Sports, exercise and recreation

How to become a lifeguard

Official title: Lifeguard

Also called: Pool lifeguard, Life guard, Lifesaver, Rescuer, Beach patroller

Lifeguards watch and supervise people in pools and at beaches and lakes to keep them safe in the water. They may rescue swimmers in trouble, give first aid and teach water safety.

Main tasks

Watch swimmers at pools and beaches
Keep swimmers safe
Save people in danger
Give first aid
Check water is safe for swimming
Teach water safety skills
Talk to swimmers about rules
Set up rescue gear

How to become one

You need to do training to become a lifeguard. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Required: to be at least 14 years old; a Pool Lifeguard Practising Certificate; a First Aid Certificate; to pass a police check; to pass a Surf Lifeguard Award exam. Other requirements: to join a surf lifeguard club; to be able to swim 200m in under 6 minutes; to do a refresher test each season.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

Registration or licence: A Pool Lifeguard Practising Certificate.

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Median pay: $54,000 a year, a TEC estimate before tax.
Upper: $79,000 a year
TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $25.96 an hour.
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Sportspersons: 3,273 at the 2018 Census and 3,510 at the 2023 Census (+7.2%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 1,700 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Sportspersons, 42% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Sportspersons work (2023 Census): Auckland 25.6%, Canterbury 17%, and Wellington 13.3%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a lifeguard?

How much does a lifeguard earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $54,000 a year, before tax.

Has the number of people working as a lifeguard grown in New Zealand?

It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a lifeguard?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026