The divers, a 30-year-old woman from Chippendale and a 34-year-old man from Holsworthy, began screaming for help just after 9pm on Tuesday when they washed up against rocks about 100 metres off Clovelly Beach.

One of the divers is also believed to have used a torch to raise the alarm.

An off-duty lifeguard heard the pair's cries for help and called emergency services. He and another lifeguard who was also in the area then grabbed two paddleboards from the Clovelly Surf Life Saving Club and entered the water.

Police said the two men reached the divers and pulled them onto their paddleboards, but the group was then washed about 300 metres south of Clovelly to Gordons Bay.

Police from the marine area command reached the group soon after and pulled them onto their boat, before taking them to Rose Bay where paramedics were waiting.

The divers were tired, but not injured and did not require any medical treatment. The two lifeguards also were not injured.

A WeatherZone spokesman said the swell off Clovelly on Tuesday night was less than a metre, and conditions were not particularly rough.

It was unclear how experienced the scuba divers were.