The Patrol Audit Program is a standardised process of auditing patrols against the Club’s Lifesaving Service Agreement and SLSNSW Public Safety Standard Operating Procedures.

All SNB Clubs will be audited by a Branch appointed Patrol Auditor. In 2025-26, it is expected that Clubs will be audited 4 times; once by each of the 4 members of the SNB Patrol Audit team. The Patrol Auditors can be identified by the white SNB Branch shirt which displays the SNB logo.

Patrol Audits will begin in November and carry through until the end of the season in April. The Team will not be actively auditing patrols on major public holidays such as Christmas Day or Australia Day. They will also avoid auditing a Club when it is hosting a carnival. If a Patrol Auditor should arrive at a beach when it is particularly busy due to crowd numbers and/or incidents occurring, the Patrol Captain may ask the Auditor to return at another time.

Club Captains should ensure the Patrol Captains are familiar with the following PSSOPs at a minimum. Patrol Audit content does change based on the Patrol Type that is in place on the day (ie. Full Patrol, Partial, Low Patronage, Surveillance / Inclement Weather or Lifeguard Joint Patrol).

• PSSOP 3.1 Lifesaving Service Agreement
• PSSOP 3.2 Lifesaving Service Requirements (minimum)
• PSSOP 3.3 Club Patrol Operations

The Patrol Audit will be recorded via an online form provided by SLSNSW. A copy of the completed form will be sent to Club Captains the week following the audit.

If at any time a Club has questions about an Audit that has been conducted, the Club Captain should contact the Auditor who conducted the Review in the first instance. Contact details of the Auditor will be provided when the form is sent to the Club.

The Patrol Audit Team would also like to advise everyone of the following for this season:

• SLSA uniform includes red shorts with DHL logo, yellow shirt with DHL and Isuzu on the front and Qantas or Ampol on the right sleeve, ¼ caps must be somewhere on them (in a pocket)
• 5 random items in the patrol’s First Aid kits will be audited, plus a sharps container
• AED pad expiry dates will be checked – “on patrol” unit only
• Oxygen bottles should be marked with current volume and date/time checked should be the current patrol
• Other items including IRBs, spinal boards, rescue boards, tubes, rescue boards, etc – will be checked to ensure they are present on the beach or in a suitable rescue ready location
• IRB radios must be in waterproof bags

Note that SNB Duty Officers are not responsible for patrol audits.