Council's aquatic facilities are among the safest and most professionally run in the state, evidenced by exceptional first-time audit results by Victoria's peak aquatic safety organisation.
The Gisborne Aquatic Centre and Kyneton Toyota Sports & Aquatic Centre recently achieved Gold accreditation under Life Saving Victoria's Safer Pools Program. This program rigorously assesses a facility's management, supervision and operational systems against the best-practice model outlined in the Safer Public Pools Code of Practice 2021.
Assessed in areas such as emergency planning/response, facility design, staff qualifications/training and aquatic programs, both Kyneton and Gisborne achieved near-perfect scores across the board –100 per cent for compliance and 99.25/96.23 per cent for safety.
As a result of the scores achieved, both sites will be nominated for platinum pool accreditation, typically reserved for the top 40 pools in the state. A platinum accreditation highlights an aquatic facility that achieves the highest standards in aquatic safety and risk management and is a sign of excellence within the industry.
These facilities will join if those already in the program fail to reach their benchmarks this year and may be awarded later this year when all facilities have submitted their results.
Council's Director Assets and Operations, Shane Walden, said the Gold status was a testament to the hard work and dedication of Council's aquatic teams in continuously delivering a high-quality service.
"Council works hard to ensure high standards in aquatic facilities and processes, and the audit acknowledges our services as best practice in the industry," he said.
"We are constantly looking at ways to deliver the highest quality service through continuous improvement, facility maintenance and the training and development of our wonderful aquatics staff."
Life Saving Victoria manager – aquatic industry services, Alek Olszewski, congratulated Council on its Gold accreditation, reserved for public pools with the highest safety standards in Victoria.
"It's a fantastic achievement which essentially means the local community can get out there and enjoy their pool, knowing it's being run as safely as possible," said Mr Olszewski.
"Safer pools result in more engagement with water, and ultimately communities better equipped to prevent drownings."
For information about Council's Aquatic and Fitness facilities, visit Pools and leisure centres
