Do You Want to Become a Swim Teacher in New Zealand?

Swim teaching can be an exciting and fulfilling career or pastime. New Zealand is an island nation surrounded by water with kilometres of coastline, so it is essential that all New Zealanders are given the opportunity to enjoy the water safely. The role of a swim teacher is to pass on the aquatic skills and knowledge needed to be confident and familiar with the water, enabling participation in the sport of swimming and other aquatic activities.

Swimming New Zealand has partnered with AUSTSWIM and Skills Active to ensure those interested in swim teaching have access to internationally recognised training and qualifications and a clear pathway for further development. The courses we offer are designed to challenge your understanding, develop knowledge and increase the sharing of information across communities and ultimately raise the standard of swim teaching to a world-leading level.


The nationally recognised entry-level course is the AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water safety. Upon completion of the requirements of this award, the trainee also gains the New Zealand Certificate in Aquatics (Swim and Water Safety Teacher) (Level 3).

From there swim teachers can choose from four extension courses:

AUSTSWIM Teacher of Aquatics - Access and Inclusion (TAI)

AUSTSWIM Teacher of Adults (AD)

AUSTSWIM Teacher of Infants and Preschool Aquatics (INF)

Teacher of Competitive Swimming

Upon completion of the requirements of two of the extension modules, the trainee gains the New Zealand Certificate in Aquatics - Specialised Swim and Water Safety Teacher (Level 4).






For all course dates and to enrol please visit the course calendar here

For further information, please contact the education team here