The link for Surf Life Saving provides a range of information on beach safety and education as well as the most recent drowning and rescue statistics.  2007 has been designated as the Year of the Lifesaver in Australia. Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA)

Royal Life Saving Australia (RLS)
http://www.royallifesaving.com.au/

Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association (APOLA)

Professional lifeguards work most of Australias beaches and this site includes some beach safety information as well as how to become a lifeguard. http://www.apola.asn.au

United States National Weather Service
Excellent American site devoted to learning more about rip currents. Explore the links to find a ton of good information. The US seems to be well ahead of Australia in terms of promoting rip current awareness. http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov

Real Surf
Great site packed with information on local Sydney surfing conditions. Plenty of links to wave information and beach and surf cams. http://www.realsurf.com/

Manly Hydraulics Laboratory (MHL)
This link provides real time information on offshore wave characteristics in NSW including height, period, direction and temperature.
http://www.mhl.nsw.gov.au/www/wave_data_plot.htmlx

Safewaters NSW
http://www.safewaters.nsw.gov.au/flags.htm

Coastalwatch
Amazing network of beach and surf cams and information relating to surfing and the coast. www.coastalwatch.com/templates/default.aspx

Comet Program on Rip Currents
US site with the best animations of rip currents I’ve seen to date and an excellent resource for coastal processes. You need to register though. http://www.meted.ucar.edu/marine/ripcurrents/NSF/

University of Delaware
A good source of who’s who in the world of rip research although it focuses on the US and is a bit out of date. http://www.ocean.udel.edu/ripcurrents/Research/index.html