National Outdoor Education Conference 2021 PRECURSOR (Online) 29 Sept
General News
Wed, 29 Sep | ZOOM WEBINAR – Link to follow National Outdoor Education Conference PRECURSOR (Online) Get a taste for the big event (NOEC 2022) and also be more informed about the year ahead with this online event specifically for […]
OCA calls for credible climate action alongside Better Futures Australia partners.
General News
The Outdoor Council of Australia is expressing the concerns of the Australian outdoor community in calling for a better future and positive action on climate change. The OCA has signed the Better Futures Australia open letter calling on Scott Morrison […]
Incidents in the Outdoors: Psychosocial Incident Types – UPLOADS Update
General News
Psychosocial Incident Types – UPLOADS Update In this infographic research update we examine the psychosocial incidents types in the outdoors reported to the National Incident Dataset and report the actual and potential severity of these incidents and their contributory factors. […]
Free – All About Allergens for Camps – new online course.
General News
Exciting news! the All about Allergens for Camps has been updated to be a single course! Previously camp staff needed to complete the original All about Allergens course and the Next Step for Cooks and Chefs: Camps. Now camp staff […]
National Outdoor Sector Summit Update – magic happens
General News
OCA Sector Update – National Summit outcomes The Outdoor Council of Australia (OCA) called a National Summit in May 2021 where states and territories invited 13 participants each that covered all the sectors represented in the Outdoor community. These included […]
Standards Australia mentoring opportunity – Get on board with NEXTgen
General News
Standards Australia is inviting individuals from a range of industries to be involved in mentoring on how standards are developed. If you are part of the outdoors sector and interesting in this area then contact Standards Australia today to be […]
OCA SUMMIT 2021 – 25th & 26th May
General News
The Outdoor Council of Australia (OCA) has announced a summit to discuss the priorities and a path to a possible transformation of the outdoors industry and its sectors across Australia. It is the perfect time to come together to further […]
National Outdoor Education Conference 2021
General News
The National Outdoor Education Conference (known as NOEC) will be hosted in NSW in 2021, its 21st year of being held since its inception. The venue is the beautiful Fairmont Resort and Spa in Leura, located within the spectacular Blue […]
2021 OCA National Summit
General News
In response to the challenges of the past year, the need to further unite & strengthen the outdoor sector nationally has been identified by the Outdoor Council of Australia (OCA). The OCA Board, which is made up of CEOs and […]
Standard: AS 2316.1.2 Artificial Climbing Structures and challenge courses Part 1.2: Safety requirements and test methods for bouldering structures Open for Public Comment
General News
A draft standard is open for commenting on Standards Australia public comments system. Standard: AS 2316.1.2 Artificial Climbing Structures and challenge courses Part 1.2: Safety requirements and test methods for bouldering structures Comment Start Date: 05/12/2020 Comment End Date: 06/02/2021 […]
Changes to National Outdoor Leadership Registration Scheme (NOLRS)
General News
The Board of the Outdoor Council of Australia (OCA) has recently undertaken a review of the National Outdoor Leadership Registration Scheme (NOLRS). Whilst the value of the scheme was recognised, it was also identified that any future progress would […]
OCA COVID 19 Management Plan Template
General News
The Outdoor Council of Australia (OCA) has produced a template to assist outdoor organisations to undertake safety/risk management planning regarding issues posed by COVID-19 – “COVID-19 Management Plan Template for Group Based Outdoor Activities”. The template draws on the work […]
OCA Framework for Rebooting Outdoor Activities in a COVID-19 Environment
General News
The Outdoor Council of Australia Board has formed up a comprehensive document, which is a framework for conducting Outdoor Recreation activities in a COVID-19 environment. It has been compiled in very tight timeframes through the sustained efforts by volunteers of Outdoors […]
Australia’s outdoors is still OPEN – Monday 30 March 2020
General News
Outdoor sector leaders are urging the public to exercise outdoors while practicing good social distancing The Outdoor Council of Australia, national peak body for outdoor activities, is reminding members of the public that the outdoors is still open and […]
Camps and Outdoor Providers Recommended Contract Cancellation Process – Position Statement Update 27/03/2020
General News
This statement supersedes the previous Position Statement dated 17/03/2020 The OCA is closely connected with the five state Outdoors Peak bodies, the Australian Camps Association, Scouts Australia and several other related sector peaks. The OCA Board met today 27/03/2020 to […]
Have Your Say On The Participation and Benefits of Mountain Biking
General News
MTBA is currently undertaking an economic and participation analysis of mountain biking in Australia. The objective of this study is to estimate participation rates of mountain biking, as well as measure and assess the range of benefits associated with mountain […]
Bushfire Recovery for the Australian Outdoor Sector
General News
What’s Next? Bushfire Recovery for the Australian Outdoor Sector Attention Outdoor Sector! You are invited to participate with our counter parts from other states in a webinar focused at supporting the outdoor sector in this trying time. The key questions […]
National Outdoor Leadership Registration Scheme
General News
The Outdoor Council of Australia is conducting a user review of the National Outdoor Leadership Registration Scheme (NOLRS). NOLRS was established in 2003 to provide a transparent, national benchmark of individual currency in outdoor activity leadership skills. NOLRS is a scheme for […]
Survey Of The Field
General News
AABAT have released their ‘survey of the field’ and the response so far has been terrific! The survey is for anyone with an interest in bush adventure therapy or nature based interventions in Australia. The survey is designed to map the […]
Outdoor Youth Programs Research Alliance
General News
A new study by the Outdoor Youth Programs Research Alliance (OYPRA) developed and conducted over nine years has shown camps and outdoor education programs can lead to improved mental health and wellbeing in young people. Click here to read more!
Australian AAAS information webinar invitation
General News
Next week, a free information webinar will be provided on the Australian Adventure Activity Standards (AAAS) and Good Practice Guides (GPGs). This is a great way for anyone interested in AAAS or GPGs to get more information. The 1 hour […]
Australian Adventure Activity Standard and Good Practice Guides pre-release
General News
The Australian Adventure Activity Standard (AAAS) and the completed activity Good Practice Guide’s (GPG’s) have been published, prior to the official launch in September 2019. The pre-released documents are available from the australianaas.org.au website home page. http://australianaas.org.au/ Why pre-release? The outdoor […]
The UPLOADS Project
General News
UPLOADS (Understanding and Preventing Led Outdoor Accidents Data System) is now a cloud based web app that can be accessed from any computer, smartphone or tablet to enter incident reports, even when in the field where internet or phone reception […]
Canyoning Activity Good Practice Guide released for public comment
General News
The Australian AAS draft Canyoning Good Practice Guide, containing all of the activity specific content for this adventure activity has just been released for public comment. Submissions close the 12 November 2018 (9.00am AEDT). To read, download the draft or […]
Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) advice on Award coverage for outdoor leaders
General News
Members of the Outdoor Council Australia, Outdoors Victoria, Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation, Outdoors WA Inc, Outdoors NSW, Australian Camps Association, Outdoors SA, Christian Venues Association Scouts Australia have been involved in discussions throughout the year with Fairwork Australia to paint a picture regarding the broad variance of employment […]