- Cook Government invests $5.5 million towards
school swimming and water safety
- VacSwim will be free over December and January
school holidays
- Initiative to encourage more children to learn
vital water safety skills and help relieve cost-of-living pressures for WA
families
- Free summer VacSwim enrolments open now until 16
October
- Free in-term classes for smaller, low Index of
Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) non-government schools to
encourage students from diverse cultural backgrounds to learn how to swim
The Cook Labor Government
will provide free VacSwim lessons for Western Australian children as part of a
$5.5 million investment into school swimming lessons and water safety, set to
save families hundreds of dollars.
VacSwim has been delivered in
Western Australia for more than 100 years, with lessons held at pools and
beaches across the State, and has contributed to safety in and near the water
for generations of WA children and young people.
The summer VacSwim lessons, which
range from five to 10 days in length, and pool entry for the duration will be
free for all students who enrol in the swimming program over the December 2024
and January 2025 period.
This initiative is set to save up to
$214 for a family with two children attending a 10-day VacSwim program.
In-term swimming classes, which run
continuously, remain free for public school students and regional
non-government school students.
From 2025-2028 these costs will be
waived for a small number of non-government metropolitan schools with a low
ICSEA of less than 1,000. The Department currently charges metropolitan
non-government schools to recover the cost of the instructors. This $332,000 measure
will encourage smaller non-government schools, including those from diverse
cultural backgrounds, to offer an affordable swimming program for their
students to learn how to swim.
These initiatives continue the Cook Government's commitment
to easing cost-of-living pressures for WA families, which has included:
- free public transport for school students;
- the WA Student Assistance Payment - which
made available $250 for every secondary school student, and $150 for
primary and Kindergarten students to help families with school expenses;
- Secondary Assistance Scheme boosted to
$535 in 2024 and 2025 for eligible students to support the purchase of
school uniforms;
- KidSport voucher program increased to
$500 for 2025;
- $500,000 one-off donations to WA-based
charities Dandelions WA and Give Write to support children in need with
school supplies; and
- providing every WA household with at least
$700 in electricity credits.
The summer swimming package builds on the investment to
establish a new specialist School of Swimming and Water Safety to deliver vital
swimming programs for 250,000 WA school students who access school and vacation
swimming lessons each year.
VacSwim enrolments are open now and will close 16 October
with more information available at www.education.wa.gov.au/vacswim
Comments
attributed to Premier Roger Cook:
"We want our kids to learn the importance
of water safety, as it is incredibly important in Western Australia, which is
why we have removed financial barriers to help drive increased
participation.
"This summer we're making VacSwim lessons
free as we help drive down cost-of-living pressures for Western Australian
families.
"It represents up to $214 in savings for
a family with two kids enrolled in a 10-day VacSwim program over the December
and January school holidays.
"These initiatives build on the more than $762 million in
cost-of-living measures to support Western Australian households and small
businesses, including record support for families, and more than $3.5 billion
in cost-of-living assistance we have delivered since 2017."
Comments
attributed to Education Minister Dr Tony Buti:
"We are privileged in
Western Australia to enjoy a coastal lifestyle, with the majority of our
population living close to water.
"To enable us to safely
enjoy that lifestyle, the Department of Education provides the most
comprehensive swimming and water safety programs in Australia and the largest
in the southern hemisphere.
"Providing free in-term
classes for smaller, low ICSEA non-government schools is a small but important
measure to ensure students from diverse cultural backgrounds are encouraged to
learn to swim to and improve swim safety."
