Australian school children must learn to swim by age of 12: gov't

Every child in the Victorian school system will be required to swim by the age of 12 under new government guidelines.

The curriculum overhaul, announced by the Victorian government on Monday to coincide with Water Safety Week, came in the wake of research that revealed three out of five of the state's students could not swim when they left primary school.

Under the program, schools will be required to develop their own water safety programs but will receive funding from the government to do so.

Forty-three people have died in Victorian waters in the past 12 months, up from the 10-year average of 38 while paramedics also responded to 70 non-fatal incidents.

In the same time period, drownings among people aged over 65 years went up 40 percent, prompting a separate major water safety campaign targeting the elderly which was also announced on Monday.

In order to have fulfilled the requirement, children will have to achieve Victorian Water Safety Certificate which tests their water safety knowledge, rescue skills and abilities in survival sequences, in addition to their swimming ability.

James Merlino, Victoria's Minister for Education and Emergency Services, said the new curriculum would "help save lives."

"That's why students will learn about water safety, how to float and swim as part of their physical education classes under the new Victorian curriculum from term one next year," Merlino told News Limited on Monday.

General manager of education for Life Saving Victoria, Kate Simpson, welcomed the changes, saying school was the right time to "deliver these life skills."

"We hope the knowledge and skills the children receive will transfer into adulthood and allow them to enjoy the water safely," Simpson said.

(APD)