ArticleHealth promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals2026
Evaluating the Economic Impact of Learn-to-Swim Programmes: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the First Lap Voucher Programme in Australia.
Article in Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Evaluating the Economic Impact of Learn-to-Swim Programmes: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the First Lap Voucher Programme in Australia.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2026Article
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4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
issue addressedSwimming is an essential life skill for Australian children. Access to swimming lessons helps develop competence in the water. However, participation in swimming lessons among preschool-aged children has declined in recent years, particularly following the pandemic. The New South Wales Government introduced the First Lap programme to encourage preschoolers' access to swimming lessons by providing AUS$100 vouchers during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 financial years. The programme aimed to increase participation in early swimming education and raise parental awareness of its importance for water safety. We assessed its economic impact from a policy perspective.
methodsWe surveyed registered First Lap providers and participating families to estimate programme benefits. Costs were sourced from the state government, with outcomes reported using standard cost-benefit metrics. Subgroup analyses by Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas quantiles examined variations in programme impact across community groups.
resultsA total of 100 providers and 14 126 parents/carers completed the surveys. Our findings suggest direct benefits of AUS$39.3 million against costs of AUS$28 million, yielding AUS$1.40 per dollar invested. Including indirect benefits increased total returns to AUS$62.3 million, or AUS$2.23 per dollar. Benefits consistently exceeded costs in both financial periods, with returns between AUS$1.38 and AUS$2.11 in 2021-2022 and AUS$1.43 to AUS$2.38 in 2022-2023. Subgroup analysis showed direct returns from AUS$1.40 to AUS$1.43 and AUS$2.22 to AUS$2.25 across socio-economic groups.
conclusionsWe found strong economic support for the programme, with significant benefits across socio-economic groups. SO WHAT?: The findings suggest that the First Lap programme, providing swimming vouchers to preschoolers, is a cost-effective initiative to help families access lessons and promote children's safety and health.
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