If you'd like to work as a swimming instructor or teacher in Australia, you need the appropriate qualifications.
Swimming instructor training typically falls into three main categories: general swimming, very young swimmers, and competitive swimming.
While each of these roles will include teaching people how to swim or how to improve their swimming, they tend to include different types of training and teaching approaches.
Which you choose is up to you, but swimming instructors in Australia typically go through an AUSTSWIM or SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia training program.
In this article, we'll look at both of these organisations and the training courses for swimming instructors that they offer.
AUSTSWIM
AUSTSWIM is Australia's national organisation for Swimming and Water Safety teaching. They offer the AUSTSWIM Licence for Swimming and Water Safety Teachers, which is recognised in every Australian state and territory, including some other countries.
AUSTSWIM offers several courses or pathways so you can choose the right option for what you'd like to do as a swimming teacher or instructor.
Swimming and Water Safety (TSW)
The AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety (TSW) course could be considered the most general of the courses offered by AUSTSWIM and the one that swimming teachers will start with.
This isn't to say that candidates won't learn a lot, but instead that it's probably the broadest-reaching in terms of the course content and less specialised than some of the other courses we'll see in just a moment.
It covers planning swimming lessons, water familiarisation, performing water rescues, water safety and survival skills, and teaching swimming strokes.
Upon completion of the course, you'll be given a valid AUSTSWIM Teacher Licence for three years.
Infant and Preschool Aquatics (INF)
The AUSTSWIM Teacher of Infant and Preschool Aquatic (INF) is aimed at swimming instructors looking to work with children aged six months to four years old.
Upon completion of the course, you'll be given a specialist industry qualification and an extension on your AUSTSWIM Teacher Licence.
To complete this course, you must have already completed the AUSTSWIM TSW course as this is considered an "extension course" by AUSTSWIM.
This course covers water familiarisation, infant and toddler development in aquatic environments, and water safety and survival skills.
Don't forget that any swimming instructor or teacher working with children will need a "Working with Children Check" (WWC or WWCC) or equivalent.
Teacher of Aquatics – Access and Inclusion (TAI)
The AUSTSWIM Teacher of Aquatics – Access and Inclusion (TAI) course is another extension course with a specialist focus on teaching diverse ranges of people with differing abilities how to swim.
This was initially known as the AUSTSWIM Teacher of Aquatics for People with a Disability course but has recently been extended to include teaching swimming to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those with chronic conditions or disabilities, and people of different ages.
In this course, candidates will cover areas such as safety and legal issues, communication and perception, skills for movement through water, and how to assist participants with disabilities during aquatic activities.
Much like the other extension courses, the TAI course provides the candidate with an automatic licence extension.
Towards Competitive Strokes (TCS)
The AUSTSWIM Teacher of Towards Competitive Strokes (TCS) course is an extension course designed for swimming instructors and teachers looking to move towards competitive coaching, which could improve how much you earn as a swimming instructor.
Like the other courses, the TSW Licence is a prerequisite.
The TCS course covers instructional styles, learning approaches, and competitive stroke techniques.
TCS candidates will also be given an automatic licence extension upon completion of the course.
Adults (AD)
Last but not least, we have the AUSTSWIM Teacher of Adults (AD) course will cover teaching adults to swim, health, medical, and safety issues, warming up, flexibility, and stretching for adult swimmers, and the different types of adult swimmers.
The course is about teaching adult learners, including those who never learnt to swim previously, those who have a fear of water, and adults wanting to improve their swimming.
This course requires the completion of the AUSTSWIM TSW course. Upon completion, your licence will be extended.
Other Requirements
For each AUSTSWIM Accreditation, there are also some other requirements. While you should always check the specifics for each course, these are the main additional requirements.
- Completed Teacher Declaration
- Online Course Evaluation
- CPR accreditation
- Working with Children Check
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SWIM Australia
SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia (SCTA) and SWIM Schools Australia (collectively known as SWIM Australia) is an organisation that offers coaching and training for swimming teachers and instructors as well as a network of swim schools across Australia.
There are several teacher and aquatics courses offered by SWIM Australia, with many of them mirroring the courses offered by AUSTSWIM.
SWIM Australia Teacher (SAT)
This is SWIM Australia's entry-level course that teaches candidates about water safety for learners aged 2 and a half upwards.
The course covers teaching in an aquatic environment, water safety, survival, and rescues, a practical workshop, and on-the-job training and assessment.
Upon completion of the SAT, candidates will be given the SWIM Australia Teacher Licence, which is valid for 3 years, just like the AUSTSWIM one.
upon completion of your initial training.
Teacher of Babies & Toddlers (SAT B&T)
The SWIM Australia Teacher of Babies & Toddlers (SAT B&T) candidates must have either completed the units of competency (UoC) from the Swim Australia Teacher course or from another Registered Training Organisation (like AUSTSWIM).
The course covers teaching in an aquatic environment, promoting the development of infants and toddlers in an aquatic environment, a practical workshop, and on-the-job training and assessments.
Foundation Coach (SAFC)
The Foundation Coach qualification is SWIM Australia's equivalent to AUSTSWIM's Towards Competitive Strokes (TCS) qualification and was formerly called Competitive Swimming.
This is the course for swimming teachers and swimming instructors interested in becoming swimming coaches.
The course covers swimming squad and group management skills, biomechanics, competitive strokes, and session delivery as well as training on being an effective foundation coach.
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Teacher of Learners with Disability
Similar to AUSTSWIM's TAC course, the Teacher of Learners with a Disability is a course aimed specifically at teaching swimmers with specific physical or mental needs.
The course requires that candidates have already completed water familiarisation, water safety and survival UoCs so that they can learn about assisting participants with a disability during aquatic activities as well as attending a full day of face-to-face training in a practical workshop.
Pool Lifeguard
While not specifically for teaching swimming, the pool lifeguard qualification may also be of interest to those looking for careers in this area.
After all, many of the skills taught in the course such as supervising patron safety in aquatic locations, water safety, survival and rescues, performing complex water rescues, and CPR are all particularly useful to anyone who intends to work in pools.
The course also includes two full days of face-to-face training sessions.
Certificate in Teaching Aquaphobics (CTA)
Last but not least, we have the SWIM Australia Certificate in Teaching Aquaphobics (CTA), a course that was developed by the Institute of Aquaphobia to help swimming teachers and instructors teach aquaphobics and weak swimmers.
The accreditations earned can include Aquaphobia Coach (AC) or Advanced Aquaphobia Coach (AAC). Each CTA CPD is worth 5 COMPSA Points and 1 STA point.
This will help show swimming teachers and instructors how to work with those who live with aquaphobia and how to go through the 12 steps of the Aquaphobic Learning Programme (ALP).
Other Requirements
Similarly to the AUSTSWIM courses, several other requirements are part of completing the courses.
Most of them are the same for each course, but make sure you check the specific requirements of each course.
- Teacher Course
- Online Theory
- 30 Hours of on-the-job training
- Assessment Workbook
- Three lessons to three learners
- CPR accreditation
- Working with Children Check
- Gaining CPR Accreditation
As you'll have noticed, both courses from AUSTSWIM and SWIM Australia require CPR accreditation.
CPR and first aid qualifications are almost always required for swimming instructors and teachers to get their licences and there are many different places you can get a recognised accreditation.
Places to get a first aid and/or CPR certificate in Australia include the Australian Red Cross, the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC), Royal Life Saving Society Australia, St. John Ambulance Australia, or a Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) training provider.
Not convinced about becoming a swim teacher? Watch this video from SWIM Australia.
Working with Children Check (WWC or WWCC)
To gain a working with children check, you need to contact your state government. In Queensland, this is known as a "Blue Card" and in the Australian Capital Territory, it's called the "Working with Vulnerable People" registration.
Generally, anyone working with children will need one of these or their equivalents. Keep in mind that the WWC and equivalents are not a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, which is used to check your criminal history rather than your eligibility to work with children or the vulnerable.
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