Sydney Airport Funding Helps Inner West Kids Build Lifesaving Skills

Inner West Council, Royal Life Saving’s inaugural aquatic safety partner, has delivered strong community impact over the past 12 months through free swimming and water safety programs.

In June 2025, Sydney Airport contributed $353,142 to fund free swimming lessons for local families at risk of missing out, helping provide essential water safety education to the community.

Since launching, the Community Water Safety Program has delivered 2,610 swimming lessons to 261 students throughout the Inner West Community.

An additional 50 students joined a 10-week Junior Lifesaving Program at Dawn Fraser Baths, while 15 participated in a 10-week Lifesaving Sports Program at Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre, developing essential water safety skills and safe behaviours in and around the water. The funding also supported essential equipment for these programs, including rescue boards and high-visibility rash vests.

Sydney Airport’s funding is expected to provide more than 14,000 free swimming lessons to local children who might otherwise miss out due to financial barriers, helping equip them with essential lifesaving skills.

Royal Life Saving CEO Michale Ilinksy said, “The collaboration with Inner West Council and Sydney Airport is vital in helping deliver essential lifesaving skills to the community. Royal Life Saving has identified that rising living costs, combined with post-pandemic impacts, have increased the risk of children and teenagers missing out on swimming lessons.

As our inaugural aquatic safety partner, Inner West Council has shown strong leadership in delivering swimming and water safety programs. The introduction of initiatives such as Junior Lifesavers has been highly successful and added a valuable new dimension to water safety across the Inner West. This initiative gives local families a meaningful opportunity to access these programs and helps build a more confident, capable and safer generation of young swimmers in a country surrounded by water.”