Safety Matters

A word on safety

PLEASE NOTE THIS INFORMATION IS NOT A LEGAL OPINION...

The nature of the activities that the club involves itself in and the environments that we explore do inherently present risks and dangers. The club prides itself on a good safety record and seriously wishes to maintain that. We always want club members to return from club activities safe and well.

ALL CLUB MEMBERS MUST UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS POTENTIALLY DANGER AND RISK IN ACTIVITIES AND ALL PERSONS ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS. CLUB ACTIVITIES MUST BE UNDERTAKEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CLUB CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS AT ALL TIMES. THIS RELATES TO PROPER USE OF SAFETY GEAR AND PERSONAL CONDUCT

At all times, all persons will be required to ensure that necessary steps are taken to keep potential risks are minimised.

Safety courses... 1st aid etc.

Every club member is encouraged to do some basic first aid training. St John Ambulance service even offers a free on-line crash course. Â

Club skill levels

In addition to having fun in the outdoors, a key priority for the outdoor club is safety. One of the measures that the club uses to maintain hight safety standards is training and assessment of skill levels. The basic premise being that various activities require minimum skill levels of participants to ensure that safety is not compromised. The Club would encourage every member to become familiar with the skill levels applicable to each activity, which are generally outlined on the different activity pages of the website. These skill levels should be read in conjunction with the club's constitution and by-laws.

Club by-laws and constitution

All club members are expected to be familiar with two important documents, being the club constitution and club by-laws, which document many processes, standards and expectations for members. Failure to adhere to the club's constitution and by-laws potentially exposes both yourself and other persons to additional risk, both in terms of safety and potential legal exposure. The club by-laws and constitution can be accessed using the following links:

A word on negligence

In outdoor adventure activities, issues of risk management and duty of care are common discussion topics. The ODC would strongly encourage all members to become familiar with the basic principles through the reading of appropriate literature including documentation from the Department of Sport and Recreation and the State Law Publisher. The following is an extract from Section 5b of the Civil Liability Act 2002, related to 'duty of care' General principles (1) A person is not liable for harm caused by that person?s fault in failing to take precautions against a risk of harm unless ?
  1. the risk was foreseeable (that is, it is a risk of which the person knew or ought to have known);
  2. the risk was not insignificant; and
  3. in the circumstances, a reasonable person in the person?s position would have taken those precautions. (2) In determining whether a reasonable person would have taken precautions against a risk of harm, the court is to consider the following (amongst other relevant things) ?
  4. the probability that the harm would occur if care were not taken;
  5. the likely seriousness of the harm;
  6. the burden of taking precautions to avoid the risk of harm;
  7. the social utility of the activity that creates the risk of harm.

Protection of volunteers

The Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Act 2002 (WA) came into operation on 1 January 2003 and protects volunteers from incurring any personal civil liability in relation to an act or omission in good faith while doing community work organised by a community organisation. A volunteer is not protected from liability if they, among other things, failed to exercise due care and skill while doing the work, were intoxicated at the time, or if they knew or ought to have known that they were operating outside the scope of the activities authorised by the community organisation. (taken from the FindLaw website) A copy of relevant legislation in Western Australia can be obtained from the State Law Publisher's website, as follows

Heaps more info on safety and risk management coming real soon!!