Authorities have issued a list of Australia’s most dangerous inland waterways.

A recent report by Royal Life Saving Australia analysed a decade's worth of data to show that certain inland waterways have been the site of a significant number of fatal drownings. 

The report comes after a record high of coastal drownings in New South Wales this summer and Victoria experiencing the highest number of Christmas holiday deaths by drowning in 20 years. 

The report analysed drowning fatalities in Australian rivers, creeks, lakes, and dams from the 10 years leading up to 2021, during which there were 924 fatal drownings in inland waterways, accounting for more than one-third of the national drowning toll.

Out of all the locations analysed in the report, rivers were found to be the most dangerous, and the Murray River, flowing through New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, had the highest death toll for the decade with 49 deaths, followed by Melbourne's Yarra River at 27.

Royal Life Saving's senior research and policy project officer, Katrien Pickles, noted that the report showed little progress had been made in reducing the annual inland drowning rate. “Unfortunately, the Murray River continues to be the river where the most drownings are occurring,” she said. 

Similarly, Lake Eildon was identified as having the highest number of fatalities of all Australian lakes, with seven people drowning over the decade. 

Lake Macquarie and St Georges Basin in New South Wales were the next highest, with five drowning deaths.

Dr Pickles said that despite advocacy messages, some persistent trends in the research, such as the over-representation of men among drowning deaths, suggested that such messages were not having an impact. 

One of the recommendations made in the report was the development of local water safety plans, which involve local councils and communities, as well as various stakeholders, working together to create a drowning prevention plan.