From local success to new opportunities: YMCA Victoria expands partnership with LSV

A successful partnership in Moira Shire is showing how locally delivered lifesaving education can respond to the needs of regional communities, while YMCA Victoria’s expanded partnership with Life Saving Victoria (LSV) creates an opportunity to take that approach even further.

Across Moira Shire, YMCA Victoria manages a diverse network of aquatic and recreation facilities that provide opportunities for water safety education, recreation, social connection, employment and participation.

Through its existing partnership with LSV, the Moira team has embraced opportunities to make water safety education accessible and relevant to its community, including the delivery of Bush Nippers in Yarrawonga.

Adapted from the traditional coastal Nippers program for inland communities, Bush Nippers provides young people with practical water safety education, confidence around aquatic and open water environments, lifesaving awareness and foundational rescue skills.

In 2026, the Yarrawonga program delivered multiple sessions across three days and attracted around 50 participants, with strong interest from families in returning for future programs.

Timothy Dooling from YMCA Victoria’s Moira operations said the program was about equipping young people with skills relevant to the environments in which they swim and recreate.

“Swimming lessons happen in a pool. Around here, children swim in the lake and river. Bush Nippers teaches them how to read water, where the hazards are, and what to do if someone gets into trouble. They go home more confident, and with more respect for the water around them.” s.”
Timothy Dooling, YMCA Victoria

A new way to partner with LSV

Moira’s experience provides a practical example of the opportunity behind LSV’s new Approved Partner Program.

The program provides a flexible framework for organisations to deliver LSV-endorsed services across four streams: training, education, professional development and assessments. Partners can choose the areas that best suit their organisation, creating opportunities to access LSV programs and resources while building their own capability to deliver locally.

Rather than relying solely on LSV or another external provider to deliver programs, the model enables appropriately qualified staff within partner organisations to deliver approved activities themselves.

For organisations with established workforces, facilities and strong community connections, this creates another way to bring lifesaving and water safety initiatives directly to the people they serve.

Expanding the opportunity across YMCA Victoria

That opportunity is now extending beyond Moira, with YMCA Victoria entering into an Approved Partner Program agreement including LSV’s Education and Professional Development programs.

This opens the door for YMCA Victoria to use appropriately qualified staff to deliver approved LSV Education programs and Professional Development internally, where it suits their needs.

This could include Education programs such as Bush Nippers and Lifesaving Education Programs, alongside Professional Development including Watch Around Water, SwimSafe and in-service training for aquatic staff.

It provides greater flexibility to build capability within YMCA Victoria’s workforce and respond to local needs, while drawing on LSV’s established programs, resources and water safety expertise.

“Water safety in an inland regional town is a different conversation than at a city pool, and our regional teams already know that. We became an LSV Approved Partner because we’ve got experienced staff who know their communities. It means we can deliver LSV’s education programs and staff training ourselves, when and where it suits each site. Yarrawonga showed us it works. Now we want to do that at more of our centres”
Paul McPherson, YMCA Victoria Head of Operations - Recreation

For Timothy, the value of the partnership is the combination of local knowledge with established lifesaving expertise.

“For YMCA Victoria and our Moira Shire communities, the partnership provides an important connection between local knowledge and LSV’s specialist lifesaving expertise. It allows us to take established water safety principles and apply them in a way that is relevant to regional and inland communities.”
Timothy Dooling, YMCA Victoria

And his message to other organisations considering the Approved Partner model is simple:

“Working with an LSV Approved Partner takes a lot of the guesswork out of delivering quality aquatic and water safety programs. You know you’re working with recognised industry expertise, proven safety principles and a partner who can help turn good ideas into safe, meaningful outcomes for the community.”
Timothy Dooling, YMCA Victoria

Organisations interested in delivering LSV-endorsed programs and services can learn more about LSV’s Approved Partner Program.