Caption:
The economic and social value of Surf Life Saving in Australia has been independently estimated at $1.4 billion.
Economic and Social Value of Surf Life Saving in Australia
27/10/2005
A new study has shown that 485 people would drown on our beaches each year and 313 would be permanently incapacitated as a result of accidents in the surf, if not for the efforts of Australia’s surf lifesavers.
The same study also found that the economic and social value of surf lifesaving services is worth more than $1.4 billion per year and provides many unquantifiable benefits including increased tourism.
The study, by respected economists The Allen Consulting Group, was released at SLSA’s Annual General Meeting on the weekend, and provides for the first time an independent valuation of an activity that has been taking place on our beaches for almost one hundred years.
SLSA CEO, Greg Nance, said that by calculating what percentage of rescues and preventative actions undertaken by our members would have otherwise resulted in a death or incapacitation, it is possible to provide an estimate of the value of our services.
“Australia’s actual coastal drowning rate of around 58 each year is still far too high, but the fact that it would otherwise be more than eight times that amount had there not been surf lifesaving services provides a stark demonstration of the core community service provided by SLSA,” he said.
“Each year, trained surf lifesavers volunteer more than 1.4 million hours keeping our beaches safe, with many more hours spent behind the scenes in development and training and it is a contribution they are all happy to make.”