Temporary Changes to Walgett Pool Operations

Published on 19 October 2025

Walgett Pool Update - 24 October 2025

The Walgett Swimming Pool will be open this weekend from 1 pm to 7 pm.

• All patrons must sign in on arrival.
• Children aged 14 years and under must be accompanied by an adult.
• Abuse or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated — this facility is for everyone’s enjoyment and safety.

This morning, representatives from WCACC, WAMS, DEG, NSW Police, and Walgett Shire Council met to discuss how to maintain the safety of both patrons and staff at the pool.

We are pleased to confirm that Volunteer Community Liaison Officers will be present at the pool to help ensure a safe, respectful and welcoming environment for everyone.

Council sincerely thanks those community members who have already volunteered and encourages anyone else who wishes to help to contact us at admin@walgett.nsw.gov.au or by phone on (02) 6828 6100.

Let us all work together to keep the Walgett Pool open, safe and enjoyable for everyone in our community. 

Walgett Pool Update - 20 October 2025

Thank you to everyone in the Walgett community for your understanding following yesterday’s incident at the Walgett Swimming Pool.

For the remainder of this week, the pool will be open from 6 am to 8 am and 11 am to 3 pm each day. Operating hours for the weekend will be confirmed later in the week.

Council recognises the importance of organised sport for young people and will continue to support the Walgett Swim Club. The pool will open for Swim Club sessions on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, limited to registered members of the Swim Club. A current membership list has been provided to Council by Swimming Australia to ensure that only registered members are admitted. During these sessions, there will be no operation of the small pool, splash park or kiosk, as this time will be dedicated exclusively to the formal Swim Club program.

Council is also aware that there have been claims circulating online suggesting that a Council staff member assaulted a child. NSW Police have reviewed the matter and raised no concerns regarding the actions of Council staff.

Council is extremely proud of its staff for remaining calm and professional during what was a very difficult and distressing situation. Their focus remained on keeping patrons safe, despite being subjected to verbal abuse from several members of the public.

Council has a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace for its employees. Behaviour of this kind puts that obligation at risk and makes it increasingly difficult to ensure the pool can remain open. If staff do not feel safe to attend work, the reality is that the pool will not be able to operate.

Council is also installing additional CCTV cameras at the pool and will issue body-worn cameras to all lifeguards to further protect staff and patrons. This will, as with previous instances of criminal behaviour, result in funding which should have gone to other facilities, such as parks, playgrounds, and sporting facilities, to now be spent on security upgrades. This is an incredibly disappointing outcome.

Thank you again to the many community members who have continued to show respect and support for Council staff during this challenging time. Together, we can ensure that the Walgett Pool remains a safe and enjoyable place for everyone.

Temporary Changes to Walgett Pool Operations - 19 October 2025

It’s with genuine sadness that we share this update. Following another serious incident today at the Walgett Swimming Pool, where a lifeguard was physically assaulted by a member of the public and other staff were verbally abused, Council has made the difficult decision to limit pool opening hours for the coming week.

From tomorrow, the pool will operate between 6 am – 8 am and 11 am – 3 pm daily.

This is not a decision we wanted to make. The pool is one of our community’s most valued assets — a place for families, children and visitors to come together, to relax, to cool off, and to enjoy what our town has to offer. It should be a safe and happy space for everyone.

Council has a legal and moral obligation to ensure a safe work environment for our staff. The current behaviour of a small number of individuals is making that impossible. We simply cannot allow staff to continue working in an environment where they are being abused or assaulted for doing their jobs.

We are also fully aware of the baseless accusations being levelled against our staff. These suggestions are both untrue and unfair. Our staff are committed to the safety and wellbeing of every member of this community, and any claim that they acted inappropriately is simply ridiculous. Our team works under difficult circumstances every day to ensure that this facility remains open and safe for everyone, and they deserve our respect and support — not abuse.

We are also reviewing options to improve safety, including options such as increasing the entry fee to help fund on-site security.

Moving forward, children under the age of 14 will only be admitted when accompanied by a parent, grandparent, or another responsible adult aged 18 or over.

Any instance of verbal abuse toward staff will now result in a ban, and any physical assault will result in a lifetime ban from all Council facilities.

To the vast majority of our community who have supported our pool and treated our staff with kindness and respect — thank you. Your support means everything to those who work hard to keep this facility open.

We ask everyone to stand with us in saying enough is enough. This pool belongs to all of us, and it deserves to be a place of pride, not pain. Let’s work together to protect it — and each other.