Sydney lifeguards will be able to fine swimmers who disobey orders and swim outside designated safe surfing sections on beaches.
Disobedient swimmers face fines from $A60 ($73) to $A220 if they do not swim between the safe red and yellow flagged areas.
Each summer, Sydney's lifeguards risk their lives saving hundreds of swimmers, many foreign tourists with little surfing skills, who ignore lifeguard directions and swim outside patrolled flagged areas.
"We had a lot of people say the fine should be even greater - that it should be thousands of dollars," said Graeme Beattie, from the local government which will impose the fines on nine beaches in northern Sydney.
The fines will be applied to beaches stretching from North Narrabeen to Freshwater.
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