We have some fantastic news regarding our pool. In April of 2023 the Gawler Aquatic Centre underwent a Pool Safety Assessment completed by Royal Life Saving SA.
This assessment examined the Aquatic Centre’s safety practices and facility compliance to determine how the Aquatic Centre compares against industry standards. The Aquatic Centre was fortunate enough to score 90.49% compliance, which is the highest score achieved by a publicly owned facility in South Australia and places the Gawler Aquatic Centre as a Silver endorsed Centre.
The Guidelines for Safe Pool Operations (GSPO) are an industry standard best practice for the running of aquatic facilities and is overseen by Royal Life Saving Society Australia
The guidelines aim to prevent drowning death by providing guidance and recommendations around, but not limited to;
- Work health and Safety
- Emergency Planning
- Qualification and training
- Aquatic Programs
- Supervision
- First Aid
- Plant and Chemical Areas
- Changing Facilities
- Lap and Lane pools
- Leisure and Learn to swim pools
The LGA has approved Royal Life Saving Society SA to conduct safety audits on council run pools to help identify possible hazards and to mitigate risk to the public. In April of 2023 Royal Life Saving conducted their Audit of the Gawler Aquatic Centre.
The Centre scored 100% compliance in the areas of WHS, Aquatic Programs, and almost 100% in Supervision, Plant and chemical area. The resulting overall score of 90.49%. This score places the Gawler Aquatic Centre as the most compliant pool that has been assessed in South Australia and is a score that was only made possible by the staffs dedication to the safety of the community that use this much loved facility.
Staff will now take the actions from the report and implement any recommendations over the coming pool season, with a view to achieving an even higher score when the audit is redone in 2025.
