Trip Leader Guidelines are being updated, if you have any questions please contact safety@utsoac.org.au

Last updated: April 13, 2024

The Trip Leader Guidelines below are the preferred best practice that anyone running a trip affiliated with UTSOAC should abide by. If you are undertaking an activity that for whatever reason would not adhere to any or all of these guidelines, please contact safety@utsoag.org.au to discuss whether an exception can be provided. Trips posted to the OAC website must observe the trip guidelines unless otherwise approved by the Safety Officer or another committee member in their absence.

Trip Planning

• Club trips can only be run and joined by members who have an active membership with the club on the day of the trip.
• Trips require a minimum of two people who have completed the Trip Leader induction, the ‘Trip Leader’ and a ‘Seconder’.
• The Trip Leader is expected to have the appropriate skills to manage a group and run the trip in a safe manner and be able to address any reasonably expected incidents that might arise on the trip.
• The Seconder is expected to have the appropriate skills to be able to manage a group and take over in the event the trip leader is incapacitated and lead participants to a safe location. If there is a requirement to use technical skills to achieve this as part of getting participants to safety, the Seconder should be capable of using these skills in the environment confidently.
• If you need assistance in finding a Trip Leader or Seconder for a trip you wish to run, you can send an email to oactrips@googlegroups.com. This is a group mailing list for all active Trip Leaders.
• Trips must have a ratio of 1 Trip Leader for 3 participants for roped activities (eg. climbing/canyoning), and 1 Trip Leader for 4 participants for non-roped activities (eg. hiking, camping).
• Anyone “shadowing” a Trip Leader or Seconder on a trip for the purposes of onboarding or mentoring as a Trip Leader count as neither a Trip Leader or Participant for the purposes of leader to participant ratios
• There must be at least two people on the trip who possess a current First Aid Certificate.
• For trips that involve technical and rope related activities, the Trip Leader or Seconder must have completed the relevant safety skill trips, completed a rescue course and be competent in the skills associated with it

Gear

• Trip Leaders who plan on using club equipment and gear MUST notify all other Trip Leaders via oactrips@googlegroups.com and keep the appropriate records and notes within the logbook at storage.
• In the event there are multiple trips requesting the same equipment, priority will be given to Skills Trips, then to Club Trips, and then to Private Trips if equipment is available. Where there are multiple trips of the same type requesting the same equipment, discuss with the leaders of the other trips on gear sharing, or reschedule to another date.
• Always take a first aid kit. If not an OAC one then you must ask your participants to bring a first aid kit of their own if they have one. Make sure you and your Seconder have a personal first aid kit too.
• For canyoning, rock climbing and hiking trips, all participants must carry an emergency blanket and snake/compression bandage each, which can be borrowed from club storage. Please use your discretion for urban activities where emergency equipment like snake bandages may be beneficial.
• You must take a PLB if you are planning to go to a remote area where there’s no mobile reception or with difficult access.
• If any gear is damaged during the trip, or you see gear that is damaged in the storage unit, send details of the damaged equipment to quartermaster@utsoac.org.au to be repaired or replaced.

New Trip Leaders

• If it is your first time running a trip, or if you are inexperienced in that type of trip, please request an experienced Leader to second the trip.
• Trip Leaders MUST have completed the Trip Leader Induction Course. This course is facilitated several times a year by the OAC.

Safety Contacts

• For all trips, email safety@utsoac.org.au with trip details prior to your trip commencing, including:
  • Start and end time/date of trip
  • Number of participants on the trip
  • Where you will be going
  • Safety Contact name and contact (if Safety Contact required)
• If your trip will take you through an area of no mobile coverage, and/or to a place that would take more than 1 hour for emergency responders to reach you, you will need to also have a separate Safety Contact for the trip who is responsible for raising an alert in the event you do not return when expected. Provide your Safety Contact with the same information that you are providing to safety@utsoac.org.au
• If you have a trip that requires a Safety Contact, you must take a PLB with you on your trip.
• If your trip is being facilitated via an external party, such as an event by Rogaining NSW (example only), a Safety Contact is not required unless required by the event organiser.
• Details on the responsibilities and response actions for safety contacts can be found here

Other Notes

• Try to run trips with small groups. Even if you have 5 Trip Leaders it doesn’t mean it’s ideal to take 25 people on one trip. Keep it simple. It’s also good bush ethics to keep groups small to lower the environmental impact. Note that some areas may impose group size limits.
• As a Trip Leader, you should review the participants’ suitability in line with the type of trip you are running, considering their skills, physical condition, and any medical conditions. If there is an issue you feel you cannot resolve through discussion with the participant please contact the Safety Officer for guidance (safety@utsoac.org.au).
• Trips that are guided tours by an external certified organisation do not need to adhere to the Trip Leader ratio guidelines, but still require a Trip Leader and a Seconder. For non-tour activities, supervisors from these organisations can be counted as Trip Leaders for participant ratios in relation to non-technical and non-rope related activities.