Do AAS replace the Department of Education and Training’s (DE&T) Safety in Outdoor Adventure Activities Series (Safety Guidelines)?
No. The Adventure Activity Standards acknowledge and promote the importance of each and every organisation having their own standards and operating procedures. The DE&T has traditionally provided detailed policies and guidelines to assist Government schools in planning and implementing safe but challenging outdoor adventure activities. Such advice forms the basis of the Safety Guidelines. This series is currently being revised, with the AAS one of the valuable references to be used to inform the process. In the absence of alternative DE&T advice it is the Department’s existing policy that principals, teachers and school council members comply with the relevant Adventure Activity Standards when planning or endorsing a school adventure activity camp or excursion, and consider the greater duty of care that may be required for students.
