensured that it was fair and balanced. It must be understood that the 2004-2007 Water Safety Competency Targets, sometimes referred to as the National Water Safety Framework, developed by the Australian Water Safety Council, were the required Australian standard at the time this tender was prepared, not 'Swim and Survive'.

The ORS was aware for example that neither VicSwim nor VACSWIM WA uses 'Swim and Survive' for their equivalent programs, and that in going to a national public tender they must allow all water safety programs to compete equally provided they met the competency framework requirements. The ORS also engaged an independent water safety expert to evaluate the water safety component of each tender.

Once the contractor was appointed and presented their new program, not only did the new program then also have to meet the 2004-2007 Water Safety Competency Targets, it was thoroughly reviewed by an independent water safety expert of the government's choosing and approved by that expert.

The ORS then had the new program mapped against the new and revised 2008-11 National Water Safety Educational Competency Framework (when this was released in October 2008), which it still met and exceeded, even though this framework did not exist when the original tender was developed and evaluated.

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