Risk Management
Keep Your Group Safe
This module will help you to
- Identify potential hazards on your walk
- Assess the risk and consider the potential consequences of an incident
- Anticipate and plan for likely incidents
- Understand and implement your club's policies regarding risk and your legal duty of care
Note that this module deals with risk management and contingency strategies at the walk planning stage. Further actions are covered in the Conducting the Walk and Incident Management modules.
Resources
For group sessions
PowerPoint presentation
Slides: Risk management (PPT, 858KB)
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Presenters' notes
Presenting the topic: Risk management (PDF, 229KB)
Note: you may customise the material to reflect your particular club circumstances, with permission from and acknowledgement of Bushwalking Victoria.
For participants and individual leaders
Printed information
Handbook: Risk management (PDF, 174KB)
Bushwalking Manual online reference
Safety essentials gives a comprehensive summary of risk management considerations before and during a trip
The manual provides excellent risk management advice for some specific hazards
Crossing creeks
Crossing rivers
Terrain
Hot and dry conditions
Wind, rain and snow
Useful external links
Bushwalking Australia has produced a very comprehensive set of risk management guidelines aimed specifically at bushwalking clubs and leaders.
Learning Activities
Learning Activities can help develop your skills and understanding. In a face-to-face situation, you can do these in groups using screens if available, or using physical resources provided by the presenter. If you are working on your own, these online activities provide a way to become engaged in the learning process. They work better on a laptop or tablet but they can run on a phone.
Identify hazards and assess risks in bushwalking contexts
These activities provide a structured framework for risk management, and then step through its application in two specific bushwalking scenarios taken from past BWV Federation Walks.
Follow the steps of the first activity and consider how they apply to the walk you are planning.
The examples that follow are for an easy (level 2) walk to Tipperary Springs in Daylesford and a hard (level 4) walk at the Crinoline (Mt Ligar) in Gippsland
The links take you to the track notes and maps used for a BWV Federation Walks event.
Follow the assessments of experienced leaders. What you would do?
Key Points
- Consider the location and features of your planned walk, as well as forecast weather conditions and the capability of your participants.
- Identify hazards, assess possible risks, and plan strategies to deal with them.
- Be prepared to revise your risk assessments as you go, and modify the walk accordingly.
- Ensure you follow the procedures and guidelines of your club.