Whether it's swimming, surfing, fishing, diving or boating - the message is take care.
The number of drownings are up, on last year - and we're only half way into summer.
Alison Mahony, a researcher at the Royal Life Saving Society Australia, says there's been a 16 per cent increase in drownings on the same period last year.
"Males are overrepresented in our drowning statistics every year. About 80 per cent of of deaths are in males, so that's a big group right there. The other one is children under five - they're the age group at most risk of drowning. So it's really about asking parents to make sure they're always actively supervising their children, keeping them within arm's reach when they're around water."
The Royal Life Saving Society recorded 51 drownings for the first half of last summer.
That compares to 59 for the same period this summer.
And Ms Mahony says it could have been far worse, with 66 close calls.
"So an instance where someone's got into difficulty in the water, they've had to be rescued and then resuscitated. We had 66 non-fatal drownings over this period. "
Ms Mahony says people tend to think of beaches as the main place people drown.
However, inland waterways actually claim the most lives.
In the first half of this summer, 20 lives have been lost in rivers, creeks, lakes and dams; 18 at beaches; 12 in oceans or harbours and 9 in pools and other locations.
The death toll continues to rise.
Six people have died in the past two days, in New South Wales alone.
And with Australia Day approaching, experts say this data is a timely reminder for everyone to stay extra safe over the public holiday.
That's because 10 of the 59 drownings that have occurred since the start of December have happened on public holidays.
And for those planning on consuming alcohol over the break - experts say a quick dip in the water is not worth the risk.
Oliver Munson from the Australian Lifeguard Service says alcohol was a significant factor in many drownings among young men.
"No alcohol. Drinking alcohol before going into the water, it really does affect your swimming ability and judgement, so if you're with people that are drinking, again make sure that they're not swimming after drinking alcohol."
Lifeguards are urging people to look after each other, check conditions, always supervise children and wear life jackets when boating or fishing.
Share
