DROWNING IN ALL POLICIES
Investigating an “in All Policies” approach
to drowning prevention
in Australian local government
Year: 2025-present
Chief investigators: Dan Graham (PhD candidate) supervised by A/Prof. Justine Leavy, A/Prof Gemma Crawford, Dr Renee Carey.
Summary: This research aims to theorise and create mechanisms to integrate drowning prevention into the Australian local governmentpolicy ecosystem. The objectives are to:
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To analyse Local Water Safety Partnerships (LWSPs) in Australian Local Government Areas (LGAs) and develop a conceptual model describing the approaches across jurisdictions.
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To interrogate how the issue of drowning prevention is framed and implemented within Australian local government policies.
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To evaluate how non-governmental drowning prevention stakeholders could engage with and shape Australian local government policy.
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To develop an approach to integrated drowning prevention action across Australian local government policy.
Impacts and Outputs:
A Drowning Prevention in All Policies (DPiAP) approach:
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Will offer a scalable, practical resource for local governments and drowning prevention stakeholders.
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Will guide meaningful community engagement, decision-making, and actionable drowning prevention policy.
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Will contribute to improved injury prevention outcomes across diverse settings.
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Will support broader efforts to reduce health inequities, particularly in high-risk Australian communities.
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Will help reduce the burden of drowning in Australia.
Phase One (underway)
Objective One: To analyse Local Water Safety Partnerships (LWSPs) in Australian Local Government Areas (LGAs) and develop a conceptual model describing the approaches across jurisdictions.
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Desktop content analysis of Local Water Safety Partnership (LWSP) policies/strategies.
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What’s the Problem Represented to be? (WPR) approach. (Bacchi, 2016)
Output: A theoretical model of the state-of-the-art of Australian LWSPs.