Recreational water guidelines

​​​​​The Guidelines for Managing Risks in Recreational Water are non-mandatory standards designed to protect the health of humans from threats posed by the recreational use of coastal, estuarine and fresh waters. This includes natural and artificial hazards.

State and territory governments can use these guidelines as a tool for

• assuring the safe management of recreational water environments, so that as many people as possible can benefit from using the water​
• developing legislation and standards appropriate for local conditions and circumstances.

These guidelines are part of the National Water Quality Management Strategy and are managed by the National Health and Medical Research Council.