Twelve deserving Surf Life Saving Clubs across Australia have been awarded with Inflatable Rescue Boats (IRB) as part of Ampol’s long-standing commitment to supporting grassroots surf life saving.
The return of the Ampol IRB Hull giveaway, now in its fourth year, increased from 2 to 12 IRBs, with surf life saving clubs from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia and Northern Territory all worthy recipients of IRBs.
The IRB was an innovation in the 1970s and continues to be a vital piece of equipment that has saved countless lives across Australia. The IRB is one of the critical items used by clubs across the country, to protect local communities and visitors to the beach.
Surf Life Saving Australia CEO Adam Weir was delighted to see clubs across the country receive their IRBs, thanks to the strong support from Ampol.
“Inflatable Rescue Boats are vital for our community Surf Life Saving Clubs when it comes to rescues and surveillance,” Weir said.
“The Ampol IRB Hull Giveaway has provided 12 clubs with the opportunity to have the latest equipment on their beaches, which is tremendous.
“We see first-hand the impact vital rescue equipment has in local communities all across the country, not just along the coastline but also in the broader area.
“This initiative from Ampol has received strong applications nationwide and we’re thrilled to be able to provide these 12 IRBs to the clubs.”
Ampol Chief Brand and Customer Officer, Jenny O’Regan said the program’s expansion was to ensure more deserving clubs could be provided with the equipment they need to perform rescues, train members, and serve their communities.
“With summer fast approaching we hope that our contribution of this vital rescue equipment will play a crucial role across Australia’s surf life saving landscape,” O’Regan said.
“Awarding 12 IRBs to these deserving clubs across the nation is Ampol’s way of supporting our generous volunteer lifesavers who safely patrol our great Australian coastlines.”
Tallebudgera Surf Life Saving Club Patrol Captain, Scott Gilbert said the initiative will help the club save more lives on the Gold Coast.
“We are more than just a beach patrol team — we are a community lifeline,” Gilbert said.
“When recent floods devastated 90% of local homes, our current IRB enabled rescues from rooftops, uniting volunteers across towns.
“This new hull will amplify our 24/7 rescue readiness and training for our young members, and during our surge in beach visitors during summer.
“With Ampol’s support, we’ll save more lives and strengthen our community resilience.”
Ampol will further support surf life saving communities through a fundraising campaign across the Ampol Foodary retail convenience network in November. Donations from this campaign will go directly towards empowering volunteers with specialised skills needed to save lives, including advanced lifesaving training, coastal and remote rescue capabilities, emergency response training, flood and swift‑water rescue techniques, and advanced rescue training for abalone divers. This will ensure our teams are prepared for emergencies in every environment across Australia.
Ampol IRB Hull Giveaway Winners (representatives from each club pictured below):
- Chiton Rocks SLSC, SA
- Cooks Hill SLSC, NSW
- Darwin SLSC, NT
- Forrest Beach SLSC, QLD
- Killcare SLSC, NSW
- Kingston Beach SLSC, TAS
- Point Lonsdale SLSC, VIC
- Point Lookout SLSC, QLD
- Shoalhaven Heads SLSC, NSW
- Sorrento (WA) SLSC, WA
- Tallebudgera SLSC, QLD
- Woolamai Beach SLSC, VIC
Woolamai Beach LSC (VIC) – Jason Close
“IRB’s are such an important part of the work we do, we patrol two beaches and on call for 100km of coastline, our IRB’s get a lot of work.
“I think it is a great scheme, we are really grateful for Ampol running this, not just for our club, but clubs all over Australia have to do a lot of fundraising and hard work to try to get an IRB. To be able to get our hands on one is terrific. It is really good for lifesaving in general that Ampol have come on sponsoring this initiative with Surf Life Saving Australia.
Point Lookout (QLD) – Matthew Robinson
“This is huge, our location and our landscape, we have a high need for IRBs. It is very exciting to win. We actively patrol two beaches, there is a requirement for double the use of equipment. We need to have two minimum IRBs ready to go, with one ready as a back-up.
“Statistically the beach we patrol is one of the most dangerous in Australia, so the IRB is a vital piece of equipment for our club.”
Killcare SLSC (NSW) – John Cvetko
“We are stoked, we are a little club on the NSW coast, we do have a few boats, but they are not really fit for purpose in rough surf conditions, which we can get.
“This means we can start to build our number of operators, and we can increase IRB training at the club, we can also loan out the harder hulls more broadly for emergency operations. It will be really important where we can run training programs.”
Shoalhaven Heads SLSC (NSW) – Kim Willett
“We are so excited that we won, it is amazing for our little club. It is huge, it was on our wishlist of things we were trying to save towards and get some grant money to go towards.
“One of our IRBs got chewed by a rat in the offseason, we got it fixed, but it is massive to get a new one. We are a small club that has been struggling for a few years, we’ve been working really hard to build the club and have a sense of community, this is worth more than you can imagine to win this IRB for the club.
“We can use it mainly for training, we are lacking IRB drivers at the club at the moment, so we are really promoting upskilling and people doing their courses and now we’ll have a dedicated crew.
Tallebudgera SLSC (QLD) – Scott Gilbert
“It increases our capability on the beach and gives us the capacity to rescue people far and wide. Most of our rescues are by IRBs.
“Every weekend our IRBs are in use and it increases over the Christmas period. We pull a lot of people out of the water around the creek area.
“We have two as a minimum, but sometimes we’ll supply them for carnivals for water safety, and we’ll still need IRBs for patrol as well, so there is a massive need for them.
Chiton Rocks SLSC (SA) – Tash Tunney
“It is very exciting, it is a very small club, fundraising opportunities are really difficult, so for us to raise funds for lifesaving resources is difficult and takes a lot of manpower.
“To get this IRB is incredibly valuable. We have an old IRB that is not really that serviceable, this means we can retire the old one. It is a pretty challenging beach to get in and out of, to have the IRB resource is really great for the club.
Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club (NSW) – Michael Clancy
“This award means a great deal to our members and our community. Our club is proud and passionate, but we operate on a modest budget. The addition of this new Inflatable Rescue Boat will significantly improve our ability to patrol Bar Beach, train new operators, and respond to emergencies more effectively. It’s a real boost for our volunteers.
“The IRB is one of the most essential tools in surf lifesaving — it’s our workhorse, this new hull will replace ageing equipment and ensure that our patrol teams have safe, reliable resources to protect beachgoers and respond quickly when seconds matter.”
“Our IRB crew and drivers gain skills that are not only lifesaving but build confidence, leadership, and teamwork. Having a new hull ensures we can continue to train our members to the highest standard.”
For more information visit sls.com.au
