The ocean is unpredictable, but your response doesn’t have to be.
Launching in Term 1, 2027, Know Your Limits is a brand new secondary education program developed by Surf Life Saving New South Wales. It aims to build the knowledge, confidence and decision-making skills required to stay safer at Australia’s beaches and coastal environments.
Students learn to recognise hazards, understand their personal limits and make safer choices with their friends.
Through a shifting sandbank scenario, students explore how peer pressure shapes risk-taking and how spotting hazards early and showing safety leadership can protect their mates.
Through a rock fishing scenario, students examine peer pressure and risk-taking, using humour, smart redirection and positive influence to steer their mates towards safer choices without losing social standing.
Through a cliff/rock jumping scenario, students examine how peer influence, alcohol and overconfidence affect decisions, exploring why physical strength cannot overcome coastal hazards and how safety leadership can prevent situations from escalating.
Through a scenario involving alcohol and swimming at an unpatrolled beach after dark, students examine what drives risk-taking, how small decisions can escalate into tragedy and the lasting emotional impact on those left behind.
The Water Safety Strategy identifies young men aged 15 to 29 as a priority for drowning prevention. Know Your Limits engages secondary students early, helping them build beach safety knowledge and develop safer habits for adulthood.
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