Increasing the cut-off length for vessels to 6 metres will increase safety outcomes for more boating users on NSW waterways.

Increasing the vessel length to 6 metres will capture an additional 25 per cent of the recreational fleet. Analysis indicates that 56 of the 79 (71 per cent) preventable drownings over the 10 years to June 2020 involved vessels less than six metres long.

Of these, 16 (20 per cent) fatalities occurred on vessels between 4.8 and 6 metres.

This was further supported by outcomes achieved in Tasmania where there has been a considerable improvement in the average annual fatality rate since the adoption of the 6-metre length in 2001.