A new report from Royal Life Saving Society-Australia has revealed that 965 children aged four and under drowned in the 25 years between July 1,1993, and June 30, 2018.

Just over half of all the drownings involving young children in Australia occurred in private pools.

Royal Life Saving is launching the Keep Watch campaign, urging parents and carers to supervise children at all times around water.

It can only take a few moments for a child to slip away unnoticed, fall into the water and drown, Justin Scarr, CEO of Royal Life Saving Society-Australia, said.

“Drowning is often quick and silent. Distractions like browsing social media on your phone, attending to another child, or ducking inside to grab something can have tragic consequences if a toddler is left unattended by water,” he said.

“It’s important for parents and carers to take extra safety precautions. Always keep watch of children around water.”

Mr Scarr said preventing accidental drowning required “multiple layers of protection”.

“Active supervision is the best protection against child drowning, however, kids can be quick and hard to keep up with, so it’s vital to fence pools and spas to prevent children gaining access,” he said.

“Regularly check that your fence and gate are in working order, and never prop the gate open.”

The new research report has also revealed that for every fatal drowning there were an estimated 7.6 close calls resulting in hospitalisation.

This means, according to Royal Life Saving, about 7300 children were involved in near-drowning incidents over the last 25 years and some may have suffered permanent injuries as a result.

“These figures are horrifying, and while we have seen the rate of unintentional fatal drowning among children under five decline by 67 per cent, it is still unacceptably high,” Mr Scarr said.

The Royal Life Saving research showed a drop in the average child drowning rate from 4.35 per 100,000 population in the 1990s to 1.14 per 100,000 population in 2017-18.

This is largely a result of pool fencing legislation and child drowning prevention campaigns and has saved more than 550 lives over the past 20 years, Mr Scarr said.

“The introduction and subsequent strengthening of pool fencing legislation, including the introduction of swimming pool registers and inspection regimes, has contributed to making the home pool environment safer for young children.”

Manager of city development Paul O’Brien said there were about 3500 private swimming pools in the Wagga City Council area, about one per cent of the total number in NSW.

“Wagga City Council takes swimming pool safety seriously,” Mr O’Brien said.

“All swimming pool owners are required to maintain a compliant swimming pool fence in line with the safety standards for ‘backyard’ swimming pools which applied at the time of approval of the installation of that pool.

“All swimming pools are required to be registered on the NSW Swimming Pools Register, which contains a series of checklists to assist owners to undertake a self-assessment of their swimming pool.”

Mr O’Brien said new laws have been introduced to further protect the safety of children, with property owners who are leasing or selling now required to have a certificate to prove their pool meets relevant regulations.

“Council is undertaking a program of inspection of existing swimming pools to ensure that approvals are in place for the installation of the pool and that pools comply with the safety standards for ‘backyard’ swimming pools,” he said.

For help on determining if a private pool is compliant, call council on 1300 292 442.

To keep children safe around water, Royal Life Saving recommends: