The 2026 State of the Beaches report shows NSW beach water quality has improved, except for a popular Sydney spot.

New South Wales is blessed with seemingly endless beautiful beaches, from city beaches with international fame to quiet sandy patches hidden inside national parks, and everything in between. But the 2026 State of the Beaches report undertaken by the NSW government to rank Sydney’s cleanest beaches (and therefore also its dirtiest) has made it clear that, even with beautiful beaches, you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

What is the State of the Beaches report?

The State of the Beaches report provides a long-term assessment of how suitable 245 sites are for swimming across New South Wales – so that includes beaches and other swimming spots, like lagoons, estuaries and lakes. Water quality is monitored by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s Beachwatch Program, and with 16 partners under the Beachwatch Partnership Program. Each spot is graded as Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor or Very Poor.

“Good environmental decisions rely on good science," said Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe. “Through decades of consistent monitoring, Beachwatch provides the robust data needed to track water quality trends and give swimmers confidence in the information they use."

New South Wales’ cleanest beaches

Let’s start with the good news. Of all the beaches and swim spots surveyed around the state, 79 per cent of monitored swim sites and 97 per cent of monitored beaches were graded Good or Very Good, meaning they were suitable for swimming most or almost all of the time.

This was an overall three per cent improvement in performance from the previous year. So, phew, headed in the right direction. The improvement has been chalked up to continued average to below average rainfall conditions experienced across New South Wales, and improved microbial water quality (the presence of things like bacteria, viruses and protozoa) at many swim sites.

The report had particularly good news for Sydney’s ocean beaches, increasing from 87 per cent to 97 per cent with a Very Good or Good rating. Even Sydney Harbour improved from 78 per cent to 81 per cent. But Avalon Beach was dubbed the cleanest in the city.

A couple of hours away, Birdie Beach, Frazer Beach and Forresters Beach all took out top spots on the Central Coast. On the Hunter, One Mile Beach achieved the highest score. Illawarra’s cleanest beaches were named as Wollongong City Beach and Shellharbour Beach. And Warrain Beach is the winner for Shoalhaven.

Top 8 cleanest coastal beaches in NSW

To ease all of our collective minds, the report shared the state’s top eight cleanest ocean beaches:

1. Avalon Beach, Sydney
2. Birdie Beach, Central Coast
3. Forresters Beach, Central Coast
4. Frazer Beach, Central Coast
5. One Mile Beach, Hunter
6. Warrain Beach, Shoalhaven
7. Shellharbour Beach, Illawarra
8. Wollongong City Beach, Illawarra

New South Wales’ dirtiest beaches

Many estuarine, lake, lagoon and freshwater swimming sites didn’t perform as well as ocean beaches. To be fair, this is apparently mostly due to being more susceptible to impacts from wet weather conditions. But still, I sure know where I won’t be swimming this summer.

Coogee Beach received a Poor grade. The Sydney beach hasn’t received a Good rating since 2021. This result has been attributed to the beach being more susceptible to stormwater impact.

“Coogee Beach takes longer to recover from pollution events, such as rainfall, with lower levels of flushing which can increase the time needed for pollution to disperse," a spokesperson from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) told Australian Traveller.

“Weekly monitoring has shown water quality was mostly suitable for swimming during dry weather conditions; however, elevated bacteria levels were recorded during wet weather and increased following rainfall," they continued. “As a result, water quality at this site may not always be suitable for swimming, and we recommend that potential visitors to the site refer to the Beachwatch water quality forecast for the latest swimming advice."

So after rain, maybe just stick to the very beautiful Coogee to Bondi coastal walk?

Elsewhere, Narrabeen Lagoon, Rose Bay Beach, Frenchmans Bay and Yarra Bay also received Poor grades.

And then three spots made it onto the Very Poor list: The Blue Mountains’ Minnehaha Falls, Foreshores Beach and Gymea Bay Baths, both in Sydney.

Feeling nervous? Find all monitored beaches in the State of the Beaches report on the Beachwatch website.