In June 2016, several Tasmanian towns were heavily impacted by some of the worst flooding in the state's history. Three lives were lost, homes were destroyed, and communities were left devastated. 

It was also the moment Surf Life Saving Tasmania volunteers were called upon for the first time to support Tasmania Police in a flood response: a deployment that would ultimately reshape the organisation.

SLST members answered the call in June 2016, using their skills to assist a community in crisis. While the rescues were successful, the operation highlighted how different swiftwater and flood environments were from the surf conditions members were trained for, and how easily the situation could have put SLST's own volunteers at risk.

"Ten years on, the Latrobe floods still shape how we operate. Our members did everything asked of them in June 2016, but we realised we needed to expand on our surf rescue skills,” said SLST CEO Tony van den Enden.

“We quickly recognised that flood and swiftwater dynamic water environments demand an additional skill set to responding in the dynamic surf environment. That honesty about what we didn't yet know is what set us on the path to building a genuinely world-class capability.”

Rather than stepping back from this work, SLST leaned in. In the years that followed, the organisation invested heavily in building a genuine flood and swiftwater rescue (FSWR) capability from the ground up, drawing on best-practice training and expertise from International Life Saving agencies who had already moved into flood rescue such as SLS Great Britain, and Charlotte Fire Service in the United States to establish rigorous training and deployment standards for its members. Our flood and swift water rescue operations expand on our members surf rescue skills and surf rescue equipment to be used in flood and swift water rescue. The adaptation of surf rescue equipment to be fit for purpose for flood and swift water rescue, means the equipment used by surf lifesavers to keep beach goers safe located in our 316 surf life saving clubs can also respond when our communities need help during increasingly frequent natural disasters such as floods.

Today, SLST volunteers are Tasmania's primary response for flood and swiftwater rescue, deployed by Tasmania Police to support flooding and inland water rescues across the state.

"Our volunteers are now the primary flood and swiftwater rescue response for Tasmania Police anywhere in the state. That's an extraordinary level of trust to have earned, and it reflects a decade of training, world-class instruction, and a genuine commitment from our members to do this work safely and well," van den Enden said.

Tasmania's expertise hasn't gone unnoticed nationally. Following major flooding events in Queensland and New South Wales, and a broader recognition of the need for properly trained and safely deployed SLS volunteers across the country, Surf Life Saving Australia established Surf Life Saving Tasmania as its National Centre of Excellence for Flood and Swift Water Rescue - the first of its kind for the organisation. 

In this role, SLST now helps set the national standards for FSWR training and deployment for Surf Life Saving organisations across Australia and New Zealand. SLST provides Flood and Swift Water Rescue training for various emergency services in Tasmania and Victoria. Like our surf lifesavers patrolling Australia’s beaches, our surf lifesavers provide a national interoperable flood rescue standard support emergency services and communities during natural disasters. In June 2026, this expanded to an Australian and New Zealand interoperable standard, with SLSNZ resuming flood and swift water rescue operations accredited by the Centre of Excellence for Flood and Swift Water Rescue.

"Being named Surf Life Saving Australia's first National Centre of Excellence for Flood and Swift Water Rescue was a proud moment, but it's really a recognition of the work our volunteers have put in over the past decade. 

“Looking ahead, our focus is on sharing what we've learned so that surf lifesavers right across the country can respond to floods as safely and effectively as our Tasmanian teams do today," he said. 

Ten years after Latrobe, the FSWR legacy has been firmly established. As Tasmania continues to lead the way in flood and swiftwater rescue, SLST hopes this work will keep growing, ensuring communities across the state and the country remain safer for decades to come.