An unseasonable cold spell across the east coast has helped reduce the number of drownings during the Christmas and New Year period, according to data from Royal Life Saving Australia.
But as summer kicks into full swing, a growing number of Australians are returning to the water and Royal Life Saving Society Australia CEO Justin Scarr has warned swimmers to be aware of their skills and the environmental risks.
"It really heats up into January and continues through February, so we certainly see people in those southern states increase choices to go swimming or boating," he told AAP.
"That's when, unfortunately, we have seen significant drowning tragedies."
In the Northern Territory and Queensland, storms and heavy rain throughout December have caused rivers to swell.
"That rainfall doesn't just disappear ... it travels through waterways and inundates communities for several weeks," Dr Scarr said.
"Unfortunately, in the Top End, we do see children play in those swollen rivers and get themselves into trouble."
As parents return to work after the holiday season, kids can be left unsupervised, fuelling calls for adults to remove tempting inflatable toys from backyard pools and lay down water safety rules in their households.
People over the age of 60 have also become a growing concern for lifesavers, as many attempt water-based activities they may not be able to participate in any longer, Dr Scarr said.
Since December 1 there have been 31 drowning deaths across the nation, according to the Royal Life Saving Society Australia's National Summer Drowning Toll.
In some incidents, bodies are yet to be recovered.
Search and rescue operations were suspended on Sunday after a boat capsized at Palm Beach in Sydney's north on New Year's Eve.
Authorities had been looking for a 16-year-old boy, who was a passenger on the vessel, after one man died at the scene and another was hospitalised.
A separate search began on New Year's Day following reports of a 22-year-old man in trouble in the water at Coogee Beach in Sydney's east, but the man was unable to be found.
For beachgoers, the areas between the red and yellow flags remain the best places to swim - not only because the water tends to be safer but because lifeguards and lifesavers are on watch, Dr Scarr said.
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