Australian Embassy
Vietnam

Media release - 12 September 2017

Australia’s Experience Shared To Improve Aquatic And Beach Safety In Nha Trang

 

The Nha Trang People’s Committee and the Australian Government are collaborating to deliver advanced aquatic and lifeguard training in Nha Trang.

The Manager of the Australian Lifesaving Academy Queensland, together with two senior lifeguard trainers just completed an intensive beach rescue training program for 40 professional lifeguards employed by the Nha Trang Bay Management, Nha Trang People’s Committee. The Nha Trang People’s Committee also invited lifeguards employed by major hotels in the city to join this training opportunity. 

“With a vision of building a smart and safe city that will help Nha Trang boost its tourism industry, we appreciate the assistance provided by the Australian Government to organise this advanced beach rescue training program. I believe it will lift our lifesaving services to international standards,” said Dr. Le Huu Tho, Chairman of the Nha Trang People’s Committee.

“Australia is surrounded by beaches and rugged coastline so beach rescue, safety and surveillance is a national priority for us,” said Australian Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Craig Chittick. “I am very pleased to be working with Nha Trang People’s Committee to share our beach safety experience and support their vision for a smart beach city.” 

The Australian Lifesaving Academy Queensland is the training arm of Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ), set up to deliver emergency care and lifesaving training education to both surf lifesaving members and the broader community. Each year the Academy delivers vital emergency care training, including first aid and CPR courses to the community and surf lifesavers.

“We are happy to be here sharing the wealth of knowledge and skills Surf Life Saving Queensland has developed over the past 100 years,” said Ken Clark, Manager of the Australian Lifesaving Academy Queensland.

The Nha Trang People’s Committee will also work with Austrade and Surf Life Saving Queensland to assess the potential to utilise various technologies for beach lifesaving as well as trial new equipment, such as coastal surveillance cameras positioned at high-risk locations along the coastline and emergency response beacons at various black-spots.

Since its inception, SLSQ’s surf lifesavers and lifeguards have directly saved the lives of more than 135,000 people through in-water rescues and educated in excess of 10 million people about surf and aquatic safety through targeted education and community awareness programs. Importantly, SLSQ is directly affiliated with, and is part of, Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and the International Life Saving Federation (ILS).