Aquatic facility operators are responsible for ensuring their facilities are as safe as is reasonably possible for all users. This includes minimising the risk of drowning, injury and illness for patrons undertaking swimming and recreational pursuits. One of the most valuable tools to improve the operation of a facility is to develop and implement operational policies and procedures.

Operational policies and procedures provide a framework in which decisions can be made and implemented. If written correctly, they should guide someone unfamiliar to the facility through the day-to-day procedures and provide a valuable resource to support continuous operation.

Royal Life Saving can work with the owners and operators of aquatic facilities to ensure effective systems are well-documented and implemented for the safe operation of aquatic facilities.

In preparing operational policies and procedures for an aquatic organisation, Royal Life Saving aims to help meet the following objectives:

• Document the systems employed by the organisation in the operation of the aquatic facility

• Provide evidence of compliance to the organisation’s Work Health & Safety Policies

• Provide evidence of compliance to regulations and accepted industry guidelines

• Reduce training time for new employees

• Standardise processes for consistency and reliability across all employees

• Ensure continuous operation of the aquatic facility to an acceptable standard