Occupational Violence and Aggression in Aquatic Facilities: It's Not Part of the Job

Every aquatic facility strives to create a safe and welcoming environment for staff, patrons and the community. Increasingly, however, facility operators are facing a challenge that extends beyond traditional aquatic safety—occupational violence and aggression directed towards frontline staff.

Pool Lifeguards, Swim Teachers, Customer Service Officers and Duty Managers interact with hundreds, and often thousands, of patrons every day. Most interactions are positive. However, across the aquatic industry there is growing recognition that abusive, intimidating and aggressive behaviour towards staff is becoming more frequent and more severe.

Whether it is a lifeguard enforcing active supervision requirements, a customer service officer explaining admission policies or a Duty Manager responding to inappropriate behaviour, staff are increasingly reporting incidents of verbal abuse, threats and intimidation while simply carrying out their responsibilities.

No one should expect to experience abuse simply for doing their job.

That is why Drowning Prevention Australia has launched the No Excuse for Abuse campaign—to support aquatic facilities in creating safer, more respectful workplaces where staff are supported, expectations are clear and abuse is never accepted.

Occupational Violence is an Industry Issue

Occupational Violence and Aggression (OVA) refers to any incident where a worker is abused, threatened, intimidated or assaulted in circumstances arising out of, or during, their work.

Within an aquatic environment this may include:

• Verbal abuse and offensive language.

• Threatening or intimidating behaviour.

• Harassment, including sexual harassment.

• Physical aggression or assault.

• Spitting or throwing objects.

• Deliberate non-compliance designed to intimidate staff.

• Abuse through social media or online platforms following an incident.

While physical assaults attract the greatest attention, the vast majority of incidents involve repeated verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour that gradually affects staff confidence, workplace culture and organisational performance.

Occupational violence should not be viewed as simply "difficult customers". It is a recognised workplace health and safety hazard that requires the same leadership, planning and systematic approach as any other workplace risk.

The Evidence Shows This is a Growing Challenge

Recent research undertaken by Royal Life Saving Australia highlights the scale of the issue facing the aquatic industry.

The National Aquatic Industry Workforce Report found:

• Approximately 85,000 people are employed across Australia's aquatic industry.

• Around 90% of aquatic workers have experienced occupational violence or aggression.

• One in four workers report experiencing occupational violence frequently.

• Almost half of all workers report feeling unsafe at work because of abusive or aggressive behaviour.

Separate industry research examining incident data from hundreds of public aquatic facilities identified thousands of incidents of verbal abuse, harassment and physical aggression occurring across Australia every year.

Importantly, many incidents are never formally reported, meaning the true scale of occupational violence is likely to be significantly higher.

For many Facility Managers, these findings simply confirm what staff have been saying for years.

The Cost Extends Beyond Individual Incidents

Every incident of occupational violence has an immediate impact on the employee involved.

The broader organisational impacts, however, are often less visible.

Facilities experiencing ongoing occupational violence commonly report:

• Reduced staff confidence.

• Increased employee turnover.

• Lower workforce morale.

• Greater psychosocial risk.

• Increased absenteeism.

• Difficulty recruiting and retaining experienced staff.

• More time spent managing complaints and behavioural issues.

• Reduced consistency in enforcing safety policies.

These outcomes affect not only staff wellbeing but also operational performance, organisational culture and the overall customer experience.

For an industry already facing workforce shortages, protecting employees has become an important business priority.

Why Leadership Matters

Creating respectful workplaces does not happen by chance.

It requires visible leadership, consistent messaging and organisational commitment.

Facility Managers play a critical role in establishing workplace expectations by ensuring staff know they will be supported when applying facility policies and responding to unacceptable behaviour.

Leadership also means setting clear expectations for patrons.

Just as facilities promote supervision requirements, emergency procedures and safe aquatic behaviour, expectations around respectful behaviour should also be visible, consistent and reinforced throughout the customer journey.

When organisations clearly communicate that abuse towards staff will not be tolerated, they establish a stronger workplace culture and provide greater confidence for staff to perform their roles.

Creating a Culture of Respect

Changing workplace culture requires more than policies.

It requires consistent communication, education and leadership.

The most successful organisations combine:

• Clear behavioural expectations.

• Visible campaign messaging.

• Staff awareness and education.

• Leadership commitment.

• Incident reporting.

• Continuous review and improvement.

Together, these initiatives reinforce that respectful behaviour is everyone's responsibility.

Importantly, they also demonstrate to staff that their wellbeing is valued and supported.

Introducing the No Excuse for Abuse Campaign

The No Excuse for Abuse campaign has been developed to help aquatic facilities promote respectful behaviour and create safer workplaces through consistent industry messaging.

The campaign provides a suite of free marketing and communication resources that facilities can immediately implement, including digital assets, promotional materials and campaign messaging that reinforces a simple principle:

There is No Excuse for Abuse.

For organisations wanting to take the next step, the Program Partner initiative provides additional resources including professional signage, toolbox talks, staff awareness materials, leadership resources and training designed to help embed the campaign into everyday operations.

Whether your organisation is taking its first steps or looking to strengthen an existing workplace initiative, the campaign provides a practical framework that can be adapted to facilities of every size.

A Shared Commitment Across the Industry

Occupational violence cannot be solved by individual facilities working in isolation.

Creating respectful aquatic workplaces requires a consistent message across the industry.

By joining the No Excuse for Abuse campaign, aquatic facilities are demonstrating their commitment to supporting staff, setting clear behavioural expectations and fostering environments where respect is the standard—not the exception.

Together, we can create workplaces where every aquatic professional feels safe, valued and supported to do what they do best—keeping our communities safe around water.

Take the First Step

Join the No Excuse for Abuse campaign today and access a suite of free campaign resources designed to help your facility promote respectful behaviour and support your staff.

When you're ready to take the next step, become a Program Partner to access professional signage, toolbox talks, training and additional resources that help embed the campaign across your organisation.

View No Excuse for Abuse Campaign