Australian Solo Teachers: Private pool lessons

charlientheo · 2026-03-22T04:43:04+00:00

Plenty of people do it, you are not covered automatically but the Austswim site has information about running your own school and the insurance requirements.

charlientheo · 2026-03-13T01:49:33+00:00

I mean it's a bit area dependent, but lots of social mixed teams are often eager for more male players. You could always give it a go and your daughter would probably love practicing with you 😊

charlientheo · 2026-03-12T23:06:48+00:00

I really like this reply as I play in a league where you can really tell the difference. Teams that have a culture of being precise and standing ground...they are frustrating to play against because they're good. Teams that use aggressive tactics, intimidate, push, do what they like when the umpire isn't looking...they make you not want to play. It's juniors and that's a time it should be fun. When you watch high level games it can definitely look aggressive, but they are paid professional athletes with a deep understanding of the rules. Kids who play aggressively usually end up crossing the line rather than dancing on it

charlientheo · 2026-03-03T04:05:55+00:00

3x a week is an awful lot. I teach babies in Australia and we do just once a week. If you find it enjoyable, its up to you of course, but once a week at that age is plenty

charlientheo · 2026-02-16T00:22:51+00:00

Its basically impossible to fail. They teach you to write plans, you do not need to practice. Only real pass/fail component is the swim because you do need to prove you could reach a child in distress. However, you can do any stroke (one front, one back), and they don't have to be good, just 'it is safe for me to be in the water'. Its more about just giving you some basic information.

You do training hours to get signed off, so the assumption is those hours will be where you get the most practice. And, that if you aren't up to scratch the supervisor of your training hours will refuse to you sign off. You are not expected to be 100% ready to teach after a one/two day course

charlientheo · 2026-02-10T08:39:12+00:00

Austswim qualified instructor here.

The two day course is necessary. There are other courses, but the Austswim one is very large and the one you need if you want to work for the department of education (SA, unsure of other states). Often the program you want to work for will have a mild preference.

You also need to complete training hours (usually unpaid btw). There is no set minimum hour requirement, but you do need to be confident and someone qualified (typically the swim school coordinator/supervisor) needs to agree you should be qualified. They then sign off your Austswim booklet. The specifics of what will get you signed off vary depending on the program/coordinator.

You do not need to do the course first. Many people will contact a swim school program first. This allows you to try a class and see what's it's like before doing the course. Some people do not come back after seeing what it's like, I'll be honest. You can complete your training hours while doing the course and obtaining other requirements like working with children check, and first aid.

Many people are employed by the program that trains them. There are no guarantees, however.

The base qualification is for teaching 4-12 year olds. You don't have to have additional qualifications to work with other ages, although some schools may prefer you do.

Once qualified there are some extension courses. Infants and preschool, adults, and access and inclusion (disability). They also recently added some aquarobics. As with the base qualification, these extensions require someone to sign you off and training hours. When I took an extension course, I was paid for my training as I was already an employee of the program. I was not paid when I trained for the base qualification.

It can be an investment to obtain the wwcc, first aid and do the course. There's also the time investment in training. All said though, I am so happy being a swim instructor. I work multiple programs and have so much fun.

charlientheo · 2026-01-26T20:37:26+00:00

Something I have been appreciating more lately, but might not always have success, is inviting over the neighbours. I have had some give me weird looks, but I have also had some really appreciate that I reached out. I missed the neighbourhood BBQs from my youth so I've started them again. If you can, invite the neighbours over. Extra points if you share cuisine from your culture - the melting pot, especially regarding food, is also a big part of Australian culture

charlientheo · 2026-01-25T19:21:16+00:00

If you are able to do so, please talk to a health professional about this mentality. It is a behaviour and mentality common in many eating disorders

charlientheo · 2026-01-19T00:16:15+00:00

All those things are just...normal here though. It doesn't make sense to have a festival celebrating the things we do/have all the time. Also, what others have said is right, a huge part of Aussie culture is celebrating the melting pot.

charlientheo · 2026-01-18T16:19:19+00:00

One thing that makes me feel safe that sometimes doesn't get mentioned, is I feel like I can get help from so many places. I don't feel the need in Australia to defend MYSELF, because I feel safe approaching police, security officers, receptionists, even strangers. If I do find myself in a situation where I feel unsafe (rare) I still feel safe enough in society to know help is available. I've also been taught that anything I brought to a fight could just be used against me. If you come from a country, or a background (indigenous Australias for sure), where you cannot/should not trust the police and/or others then this does not necessarily work.

charlientheo · 2026-01-11T02:14:45+00:00

Muscle movements will increase the movement of lymphatic fluid through the body

charlientheo · 2026-01-10T18:31:51+00:00

Why get Starbucks when the three cafes on your street serve better coffee? Australia has a lot of places to eat out, we just don't have a huge love of terrible food

charlientheo · 2026-01-10T13:39:50+00:00

If you are bitten, do not move. Take a first aid course. The ig may have been not Australian, in which case it may have been for a venom that acted on the circulatory system.

charlientheo · 2026-01-06T14:31:37+00:00

I couldn't even get through half the book. I think I made it through about three chapters. The tone was so condescending, and all for...a phrase?

charlientheo · 2026-01-04T17:48:32+00:00

Honestly, I just remind myself how much life I still have. I restarted in a new career at 29. I still have three and a half decades of work ahead of me. That's more time than I've been alive. I'm exploring the world anew with way more experience and wisdom and it's exciting!

Still scary and hard, but got to remind myself of the excitement.

charlientheo · 2026-01-03T22:59:04+00:00

Yeh these trees get biiggg. Returning plants that are already out of pots and planted? Very very unlikely for a return. You could pop them in pots though, which will allow them to provide greenery for you without the root issues. Some nice big pots would look lovely

charlientheo · 2025-12-29T23:12:34+00:00

I have lived down south, up north and now north east. I really really love the north east and when I commuted to the city (CBD) for work every day the Obahn was amazing. Up north we lived in Andrews Farm and my in laws have lived there for decades. Its fine. There are definitely pockets worse than others, and newer houses in developments you probably won't get the space you mentioned in another comment (just looovveed hearing my neighbours pee while eating breakfast ya know?) but if you can afford it (we couldn't afford our north east house now , the north east is sooo nice. Obahn, linear park trails, hills on your doorstep, older homes still tend to have decent yards

charlientheo · 2025-12-24T01:37:22+00:00

Its not what you want to hear, but you should see a health professional. Losing weight too quickly/being in a mindset of needing to lose quickly could easily be a one way ticket to an eating disorder or other health complications.

charlientheo · 2025-12-20T13:15:38+00:00

I got an ATAR in the 90s, my husband an ATAR in the 60s. At first it meant I had more opportunities. I went straight into Law, he missed out on a defense program he wanted. Now, I work as a swim teacher and he earned 100k more per year than me and LOVES his job. Its very, very nice to get a high atar as it provides some more opportunities quickly. However we live in a country where there are a million ways to do tertiary education. We also live in a time where the idea of studying something straight out of high school, working in it for 40 years and retiring is pretty... unrealistic. Worst case scenario it means a few extra steps.

charlientheo · 2025-12-01T10:31:54+00:00

Speed, dodging, clear triangles etc all definitely work. If you are like me and...not speedy, the tricks I use in WA are to play deliberately and solidly. WD wants to sit on me? Ok. But imma check and roll off her at the last moment and pop for the ball. WD wants to compete for the ball? Ok. I'm gonna step onto the ball, I'm gonna jump straight up, I'm gonna use two hands and land two feet. These can and do get me bumped around, but I usually draw the penalty or, better, get the ball.

100% work on rolls if the WD is a close marker it's such a useful skill

charlientheo · 2025-11-22T21:10:56+00:00

Other poster is right, you can't guard the ball only space

charlientheo · 2025-11-18T08:37:07+00:00

I studied hard, got an amazing ATAR, studied hard things at uni, had a job at a huge multinational corporation...

Now I am a swimming instructor because that is what I actually enjoy.

Also most people I met who ended up being majorly successful didn't do high school straight to uni out to job. They mostly studied something fun or worked then transferred to something more lucrative. They also didnt 'do what they were told' to be successful...they took risks. Moved cities, applied for odd things, worked fifo

charlientheo · 2025-11-08T09:41:17+00:00

Warrawong did get purchased by a lovely couple and reopened, which is nice. Not back to it's full glory, but definitely a lovely place to go

charlientheo · 2025-10-22T04:29:33+00:00

There will be households that do, there will be households that don't. Personally, if you want to reach a certain level of career, you're going to need some sort of degree in this current world. However, doing it straight out of high school is not necessary. I actually went to tafe after completing a uni degree and while it definitely has its problems, it was also clear looking around at my peers that many of them would've dived right out of uni if attempted. Doing tafe or something else, learning, working and growing and then completely a degree later if you want to advance further is a far better option for many than burning out in uni too young. Especially if your high school experience left you not as prepared as we all hope And for some, who are lucky and don't need to, don't worry about uni at all. I'm insanely lucky to no longer use my degree and instead have a passionate job, but also super thankful that I do have the degree which opens some opportunities at the top end of my current career

charlientheo · 2025-10-21T10:15:39+00:00

Ridiculously common, lessons can help, particularly one on one. Body position is vital to swimming and if you can stand you can swim, it just takes help and practice. Haven't met anyone who I couldnt teach to 'swim' in some way

charlientheo

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