Table 1. Variable categorisation and definitions.
| Incident-related Variables | Definition | Victim-related Variables | Definition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Categories | ||||
| State | Gender | ||||
| NSW | Australian state or territory in which the incident occurred | Male | Gender of bystander (victim) | ||
| VIC | Female | ||||
| QLD | Age (years) | ||||
| WA | 0–17 | Age of bystander (victim) | |||
| SA | 18–29 | ||||
| NT | 30–44 | ||||
| TAS | 45–59 | ||||
| Remoteness | 60+ | ||||
| Major Cities | Remoteness of incident as determined using the Health Workforce Locator (REF) | Activity | |||
| Inner Regional | Swimming/Wading | Activity or primary reason bystander (victim) visited incident location | |||
| Outer Regional | Rock Fishing | ||||
| Remote | Boating | ||||
| Very Remote | Snorkelling/Scuba | ||||
| Season | Land-based Fishing | ||||
| Summer (Dec-Feb) | Season in which incident occurred | Other | |||
| Autumn (Mar-May) | Visitor status | ||||
| Winter (Jun-Aug) | Local (<10km) | Visitor status of bystander (victim), relative to incident location | |||
| Spring (Sep-Nov) | Resident (10-50km) | ||||
| Time of day | Intrastate (>50km) | ||||
| Morning (6:01–12:00h) | Time incident occurred | Interstate | |||
| Afternoon (12:01–18:00h) | International | ||||
| Evening (18:01–0:00h) | Unknown * | ||||
| Night (0:01–6:00h) | Toxicology | ||||
| Distance from Surf Lifesaving Services | Alcohol/Drugs | Alcohol/drug contribution to death (coroner report) | |||
| < 1 km | Distance incident occurred from Surf Lifesaving Service | None | |||
| 1–5 km | Birth continent | ||||
| > 5 km | Australia/Oceania | Continent where bystander (victim) was born | |||
| Location | Asia | ||||
| Beach | Coastal location type where incident occurred | Europe | |||
| Rocks/Cliff | Unknown * | ||||
| Offshore | Continent of residence | ||||
| Bay | Australia | Continent where bystander (victim) resided | |||
| Marina/Jetty | Asia | ||||
| Rip current presence | Europe | ||||
| Yes | Presence of a rip current reported at time of incident | Unknown * | |||
| No | Rescuee relationship | ||||
| Unknown | Family/Spouse | Relationship or level of familiarity between bystander (victim) and rescuee | |||
| Flotation device used | Friend | ||||
| Yes | Use of flotation device by bystander (victim) | Stranger | |||
| No | Other | ||||
| Day of week | Rescuee age | ||||
| Weekend day | Whether incident occurred on weekday or weekend | Child (<18) | Age of rescuee | ||
| Weekday | Adult (18+) | ||||
| Other/Unknown * | |||||
* Shows variables that were excluded from analyses.