A number of changes are on the way at Eastern Beach, with the City of Greater Geelong committed to adopting all recommendations from a safety and management review.
The beach is visited by more than 250,000 people each summer and has been identified by Life Saving Victoria as a high-risk area and ‘drowning blackspot’.
Council has provided the following list of recommendations, emerging from the investigation:
- Continue lifeguard supervision of the children’s pool and promenade from November to mid-April.
- Re-open the children’s pool unsupervised from mid-April to October and overnight, with additional safety measures available such as an automatic external defibrillator, extra signage, more rescue equipment and an emergency marker. This will see the children’s pool return to being open year-round.
- Continue the use of the rolling drum diving apparatuses as they’re assessed as safe and suitable for ongoing use.
- Strengthen the structure of the central pontoon and undertake safety works to the viewing platform and decking.
- Undertake safety works on the diving tower with consideration to the roof structure, hand rails and structure integrity.
- Permanently decommission all four diving boards (including the two that were decommissioned for the 2024-25 season) due to ongoing safety risks and unsafe swimmer behaviours.
- Updated lifeguard supervision hours to:
- 12pm – 5pm on weekends only between 1 November 2025 to 21 December 2025
- 10am – 5pm (pool) and 11am – 7pm (dive tower) every day between 21 December 2025 to 28 February 2026
- 12pm – 5pm weekends only between 1 March 2026 to 30 March 2026
- 12pm – 5pm every day during the Easter school holidays from 5 April 2026 to 19 April 2026
Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj said they understand that diving board closures may be especially disappointing for some locals
“We recognise and understand their frustration; however, we won’t waver on protecting the community,” he said.
“These incoming changes and investigations will ensure that the Eastern Beach precinct is a safer place for swimmers of all skill levels.”
Sports and Recreation portfolio chair Councillor Eddy Kontelj said the children’s pool had to close while unsupervised last year, and the new measures will be welcome news.
“We thank the community and stakeholders for sharing their feedback and patience as we worked to ensure our youngest community members were protected when using the children’s pool,” Cr Kontelj said.
“Now that we have more safety measures being implemented for the upcoming summer season, we’re excited to re-open the children’s pool year-round.
“I am positive the community will be thrilled with this, including quite a number of local athletes and sports clubs who reached out to us advising that they use the pool regularly for rehabilitation purposes.”
