Better Technique - Stronger Skills - Safer Swimmers
Carlile Swim is Australia’s leading learn-to-swim school, with 24 locations across NSW, QLD, VIC and the ACT. Since 1946, we’ve helped generations of Australians become confident, safe swimmers who truly love the water.
ABOUT US
We’ve been helping Australians learn to swim for almost 80 years with an unrivalled reputation for excellence, pioneering teaching techniques that have been adopted across the globe. Our team embraces that legacy with a passion for teaching, creating lessons that are safe, fun, and focused on real progress. From babies to Olympians, we’ve guided generations of swimmers to a love of the water.
We are committed to technique and quality. Every lesson is designed by experts who understand how children learn best, ensuring skills are taught correctly from the start. We monitor progress closely, adapt to each swimmer’s needs, and make every session count. With us, your child doesn’t just learn to swim – they learn to be safer and stronger in the water, for life.
STUDENTS WEEKLY
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
SWIM SCHOOLS
FOCUSED ON YOU
Australia's #1 Swim School
Our award-winning service speaks to our dedication to quality and customer satisfaction, ensuring every project is handled with expertise and care. You can trust in a team that’s recognized for delivering outstanding results.
Since 1946 Carlile has set the benchmark for learn-to-swim in Australia with a legacy of innovation, leadership and world-class teaching that has shaped generations of confident swimmers.
Our award-winning service speaks to our dedication to quality and customer satisfaction, ensuring every project is handled with expertise and care. You can trust in a team that’s recognized for delivering outstanding results.
From water confidence to elite performance, our programs are structured, progressive and backed by 250+ Australian Open gold medals, 8 world record holders and 50+ national representatives.
Our award-winning service speaks to our dedication to quality and customer satisfaction, ensuring every project is handled with expertise and care. You can trust in a team that’s recognized for delivering outstanding results.
Every Carlile instructor is trained far beyond industry standards, ensuring consistent, technique-led lessons that help children build confidence and progress with clarity. Supervisors support every lesson to maintain quality and safety.
Our award-winning service speaks to our dedication to quality and customer satisfaction, ensuring every project is handled with expertise and care. You can trust in a team that’s recognized for delivering outstanding results.
The Carlile teaching program was shaped by Olympic gold medallists and International Swimming Hall of Famers. Their expertise continues to guide how our program evolves to give families the very best learning outcomes.
Our award-winning service speaks to our dedication to quality and customer satisfaction, ensuring every project is handled with expertise and care. You can trust in a team that’s recognized for delivering outstanding results.
Carlie built Australia’s first purpose designed indoor teaching pool and pioneered baby and toddler teaching. Today our pools are specifically designed to support our teaching program helping children feel safe, comfortable and confident.
Our award-winning service speaks to our dedication to quality and customer satisfaction, ensuring every project is handled with expertise and care. You can trust in a team that’s recognized for delivering outstanding results.
We build strong technique and true water competence. These are the skills that truly keep children safe and help confidence grow naturally with every lesson. Carlile swimmers go on to use those skills for a lifetime of loving being in or on the water.
OUR LEADING FACILITIES
We have 24 swimming schools across Australia in NSW, QLD, VIC and the ACT. Click on your state below to see what schools we have in your area.
CARLILE PROGRAMS
At Carlile, we believe being a strong swimmer sets you up for a lifetime of fun, safety and adventure. Our programs, developed by Olympians and leading experts are designed to make swimmers safe, strong, and comfortable in the water, whether they’re starting out in baby swim, or striving for peak performance in our elite programs. With world-class expertise and a caring approach, here at Carlile we help every swimmer reach their full potential, from nervous beginners to confident athletes!
Infant & Baby Lessons
4 Months - 1 Year Old
Our Infant & Baby Swimming Lessons at Carlile Swim run by Australia’s Baby Swim experts! Our gentle, fun, developmental approach helps babies develop coordination in our warm, private pools. Parents join every class, creating connection in a nurturing environment for essential early swimming and safety skills.
Toddler Swimming Lessons
1-3 Years Old
Toddler Swimming Lessons at Carlile Swim build safety and independence in and around water. Through our expert guidance, and carefully developed unique program, toddlers develop vital safety skills and strong foundations for swimming. Our caring teachers ensure every child feels supported while progressing at their own pace.
Kids Swimming Lessons
3-6 Years Old
Our Kids Swimming Lessons at Carlile Swim focus on excellent technique foundations, confidence, and safety. Our structured, award-winning program, developed by industry experts & Olympic Gold Medalists, helps children master strokes while having fun. With small groups and highly trained teachers, Carlile kids gain lifelong, strong swimming skills in a safe, expert-led environment.
Stroke Development Lessons
7+ Years Old
Stroke Development Lessons at Carlile Swim refine technique to advance swimmers skills and efficiency in the water. Perfect for kids progressing beyond basics, these classes focus on efficiency, speed, and endurance. Our expert coaches help swimmers prepare for squads or competitive swimming while maintaining a positive, supportive atmosphere.
Adult Swimming Lessons
18+ Years Old
Adult Swimming Lessons at Carlile Swim cater to beginners and experienced swimmers alike. Whether learning to swim or improving technique, our patient instructors provide personalised guidance in a relaxed setting. Build confidence, fitness, and safety skills in warm, comfortable pools designed for adults.
Private Swimming Lessons
1-on-1 learning
Private Swimming Lessons at Carlile Swim offer one-on-one coaching for rapid progress. Ideal for beginners, nervous swimmers, or those refining technique, these tailored sessions provide focused attention and personalised feedback. Achieve your swimming goals faster in a supportive, stress-free environment.
Other Lessons & Programs
1-on-1 learning
Carlile offers more than core swimming lessons. Explore our other programs and offerings. Whatever your goals, we have a program to support your journey. Click here to see all of our swimming programs and what else we offer!
Unsure what level is correct for your child? We’ve created an easy online tool that will help guide you to the correct level. Click the button below, answer a few short questions, and you’ll know the correct level for your child within the Carlile Swim program.
OUR LEGACY
The Carlile name is entwined with the history of Australian swimming. Along with world class swimming lessons for kids, founders Forbes and Ursula Carlile pioneered techniques used across the globe.
From groundbreaking sports science to teaching babies to swim, and coaching Olympians these two icons set the standard. Carlile pioneered so much of what we take for granted today; Lane ropes, interval training, goggles, heart rate monitoring, circle swimming and sports science – Forbes even invented the pace clock now seen on pool decks the world over.
Forbes and Ursula produced a procession of champions, names such as world record holders Karen Moras, Gail Neall, Terry Gathercole, John Bennett and Jenny Turrall. They also produced the incomparable Shane Gould who at just 15 became the only person to hold every freestyle world record from 100m to 1500m, at the same time. For good measure she also held the 200IM world record. The team Forbes and Ursula developed is the most successful in Australian Swimming History. Carlile swimmers have competed at every Olympic trials since 1948, a feat unequalled by any club team in the world. Carlile coaches have produced more than 250 Australian Open Championship Gold medals, more than 50 Australian representatives and nine world record holders.
We have over 1000+ reviews across all of our online platforms. Read some of what our past students have to say about Carlile Swim.
FAQs
Browse our FAQs for helpful info. If your question isn’t there, just contact us – we’re here to help 7 days a week.
To redeem an Active Kids voucher, complete our online form. You will need the voucher ID number and your children’s information.
Find out more about the Active Kids Rebate and redeeming your vouchers with Carlile Swimming.
Our lessons are run year-round, with the exception of a two week break over Christmas and the New Year period. In addition to our regular lessons, every school holiday we conduct a School Holiday Swimming Program, where for a reduced fee, your child can receive intensive tuition each weekday. Our School Holiday program provides a boost for those swimmers who are on the cusp of moving to the next level.
Yes, beyond the industry standard. Carlile Swimming teachers and coaches complete an extensive and proprietary in house training program to teach the Carlile way. The Carlile Teacher Training System ensures new teachers undergo 30+ hours of training, including class observation, online theory and supervised teaching before they get to teach their own classes. In addition to this internationally recognised training, our teachers and coaches are all required to attain a nationally recognised qualification within their first 6 months of teaching.
All teachers and coaches with Carlile Swimming also have regular and on-going professional development focused on the programs they teach.
Water temperature is maintained at the optimum level for teaching children to swim, ensuring they stay warm and comfortable during lessons. Experience has shown that cooler water makes learning difficult and causes children to lose interest in attending classes.
An extra lesson each week accelerates learning and our experience is that children who swim more frequently progress faster through each level. During the school holidays we offer our Swimvac Program, where for a reduced fee your child can receive intensive swimming tuition each week day. Check with reception about booking a second swimming lesson or to find out more about Swimvac.
Think about swimming lessons as a long-term process, rather than an event. To ensure continuous skill development, lessons need to be a regular part of your child’s weekly routine. As children learn, they progress at their own pace and master the skills appropriate for their age. We consider a child to have learned to swim well when they can perform the promotion skills of our Orca Squad – these include swimming 400 metres freestyle, 200 metres backstroke, 100 metres breaststroke, and 50 metres butterfly, all with correct starts and turns and maintaining good technique over those distances. At this point, children have developed long term skill retention and will have a skill for life.
Winter is a great time to keep your children active, healthy and building on their swimming skills. We find that swimmers who drop out of our program during winter often have difficulty picking up where they left off. For preschool children in particular, consistent year round practice is crucial to avoid regression – this is because their muscle memory and long term skills retention are not fully developed. Our indoor pools, with consistent warm temperatures, make lessons comfortable all year round.
The best person to talk to about your child’s progress is the Supervisor. Our Supervisors are always available to liaise between parents and teachers and answer any of your concerns. Please feel free to let them know of any special needs your child may have. Supervisors are easily recognisable by their royal blue shirts.
Feedback is important and that’s why we aim to provide all of our parents with a detailed update on their child’s progress every 3-4 months. This is delivered personally to each parent by one of our Supervisors, or via skills update emails and also on the Parent Portal.
Although we use some aids, such as hand floats and kickboards, we don’t use arm bands and back bubbles in our classes. It is easy to develop a false sense of security when using these and this can be dangerous. They also tend to keep a child’s head and body in a semi vertical position, which develops bad habits.
Establishing and maintaining water quality is critical to our business. Our pools are equipped with state-of-the-art filtration and disinfection systems. Water quality and chlorine levels are checked and adjusted regularly throughout each day.
Parents and guardians are advised to be present before, during and after their child’s swimming lessons.
Moving from the Waterbabies class to the Penguin class will be a major step for your child, especially since this may be the first time they will venture into the pool without you. Our Supervisors are there to assist in making the transition as easy as possible for you and your child. They can offer advice about what to expect and what you can do to prepare your child, so please feel free to discuss any concerns with them.
When you arrive at the pool please check in at reception and they will help you find your class. On your first day aim to arrive at least 15 minutes early. This will allow you and your child to get used to the environment and possibly see your child’s teacher beforehand. Please do not enter the pool until requested or stay in the water after the class has finished. There are warm showers and change rooms available at all of our facilities.
At Carlile Swimming we are committed to the safety and wellbeing of children. We take a preventative and protective approach to Child Protection including staff training and development, a values-based culture, the provision of Child Safety Contacts and working with independent Child Protection experts. Learn more about our approach to Child Protection.
There is strong evidence that children who participate in regular swimming lessons at an early age are better prepared for learning in other spheres.
Indeed, the benefits go beyond learning a skill that could save your life. Australia’s Griffith University conducted a ground-breaking four-year research study and found that 3 to 5 year olds who attend regular swimming lessons were:
At Carlile our Waterbabies and Learn to Swim Programs emphasise safety and survival skills, such as breath control and submersion, turn around swims back to the wall and backfloating. Ultimately, children who are comfortable and confident in the water at an early age are better prepared in the case of an emergency.
You are welcome to change your lesson time as your schedule changes. You can do this yourself via your Parent Portal which lists all the classes that are available.
We always aim to challenge children and continually make progress when possible. However, progress may not always be continuous. It can come in spurts and children will occasionally plateau in their learning. Sometimes, they may even appear to regress. It is not uncommon for some skills to take a while to master, particularly if they are learning a new or difficult skill.
Being patient and trusting the process is important, but if there are specific concerns, they can be addressed with the on-deck Supervisor. It’s also important to remember that children are accomplishing something by maintaining their existing skills – many younger children will regress if lessons and regular practice stop for more than a couple of months.
At Carlile Swimming there are no lock in contracts. You can leave the program at any time, however you must notify us via email, 3 days before the next scheduled billing cycle. Our billing cycle calendar can be found here. Cancellation forms are also available at reception.
We are unable to provide refunds for cancellations made after the direct debit has been run.
Every new swimmer will be assessed by one of our friendly Supervisors to establish which class level best suits their abilities prior to their first lesson. These assessments take roughly 5 minutes. If your child is between three months and two and a half years or has little or no experience assessments are generally not necessary.
We do not provide credits or refunds for missed or unused lessons. For lessons missed due to public holidays or pool closures, the monthly fee will be reduced accordingly.
We do, however, realise that missing out on the benefits of regular swimming lessons isn’t ideal. Therefore, each child is entitled to 12 make-up tokens a year.
For more information on how to access these classes, click here.
Learning to swim is an important step in a child’s life. Understandably some parents want to film or photograph their child’s progress. However, the presence of cameras can cause concern for some parents. In order to respect everyone’s privacy, parents wishing to film or photograph their child at the swim school are asked to consult with the Supervisor, prior to doing so.
Lesson fees are paid in advance via direct debit from your nominated account on a monthly billing cycle.
We also reduce your fee for when we are closed on Public Holidays and for the Christmas break.
Things to know about Carlile Swimming’s billing and payments
Guaranteed place – once you have a place in our program your day and time remains yours until your child is promoted to the next level or you wish to change your lessons.
Cancellations – if you leave the program, you must notify Carlile via email 7 days before the next billing cycle so your direct debit can be cancelled.
Places can’t be “reserved” – in fairness to people on waitlists, your spot cannot be guaranteed should you cancel and wish to come back.
Swim Smarter
Backed by our years of experience, we share expert insights and news on everything swimming.
Two years ago today Australian Swimming lost a national treasure, with the peaceful passing of Ursula Carlile aged 86.
Your ultimate summer adventure begins in the water ☀️🏊♂️ Learning to swim isn’t just a lesson—it’s the key to a summer of fun and adventure. Be ready for a season of fun and confidence at the pool, at the beach, snorkelling, learning to surf, on the boat! Be enrolled or
Carlile Foundation Director Richard Cahalan has been inducted into the Australian Swim Schools Association Hall of Fame. Richard, inducted in the legend’s category is the fifth Carlile representative to join this elite group. Naturally, founders Forbes and Ursula Carlile were the first, followed by Carlile head of curriculum Dave Dubois,
— Forbes Carlile
We make every swimmer safe, strong, and comfortable in the water, whether they’re taking their first splash as babies or refining competitive strokes. With a proven approach that combines world-class expertise and a caring environment, Carlile helps swimmers reach their full potential so they can swim with confidence for life.
Welcome To Carlile Swim
