Bondi Rescue

Something isn’t quite right here - Bondi Rescue continues to rake in millions for everyone except the stars of the show. Lifeguards who appear in the hit series do so on a “gratis” basis.


It’s one of Channel 10’s most popular shows and it continues to make money for the channel and the people who make it - production company The Cordell Jigsaw Group. Bondi Rescue is now being shown in 13 countries and after seven seasons, a stack of awards and 58 episodes, the Waverley Council lifeguards are feeling a bit left out because their average annual salary remains at around $60,000.






But the show's executive producer Michael Cordell who lives in a $4.9 million mansion a few beaches away in Bronte, seems to be missing the point. He confirmed that his company did not pay the lifeguards an additional salary but said "It is a tricky issue and as a documentary filmmaker I can see why those issues would come up but, as a documentary series, it is crucial that the integrity of the show is retained," Mr Cordell said. "Paying the lifeguards to appear on the show would obviously compromise that."






Mr Cordell said his company bends over backwards to keep the lifeguards happy so what does he do exactly? He pays Waverley Council a “significant amount” for the right to film the series at the beach, the lifeguards receive a percentage of the merchandising profits and he pays for the Christmas party. He admitted that when divided up between 30 and 40 lifeguards, it was "not very much"





One lifeguard, who appears regularly on the show and didn’t want to be named, said "Obviously we are not in this industry for the money, we love what we do but after a while you start to think, hang on a minute, a few people are making a lot of money here and we're not seeing anything."