Two new after-hours shark bite kits have been installed at Maroubra and Coogee beaches through a partnership between Randwick City and Surfing NSW, giving swimmers, surfers and beachgoers access to life-saving trauma equipment outside lifeguard patrol hours.
The kits sit alongside a newly installed rescue tube at each location, adding a practical layer of emergency preparedness to two of Sydney’s eastern suburbs’ busiest beaches. At Maroubra, the after-hours rescue tube and trauma kit are installed next to the Lifeguard Office, making them easy to locate for anyone familiar with the beach. For Maroubra’s large and active surf community, the addition means that critical emergency tools are now accessible around the clock, not just during patrolled hours.
What the Kits Contain and Where to Find Them
Each shark bite kit contains a tourniquet, dressings and bandages, a thermal blanket and a simple instruction card. The kits focus on controlling life-threatening blood loss in the crucial minutes between a shark attack and the arrival of professional medical help, and the simple instruction card empowers any bystander to provide immediate assistance, even without prior first aid training.
Installed alongside each kit is a rescue tube, a buoyant foam device designed to keep a person afloat in the water during a rescue. Together, the two pieces of equipment address both the in-water and on-shore phases of an emergency response, bridging the gap between the moment an incident occurs and when paramedics reach the scene.
The kits are a product of Community Shark Bite Kits, a not-for-profit initiative that has now placed kits at more than 120 beaches across Australia. The Maroubra and Coogee installations bring this proven national model to the Randwick City coastline for the first time.
After-Hours Safety on an Unpatrolled Beach
The kits are specifically designed to fill the gap outside lifeguard patrol hours, a period when beaches remain in constant use but professional emergency response is not immediately on hand. Lifeguard patrols at Maroubra operate from 7am to 7pm during daylight saving and from 7am to 5pm during winter and non-daylight saving periods. Outside those windows, the shark bite kit and rescue tube next to the Lifeguard Office offer a vital additional layer of safety for beach users, alongside existing emergency infrastructure.
That after-hours focus reflects a realistic understanding of how eastern suburbs beaches operate. Maroubra draws surfers before dawn and long after dusk throughout the year, and many of the suburb’s most committed ocean users are in the water precisely during the hours when lifeguards are not on patrol. Having trauma equipment permanently installed and accessible at any hour addresses that reality in a direct and practical way.
Why This Matters to Maroubra
Maroubra’s surf culture runs deep, and the beach attracts not just locals but visitors from across Sydney and beyond. The coastal safety infrastructure at the beach already includes CCTV, emergency response beacons and a publicly accessible defibrillator, and the shark bite kit and rescue tube now sit alongside those existing measures as part of a comprehensive approach to beach safety.
All beach users are encouraged to note the location of the shark bite kit and rescue tube next to the Lifeguard Office at Maroubra before entering the water. In any emergency, the first call should always be to 000.
Published 23-March-2026.
