Surf lessons? Choose a licensed and insured surf school!

Published on 19 September 2024

Council is issuing a ‘buyer beware’ notice about unlicensed surf schools in the Byron Shire.

Council has received complaints that some people are running surf schools without approval.

“Council and the NSW Government manage what happens on the beach and in the water off the coast,” Council’s Acting Director, Infrastructure Services, Malcolm Robertson said.

“Council’s role is to help manage what happens on the beach itself in different parts of the Shire and part of Council’s job includes licensing businesses like surf schools that make money from using it,” he said.

“A surf school licence is a way of saying that a company has permission to use part of the public beach to run its business,” Mr Robertson said.

“The licensing system exists for everyone’s sake. It gives surf school customers confidence that an operator is safe rather than dodgy and gives businesses that do the right thing a competitive advantage.

“It helps limit the number of commercial businesses using the beach so that there’s plenty of space for recreation and the fees surf schools pay for their licence are used by Council to provide public services for the whole community,” Mr Robertson said.

“In every industry, there’s always a temptation to cut corners to make money but surf school customers can reduce this incentive by only using a licensed school.

“Using a school that does the right thing helps make the most of our amazing beaches and ocean. And that’s good for everyone,” he said.

The list of surf school operators with a current licence are:

• Byron Bay Surf School Pty Ltd.
• Let’s Go Surfing.
• Blackdog Surfing Pty Ltd.
• Style Surfing School Byron Bay.
• Rusty Miller Personalised Surfing Byron Bay.
• Soul Surfing School Pty Ltd.