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AusJourney

Safety & Risk Management

AUSJOURNEY NEVER COMPROMISES ON SAFETY

Health and safety is an integral part of the way we conduct our business and our operations. We are committed to continuous health and safety improvement, and the promotion of a positive safety culture that is free from discrimination, harassment and bullying, which is essential to creating a safe, productive and supportive outdoor learning environment. We never compromise on safety, however acknowledge that there are some inherent risks associated with being in the outdoors.

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What are the risks?

While with AusJourney your safety and welfare is our primary concern, however you do participate at your own risk and there will be times without direct instructor line-of-sight supervision. You may find our Adventurous Journeys physically, mentally and emotionally challenging, with long days and a good night’s sleep not guaranteed. Hikes occur in all weather conditions unless deemed unsafe by AusJourney. Before undertaking the hike, participants will be briefed on the risks and how to manage them.

AusJourney has never had any major life changing injuries, however serious risks can never completely be eliminated. Some of the risks include; injury from falling trees/branches, animal bites, hypo/hyperthermia and road accidents. To reduce the likelihood of a serious incident we have a comprehensive and robust safety management system as outlined below.

How we manage the risks

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Adventurous Journey Coordinators

Every Adventurous Journey has an assigned 24 hour a day Coordinator. These Coordinators are dedicated to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all our participants and staff while on Adventurous Journeys. They are responsible for:

  • Twice a day group check in’s, to ensure instructors are aware of weather conditions, and to make sure potential weather problems are identified early and hikes are adjusted accordingly;
  • Coordinating any emergencies and being the first point of contact for all Instructors in any (extremely rare) crisis situations.
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Our Instructors

Our instructors are integral to our safety management system and as a small company, we have the luxury of being able to hand pick all our staff, and we only select the best for the job. All our instructors, when recruited, must meet our minimum qualification requirements in outdoor education and first aid. In addition to this, they must have over three years’ experience safely delivering outdoor education programs and successfully pass a rigorous 48-hour internal competency appraisal.

We are proud to say that you will never see AusJourney openly recruit for Instructor positions. This is because we offer our instructors the compensation and benefits they deserve in return for providing you with an Adventurous Journey of the highest safety and quality.

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Risk Management

All outdoor education has an element of real risk. To ensure the health and safety of participants, general public, service delivery partners and employees, AusJourney has developed and implemented a comprehensive and robust safety risk management system.

This involves each hike being assessed and reviewed by our highly trained Instructors. Hazards and risks are identified together with control measures for appropriate mitigation and all risk documentation is reviewed formally once a year and in-formally each hike.

Our current safety protocols include:

  • Comprehensive policies, procedures and risk assessments in excess of the Australian Adventure Activity Standards (AAAS);
  • Internal audits conducted annually across all our operating areas;
  • Dedicated safety procedures to cater for a variety of situations including severe weather conditions;
  • Dedicated emergency management protocols to effectively and efficiently manage any and all critical incidents;
  • Qualification register to track and monitor Instructors qualifications, competence and currency; and
  • Comprehensive equipment monitoring, testing and tracking to ensure all safety equipment is up to date and replaced, if required.
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Child Safe Organisation

AusJourney is a Child Safe Organisation. All employees and volunteers are required to observe child safe principles and expectations for appropriate behaviour towards and in the company of children, as outlined in our Child Safe Policy and Code of Conduct.

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Risk Management Consulting

Outdoor education is a unique experience that has many benefits, from encouraging curiosity to giving students of all ages the invaluable chance to experience true transferable experiential learning within a natural setting. Outdoor education however faces many challenges to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students whilst in the outdoors. That is why here at AusJourney, we are dedicated to supporting our industry and making outdoor education safer by partnering with organisations across Australia to help them transform, grow and improve their outdoor education programs, through their risk management and quality assurance processes.

Whether you are a teacher who coordinates outdoor education programs and/or Cadet camps, a Scouts group or stand-alone adventure activity provider, AusJourney Consulting can assist you. For more information, please see our Consultancy page.