The need for Adventure Activity Standards (AAS) was highlighted by an Outdoor Recreation Forum as far back as 2001 and the National Standing Committee on Recreation and Sport (SCORS) in 2002.

The general public, insurance companies and various government agencies have progressively called upon the outdoor adventure industry to detail its operating standards for purposes of accountability, risk management and consistency. The NSW Adventure Activity Standards (NSW AAS) will assist in developing a benchmark for the outdoor adventure industry and affiliated industry sectors in NSW.

Victoria, through the Outdoor Recreation Centre, took the initiative in 2003 and developed AAS to assist organisations conducting outdoor recreation activities for dependent groups. Victoria’s AAS were designed as guidelines to promote safety for participants and providers through the provision of benchmark minimum standards in areas of planning, leader requirements, equipment and environmental issues for those undertaking adventurous or outdoor recreation activities.

In 2004, the Federal Sport and Recreation Ministers’ Council endorsed a proposal for each Australian State and Territory to institute its own variation of the AAS. The Victorian version of the AAS has since been modified and adopted by Tasmania (Sport & Recreation Tasmania) and South Australia (Recreation SA).

Western Australia (Outdoors WA and WA Sport and Recreation) has released WA AAS within a broader Industry Quality Framework.

In Queensland, the state peak body, QORF (Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation), was commissioned by the Department of Sport and Recreation to produce Queensland’s Adventure Activity Standards. These have recently been approved and endorsed by the government and released to industry.

In NSW, in response to the NSW Government’s State Plan of November 2006 and recognising the need to develop the skills and knowledge to enable compliance with safety standards, and encourage development of responsible environmental, cultural, and corporate management in the outdoor recreation industry, ORIC has undertaken the development of the NSW AAS.

This initiative means that NSW have access to NSW-specific guidelines similar to those available in other states including Victoria, Queensland, tasminia, South and West Australia.

At the 2007 ORIC Conference, ORIC outlined their response to industry needs to addresss the issue of Adventure Activity Standards (AAS) in NSW. A NSW AAS project brief was developed, providing an overview of the NSW AAS Project.

In November 2007, ORIC appointed a NSW AAS Project Officer, to begin Stage 1 of the project, and upon completion, present a report to the ORIC Board.

2008 saw much research, information gathering and discussions taking place, not only of the various national, international and state specific literature and versions of the AAS in place, but also of the processes involved in reaching those final drafts.

Considerable time was been spent working through the vital components of the project, and appraising the many existing policies, guidelines, training packages, licencing and statutory requirements of the main stakeholders, and establishing communication lines with the relevant stakeholder representatives.

Consultation continued with a range of industry representatives - government agencies, education departments, regulatory and licencing bodies, legal representation, land managers, volunteer organisations, tourism, vocational institutions, environmental groups, etc.

In 2009 the first of 18 public information and consultation forums and other specific stakeholder engagements were held across the state.

These Industry Forums provided industry participants and stakeholders with an opportunity to give input, feedback and suggestions to ensure the NSW Adventure Activity Guidelines were:

• Relevant, reliable and realistic guidelines for the Outdoor Recreation Industry in NSW
• Applicable across a broad spectrum of activities and providers
• Accurate and up-to-date with current practises and trends in the Outdoors

Draft 1 NSW AAS documents were then released to the outdoor recreation community and other key stakeholders.

The NSW AAS Steering Committee and Technical Working Groups (TWG) were established, with over 65 individuals making themselves available and volunteering their time and expertise to the NSW AAS project.