Emergency Response Beacons installed at Diggers, North Wall and Bonville Headland

SURF Life Saving NSW has installed three new Emergency Response Beacons (ERBs) at Diggers Beach, North Wall, and Bonville Headland.

ERBs directly connect callers to Surf Life Saving NSW’s State Operations Centre, enabling the rapid deployment of lifesaving and emergency services to a potential rescue site.

Most recently, an ERB at Suffolk Park on the Far North Coast was used to facilitate the successful rescue of a surfer who was pulled from the water unconscious.

A member of the public activated the ERB and Byron Bay lifeguards attached to the Australian Lifeguard Service were tasked via jet ski to assist.

CPR was conducted before the man was taken to hospital breathing but still in an unconscious state.

“These additional ERB assets are being installed at a critical time of the year just prior to summer where we see an influx of visitation and, in turn, an increase in incidents across the state,” said Brent Manieri, SLSNSW General Manager of Public Safety and Emergency Management.

“These assets will ensure that vital support can be provided at these locations and significantly reduce response time during emergency incidents.

“Our ERBs not only alert lifesavers and lifeguards to an emergency but are fitted with critical safety equipment including shark trauma kits thanks to our work alongside the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

“The units installed at Coffs Harbour are the first ones fitted with these trauma kits, and all ERB units will have kits fitted over the coming months.”

Since 1 July 2025, there has been 118 ERB activations across the state, of which 14 have resulted in Surf Life Saving assets being tasked to the incident.

In the same period, 14 people have drowned across NSW – all of them at unpatrolled locations, away from lifesaving assets, or outside of patrol hours.

“We welcome the installation of these ERBs at Diggers Beach, North Wall and on the Bonville Headland with views of the southern end of Sawtell Beach, as these are identified as high-risk locations for incidents,” City of Coffs Harbour Planning and Communities Acting Director Ian Fitzgibbon said.

“It’s established this technology can be life-saving and they complement the patrols by City lifeguards and Surf Life Saving Clubs at nearby locations.

“These ERBs should be used only in life-threatening situations.

“Coming into summer, I would like to remind beachgoers of the wider safety message to swim between the flags as patrols operate at key locations along the Coffs coastline and increase over the peak summer period.”