Aquatic Technical Officers Network

Aquatic Technical Officers (ATO) Collaboration Group

About the Group

The Aquatic Technical Officers (ATO) Collaboration Group brings together aquatic technical officer from across Western Australia to share knowledge, discuss common challenges and learn from each other’s experiences.

The Group is designed to provide a practical forum for collaboration between facilities and organisations, helping reduce professional isolation, strengthen industry connections and support greater consistency across aquatic operations. Pleaserefer to the Term of Reference below.

Working together to share knowledge, solve common challenges and strengthen the Western Australian aquatic industry.

Who Can Participate?

The Group is open to aquatic industry professionals involved in the operation and management of aquatic facilities, including:

• Managers and senior operational staff
• Coordinators
• Supervisors
• Team leaders
• Other relevant aquatic centre technical operators 

Participation from metropolitan and regional facilities is encouraged to ensure a broad range of experiences, facility types and perspectives are represented.

Network Leads

The ATO Collaboration Group is supported by industry Network Leads who will help guide discussions, identify relevant issues and opportunities, and support collaboration across the network:

• Kristen Olivieri – City of Armadale
• Dylan Power – City of Melville
• Alex Lebron – City of Canning

The Network Leads will work with LIWA and participants to help shape meeting topics, encourage knowledge and resource sharing, and ensure the Group remains practical, relevant and responsive to the needs of aquatic professionals.

Quarterly Meetings

The ATO Collaboration Group will meet quarterly, with meetings designed to be practical, interactive and driven by issues currently affecting the industry.

Meetings will generally be available in person and via Microsoft Teams, providing greater access for regional facilities and those unable to attend in person.

To enable participation from as many facilities as possible, in-person attendance will be limited to two representatives per Centre. Online attendance will be unlimited.

What Will We Discuss?

Meeting topics will be shaped by participants and emerging industry issues and may include:

• Facility operations and technical challenges
• Plant and equipment failures and troubleshooting
• Pumps, dosing systems, heating and water treatment
• Contractors and specialist technical support
• Staffing, recruitment and retention
• Workforce training and development
• Staff engagement and leadership
• Financial and operational pressures
• Procedures, manuals and SOPs
• Industry incidents, scenarios and lessons learned
• New technology, equipment and operational practices
• Resources and information that can be shared between facilities

Meeting Format

Each meeting may include a combination of:

• Open discussion on current industry challenges
• Technical scenarios and problem-solving
• Peer-led presentations and case studies
• Plant and equipment troubleshooting
• Practical workshops
• Guest speakers and specialist presentations
• Workforce and professional development discussions
• Sharing of resources, procedures and operational learnings

The intention is for meetings to be practical and collaborative rather than presentation-heavy, giving participants the opportunity to ask questions, share experiences and learn directly from colleagues across the industry.

Sharing Knowledge and Resources

A key part of the Group will be building a shared library of useful industry information.

Participants will be encouraged to contribute resources where appropriate, including procedures, manuals, SOPs, technical information, training materials, case studies and practical operational learnings.

Meeting information, resources, registration details and relevant updates will be made available through the LIWA member platform where possible.

Helping Shape the Group

The ATO Collaboration Group is intended to be industry-led, with the Network Leads, LIWA and participants working together to identify priority topics and shape future meetings.

Most importantly, participants will help determine the issues discussed. Members are encouraged to bring forward challenges, questions, ideas and examples from their own facilities so the Group remains relevant and useful to those working in the industry.

See the Events schedule for the next meeting date